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 as the second theatrical entry in the franchise, riding the peak of Pokémania in the West. Released in the summer of 2000, it followed the original film's massive success and cemented Pokémon as a cross-media juggernaut, pulling young audiences into theaters with promises of new legendary creatures, the Orange Islands setting, and the ongoing rivalry-turned-comedy of Team Rocket. For collectors of animation memorabilia, this era represents the franchise at its cultural high point.
This cell brings together Ash Ketchum with Team Rocket's Jessie, James, and Meowth, the show's enduring quartet whose dynamic anchored the series' balance of adventure and comic relief. Jessie and James remain favorites among collectors for their theatrical flair, while Meowth's presence as a talking Pokémon adds novelty value. A cell uniting hero and antagonists suggests a shared scene of interaction, a hallmark of the franchise's episodic structure, prized for capturing the show's central cast together in a single frame of animation 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 perforations per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and appearing cleanly punched with no visible torn or deformed holes.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, consistent with a dual-format optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a light blue-cyan tint typical of estar safety stock; the dye image reads with strong blue-purple and warm mid-tone values, showing no visible fading or red shift.
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; the four frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the animated imagery is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The cyan-tinted estar base, combined Dolby Digital data blocks and variable-area optical track, and positive colour dye image are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s to early 2000s.
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
