National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING

AUTHENTIC

CROWN CERTIFIED

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MOVIEThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker TV Commercial

SCENENintendo GameCube - Logo Card

FILM FORMAT35mm

YEAR2003

CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003196

FILM NOTES

Nintendo aired this commercial in 2003 to launch The Wind Waker on the GameCube, bringing Hyrule into a bold cel-shaded style that split longtime fans at the time but has since become one of the most beloved entries in the Zelda catalog. The spot was part of a broader push to sell the GameCube as a console capable of both whimsy and craft, pairing Nintendo's marketing muscle with a game that would go on to earn lasting critical regard. As with much of Nintendo's early 2000s advertising, the commercial was built to run in brief television slots, meaning every frame had to carry brand identity quickly and clearly.

This cell preserves the Nintendo GameCube logo card, the kind of closing or bridging frame used in commercials to anchor the advertised product firmly to its platform. Logo cards like this one serve as a signature moment, confirming for the viewer exactly what system is being promoted before or after gameplay footage runs. Collectors prize these cells for their direct tie to Nintendo's hardware branding during the GameCube era, a period now regarded with considerable nostalgia among retro gaming enthusiasts and film ephemera collectors alike.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm release print of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker TV Commercial (2003).

Gauge: 35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds roughly three frames, each carrying a Nintendo GameCube end card.
Perforations: Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes and no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack: A dark blue-and-white banded track runs along the lower edge, and tan blocks sit between the lower perforations, consistent with Dolby Digital data blocks.
Edge print: Green letters reading backwards along the upper edge show "A G S", the only edge print legible in this capture.
Base & colour: Pale blue-cyan base tint with a neutral, saturated dye image and no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history: None seen at this size; the base looks clean, with no scratches, splices or cue marks in this capture.
Picture: Positive image, three consecutive frames of the same end card, and the Nintendo GameCube logo with www.nintendo.com.au matches a GameCube-era Nintendo commercial.
Era check: Consistent with a 2003 Australian release print, since Dolby Digital blocks between perforations, a regional .com.au address and a GameCube end card all suit that period.

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 in partnership with National Film Vault, 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.

CROWN SERIAL 000070971

Original Film Capture As received

The film strip as photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation

Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size