SCENELugia, Ash, & Pikachu in Flight- Scene Transition.
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2000
CERTIFICATE ID000067094
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived as Warner Bros. and Nintendo pressed their advantage after the franchise's explosive 1999 debut, rushing a second theatrical feature to American screens to keep the Pokémon wave building. Promotional trailers circulated widely in the run-up to release, giving audiences an early look at the film's mythic ambitions, centered on the legendary bird Lugia and its role in restoring balance among the elemental titans. These preview reels were distributed to theaters as part of the marketing push, making surviving 35mm trailer segments scarce artifacts of that promotional campaign.
This cell captures a scene transition built around Lugia, Ash Ketchum, and Pikachu together in flight, a pairing that places the franchise's young hero and his signature partner directly alongside one of its most sought-after legendary creatures. Lugia's presence elevates the piece for collectors, since the character anchors the film's central mythology, while Ash and Pikachu represent the franchise's enduring core. As a transitional trailer moment, the cell reflects the promotional grammar of the era, designed to hint at scale and adventure ahead of the feature's release.
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 visible on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block pattern visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge.
Edge print
Not clearly legible in this capture; faint markings appear along the lower edge but cannot be quoted with confidence.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image appears moderately saturated with no obvious red shift or significant fading.
Projection history
Light longitudinal scratches are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has been run through a projector.
Picture
Positive colour image; the four frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single animated shot, consistent with an animated theatrical feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and colour print stock on a blue-tinted base is consistent with a theatrical release print from around 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
