Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived as Warner Bros. and Nintendo pressed forward with the franchise's theatrical ambitions, riding the momentum of the original film and the character's global explosion in the late 1990s. Distributed to American audiences as a companion to the ongoing television series, this second feature carried the weight of proving Pokémon could sustain a movie franchise rather than stand as a one-off event. The trailer materials from this release circulated widely in theaters, making them a recognizable piece of that early merchandising and promotional push.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer built around Pikachu, the franchise's central mascot and its most consistently collected figure across any format. A happy mood attached to Pikachu speaks to the character's core appeal, the warmth and approachability that made it the face of Pokémon marketing from the start. Trailer cells like this one served to sell anticipation itself, offering audiences a glimpse of tone before story, and this piece captures that promotional function through its simplest, most enduring asset: Pikachu in a state of uncomplicated joy.
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 below the picture area on one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip running alongside it in the inter-perforation zone.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image shows saturated yellows and browns with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light horizontal lines consistent with projection are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with animated content matching the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track with an apparent Dolby Digital data block is consistent with a mid-to-late 1990s to early 2000s theatrical release print, matching the 2000 release date 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
