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 Pokémania, following the original film's blockbuster success and pushing the franchise deeper into American theaters. Built around the Legendary Birds and Lugia, it extended the anime's mythology beyond television into a feature event, drawing families and collectors alike during the peak of the craze. For fans of early Pokémon media, this era represents the franchise's cultural zenith, when merchandise, trading cards, and film tie-ins converged into a single cross-media phenomenon.
This cell brings together Ash Ketchum and Pikachu alongside Team Rocket's trio, Jessie, James, and Meowth, a pairing that anchors the show's recurring dynamic of hero and rival scheme-makers sharing the same frame. Cells featuring this ensemble are prized because they capture the franchise's core cast in one composition, uniting protagonist and antagonists who define the series' comic tension. As a piece of animation history, it preserves a moment from actual production artwork, a tangible link to hand-crafted frames behind a defining chapter of Pokémon's theatrical run.
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 separate digital timecode or data line (consistent with a DTS timecode stripe) running adjacent to it.
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 cyan-blue tint typical of modern safety stock; the dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks, or heavy scratching are apparent; the surface appears consistent with a projected release print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the animated characters and style are consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
Era check
The cyan-tinted polyester base, variable-area optical track paired with a DTS timecode stripe, and 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
