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National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000003242 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker TV Commercial
SCENEThe Legend of Zelda/Nintendo GameCube - Logo Card
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2003
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003242

FILM NOTES

Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in 2003 for the GameCube, following the N64 era with a bold departure into cel-shaded art direction that divided fans at announcement and won many over on release. Television advertising for the game was part of a broader Nintendo push to position the console as a home for distinctive, stylized experiences rather than chasing photorealism. Commercials of this kind circulated briefly during their broadcast window, making surviving film elements from them scarce decades later. This piece of promotional history captures a moment when Nintendo was staking out fresh creative territory with one of its flagship franchises.

This cell presents a logo card pairing The Legend of Zelda with the Nintendo GameCube, the kind of frame used to anchor a commercial's opening or closing moments and tie the product directly to its platform. Logo cards like this served a branding function, reinforcing recognition before or after gameplay footage, and they are prized by collectors precisely because they distill an advertising campaign down to its core identifiers. For Wind Waker material specifically, interest runs high given the game's status as a stylistic turning point for the series. Owning this card means holding a piece of the marketing apparatus that introduced that new direction to the public.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

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

Gauge
35mm: four perforations span each frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or damaged holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along the bottom edge as two wavy white bands; no Dolby Digital blocks or DTS timecode line are visible.
Edge print
Only two small green digits, "9 6", read along the top edge; no manufacturer text or SAFETY FILM wording is visible.
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted base with neutral, saturated dye in the picture area; no fading or red shift is visible.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot of the same boxed product, and the Zelda Wind Waker packaging matches the film on record.
Era check
A 35mm print with a variable-area optical track on a blue-tinted base is consistent with a 2003 release print of a TV commercial.
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 000071017
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