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 at the height of Pokémon's first great American wave, following the franchise's theatrical debut a year earlier. Built around the legendary bird trio and the guardian Lugia, it pulled young audiences back into theaters and cemented the anime's crossover from television phenomenon to summer movie event. For collectors, it remains a marker of that peak era, when Pokémon merchandise and film reels alike were cultural artifacts of a rapidly growing hobby.
This cell brings together Charizard, Lugia, and Pikachu, three of the property's most enduring draws, each with its own devoted collector base. Charizard remains the franchise's flagship dragon-type, Lugia the mysterious sea guardian central to this film's story, and Pikachu the mascot recognized everywhere. A frame naming these three together suggests a pivotal or promotional moment, the kind of grouping used in a trailer or title card to signal scale and stakes. Owning it means holding a physical trace of that theatrical run, a single strip tying three icons to one shared reel of film history.
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, cleanly punched with no visible torn or deformed holes
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with an analog stereo print; Dolby Digital data blocks appear present in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a Dolby Digital optical composite track
Edge print
Not clearly legible in this capture; no manufacturer text or key numbers can be read with confidence
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-tinted tint from the backing; dye image reads as warm with strong yellow, blue and purple saturation, no visible fading or red shift
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks or cue marks seen
Picture
Positive color image; all four frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, and the animated character and stylized background are consistent with the animated feature film on record
Era check
The composite Dolby Digital plus analog variable-area optical soundtrack format was standard for major theatrical release prints in 2000, consistent with a first-run release print of Pokémon: The Movie 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
