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 follow up to the franchise's blockbuster debut, riding the peak of Pokémania in American theaters. Built around the legendary birds Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres, it pushed the film series toward mythology and spectacle, cementing Pokémon as a theatrical event rather than a television spinoff. For collectors, it represents the brief window when the property commanded genuine mainstream box office attention.
This cell holds Zapdos alone, one of the three legendary birds whose elemental power drives the film's central conflict. As an electric type tied to storms, Zapdos carries outsized appeal among legendary Pokémon collectors, since these birds rarely appeared with such prominence outside this movie. A single character cell isolates the creature on its own terms, apart from trainers or dialogue, making it a clean artifact of the legendary bird arc that defined this entry's identity within the wider animated franchise.
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 torn or deformed holes
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower edge beside the perforations, appearing as a dual-bilateral waveform; a separate thin line consistent with a DTS timecode stripe is also visible adjacent to it
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
The base carries a strong blue-violet tint across three frames; the fourth frame at right shows a warmer beige-grey tone, suggesting a different exposure or dye balance on that frame
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks or cue marks are seen
Picture
Positive image; the four frames appear to run consecutively within a single action shot, and the animated style is consistent with the Pokémon theatrical feature on record
Era check
The dual variable-area optical track combined with a DTS timecode stripe is consistent with a mid-to-late 1990s to early 2000s theatrical release print, matching the 2000 release date of the film 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
