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

SCENELink

FILM FORMAT35mm

YEAR2003

CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003218

FILM NOTES

Nintendo unveiled The Wind Waker in 2003 as the next console entry in the Zelda series, departing visually from its predecessor with a cel-shaded art style that divided early fan reaction but has since become one of the most celebrated looks in the franchise's history. Released for the GameCube, the game marked a turning point for Nintendo's flagship adventure property, and the television commercial campaign introduced the new aesthetic to a wide audience ahead of launch, making these promotional materials a notable piece of early 2000s gaming advertisement history and a bridge between the franchise's past and its stylistic future.

This 35mm cell carries Link, the series' perpetual hero, as he appears in the commercial built to announce his reimagined form to the public. Collectors prize Link material from this campaign precisely because it captures the character at a transitional moment, newly rendered and being presented for the first time to a mass television audience. A commercial cell like this one functions as a piece of marketing history rather than narrative storytelling, preserving the exact frames chosen to sell the game's identity to viewers encountering this version of Link for the very first time.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

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

Gauge: 35mm layout: perforations along both edges, four per frame, with three consecutive frames visible on the strip.
Perforations: Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-corner rectangular holes and no visible tears.
Soundtrack: Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, and the gaps between the lower-edge perforations hold a speckled Dolby Digital data pattern.
Edge print: Only a few green characters, reading '0 2' and a partial '4', are visible along the top edge; no manufacturer text or 'SAFETY FILM' is legible.
Base & colour: Clear base with a light blue edge tint; the dye image looks warm brown and amber with no obvious fading at this size.
Projection history: No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the only mark is a dark oval on the middle frame, which is camera reflection.
Picture: Positive image; the three frames repeat the same shot with little change and show an on-screen 'G8+' rating tag, which fits a TV commercial for the film on record.
Era check: Consistent with a 2003 35mm print, since combined optical and Dolby Digital data tracks were standard then and the picture carries a rating tag.

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 000070993

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