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 Nintendo/4Kids in the wake of the franchise's explosive American debut, riding the momentum of Pokémon's first theatrical release the prior year. Built around the Legendary Birds and the balance of the elements, it expanded the mythology beyond Pikachu and the core cast, cementing the series as a genuine box office force for children's entertainment rather than a one-off novelty. For collectors of early Pokémon cinema, this film represents the franchise's attempt to scale up its stakes and its creature roster on the big screen.
Zapdos, one of the three Legendary Birds central to this film's plot, holds particular appeal for collectors chasing material tied to Pokémon's original run of mythical creatures. A 35mm cell bearing this figure connects directly to the movie's elemental crisis, the storm bird's role in the balance disrupted at the film's core. Isolated frames of Legendary Pokémon are scarcer than those of the human or Pikachu-centric cast, making this a piece valued for its subject rather than its narrative context alone.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds four frames
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the lower edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge, and a DTS timecode line also visible in that region
Base carries a light blue-cyan tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image appears warm-shifted with strong yellow-gold and purple rendering, no obvious fading
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame 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 shot, and the animated visual content is consistent with the Pokémon: The Movie 2000 theatrical release
Era check
Kodak 2383 print stock, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode strip, and the 2000 date code in the edge print are all consistent with a 1999–2000 theatrical release print
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
