Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in the wake of the franchise's explosive American debut, riding the momentum Warner Bros. and Nintendo built through the first Pokémon film and the still-surging television series. Released as the second theatrical entry, it capitalized on peak Pokémania, bringing Ash, Pikachu, and a roster of creatures to a mass audience hungry for more after the original movie's box office success. Trailers of this kind were essential marketing tools of the era, run ahead of features to stoke ticket sales for a franchise still proving its theatrical staying power beyond the small screen.
This 35mm trailer cell centers Pikachu, the character most responsible for the franchise's crossover into global pop culture and the figure collectors pursue above all others in Pokémon memorabilia. Paired here with Venonat, Squirtle, and Elekid, the grouping reflects the promotional instinct to showcase variety, hinting at the wider Pokémon roster without giving away the film's plot. As a trailer fragment, this cell represents the physical remnant of theatrical advertising, a piece of the promotional apparatus built to draw audiences into cinemas at the height of the franchise's first great wave.
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 three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block region visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer codes.
Base & colour
The base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows saturated yellows, purples and blues with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
A faint vertical line is visible running through the frame area on at least one frame, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the animated characters visible are consistent with Pokémon: The Movie 2000 promotional material.
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, matching the film 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
