Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived from Warner Bros. and 4Kids Entertainment as the franchise's follow-up feature, riding the crest of Pokémania at its commercial peak in North America. Adapted from the Japanese original, it expanded the mythology beyond the television series into legendary bird trio lore and introduced Lugia to Western audiences on the big screen. For collectors of theatrical release ephemera, this era represents the high water mark of Pokémon's crossover into mainstream pop culture, making surviving film cells from this production notable artifacts of that moment.
This cell captures Ash Ketchum and Pikachu together with Lugia, the legendary guardian central to the film's plot. Ash as the franchise's central trainer and Pikachu as its most recognizable mascot make any pairing of the two a natural collector focus, but placing them alongside Lugia elevates the piece further, tying it directly to the movie's signature imagery. A cell naming this moment points to one of the story's pivotal sequences, the kind of scene studios lean on for trailers and promotional art precisely because it distills the film's adventure and wonder into a single frame worth owning.
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 frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block column visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same side, and a DTS timecode stripe is also discernible as a fine dashed line along that edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a light blue-cyan tint consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is visible in the soundtrack area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the animated characters visible are consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
Era check
The combination of a cyan-base colour print stock, variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and DTS timecode stripe is consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s to early 2000s, matching the 2000 release date on record.
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
