Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: Pikachu's Vacation (1999) was the animated short bundled with Pokémon: The First Movie, produced by OLM, Inc. and distributed stateside by Warner Bros. as part of the franchise's early theatrical push during peak Pokémania. Conceived as a lighter companion piece to the feature's darker Mewtwo narrative, it followed Pikachu and friends on an island outing, giving audiences a gentler showcase of character personality and ensemble interplay rather than battle spectacle. For American collectors it represents the moment Pokémon fully arrived on the big screen.
This cell gathers Cubone, Raichu, Snubbull and Marill, a cross section of the vacation's wider cast beyond the main quartet. Raichu, Pikachu's evolved relative, draws particular interest from collectors tracing the electric line, while Cubone, Snubbull and Marill round out the ensemble moments that gave the short its relaxed, communal feel. A grouping like this likely comes from a scene emphasizing the gathered cast together, the kind of ensemble beat prized in animation cels for capturing multiple characters sharing a single frame of film history.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip of Pokémon: Pikachu's Vacation (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames, all lying sideways on the panel.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes and no torn or missing perforations in this capture.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two parallel tracks runs beside the picture; no Dolby Digital blocks are visible between the lower-edge perforations, only grainy patches.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted edge bands with a clear base; the dye image looks bright and neutral, with no fading or red shift seen.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, splices or cue marks are visible on these three frames.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-identical shot, and the animated characters match a Pokémon trailer.
Era check
A two-track optical soundtrack with grainy Dolby-style patches between perforations on a bright positive print is consistent with a late-1990s theatrical release print.
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 000071044
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
