Released in 2000 by Warner Bros. in partnership with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived at the height of Pokémania, when the franchise dominated American youth culture through games, cards, and television. The film served as the second theatrical entry in the series, built around the legendary bird Lugia and the Legendary Birds saga, expanding the mythology beyond Pikachu and the core cast. Its trailer campaign was a significant part of the marketing push, run heavily in theaters and on television to build anticipation among a generation of collectors and fans who were just as invested in the promotional materials as the feature itself.
This cell preserves a promotional strip from that trailer, centered on Lugia, the guardian legendary whose presence anchors the film's plot and mythology. As a trailer cell rather than a scene from the feature, it belongs to the marketing lineage of the release, valued by collectors for capturing the character as first introduced to audiences ahead of the film proper. Lugia's emergence marks a pivotal narrative beat, the arrival of a figure central to the story's balance of nature and legend.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds two frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a two-track variable-area format; Dolby Digital data blocks are also visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the bottom edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
Base shows a blue-violet tint consistent with a colour dye image on a clear safety base; dye layers appear saturated with no obvious fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; both frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, consistent with animated content from a theatrical release print matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track with Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks is consistent with a 1999–2000 theatrical release print, which is the correct period for Pokémon: The Movie 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
