Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's follow-up to the franchise's explosive theatrical debut, riding the peak of Pokémania in the West. Distributed with the tie-in short "Pichu Bros. in Party Panic," it brought the Legendary Birds and Lugia to the big screen, cementing the series' place in multiplex history at the turn of the millennium. For a generation of young viewers, this was their first exposure to Pokémon outside the television set, making the release a cultural marker of the era rather than just another Saturday morning spinoff.
This cell centers on Ash Ketchum, the franchise's perpetual protagonist and the character most collectors seek out first when building a Pokémon reel collection. His presence anchors nearly every frame of the property, and a strip bearing his name alone speaks to his role as the throughline connecting trainers, creatures, and storylines across features. Isolated cells like this one, without supporting cast members present, are prized for their simplicity: a clean reference point to the boy at the center of the phenomenon, pulled directly from the physical print rather than reproduced merchandise.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds four complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower edge beside the perforations, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern; Dolby Digital data blocks are also visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge.
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint typical of Kodak print stock; dye image appears saturated and neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot and depict an animated character consistent with the Pokémon franchise as recorded.
Era check
The combination of Kodak 2383 print stock edge code, dual bilateral variable-area optical track, and Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks is consistent with a theatrical release print from the year 2000.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
