MOVIEThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker TV Commercial
SCENECloaked Aryll Close-Up
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2003
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003229
FILM NOTES
FILM NOTES
Nintendo released The Wind Waker in 2003 as the next console entry in the Zelda series, following the stylistic departure from Ocarina of Time's realism toward a cel-shaded, painterly presentation that divided early audiences before winning lasting affection. The television commercial produced to promote the game captured this new visual direction for a mainstream audience, translating cartridge artwork into motion for broadcast. As one of the earlier marketing efforts built around Nintendo's GameCube library, this advertisement holds a place in the promotional history of the franchise, predating the game's reappraisal as a beloved installment in the series.
This cell centers on Aryll, Link's younger sister, shown here in a cloaked appearance, a detail that ties to her abduction early in the game's story and her role in setting the adventure's stakes in motion. Collectors of Zelda ephemera often seek out material tied to supporting characters like Aryll, whose presence in promotional reels is comparatively rare next to Link or Ganondorf. As a close-up drawn from a commercial reel, this frame represents the kind of fleeting broadcast imagery rarely preserved, making it a notable artifact of the game's original marketing campaign.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker TV Commercial (2003).
Gauge
Four perforations per frame along both edges, which reads as 35mm; the strip holds three frames, with a fourth only partly in view at the edge.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes, no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
Two thin white optical tracks run in the band beside the picture, plus a speckled gold dotted pattern between the lower perforations that looks like Dolby Digital data blocks.
Edge print
Two green numerals, '9' and '6', printed along the upper edge; no manufacturer name or 'SAFETY FILM' text is legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Pale blue-teal base along both edges with a cream band at the perforations; the dye image looks neutral-to-purple and shows no obvious fading.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; the only oval marks in the middle frame are camera reflection and are ignored.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-identical shot, but the content is too dark and abstract to confirm a match with the film on record.
Era check
A 35mm positive print with optical and Dolby Digital data tracks is consistent with a 2003 theatrical or trailer release print, though the picture alone cannot confirm the title.
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 000071004
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
