Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in theaters courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo's licensing muscle, riding the tail end of the franchise's first great wave of American mania. Following the original Pokémon movie's surprise box office success, this sequel, known in Japan as Mewtwo Strikes Back's follow-up era release Revelation Lugia, was pushed hard through television spots and theatrical trailers aimed at a generation raised on the games and cartoon. It remains a marker of just how large the property had grown by the turn of the millennium.
This particular strip preserves a trailer moment, the title card itself, the promotional flash of text and branding that told audiences what they were about to see before the feature even began. Trailer title cards are prized by collectors precisely because they capture the marketing apparatus rather than the narrative, a discrete piece of film history separate from the movie proper. For Pokémon material especially, these early promotional fragments from the franchise's theatrical debut years carry particular appeal, standing as tangible relics of the era when the brand first proved it could fill American movie houses.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000 trailer.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds four complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral waveform pattern consistent with a stereo optical track; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the bottom edge, indicating a Dolby Digital optical track is also present.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any key numbers or manufacturer codes.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight blue-green tint consistent with modern safety stock; the dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames show the same title-card logo content running consecutively, consistent with a trailer title sequence for the film on record.
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a dual bilateral variable-area optical track is consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s to early 2000s, 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
