Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pikachu's Vacation screened theatrically in Japan and the United States as a companion short to the first Pokémon feature film, produced by OLM under Nintendo and Creatures' supervision and distributed stateside by Warner Bros. in 1999 alongside the Mewtwo Strikes Back release. It functions as a bridge piece, giving Pikachu and friends room to roam outside the trainers' storylines, and it remains a touchstone for the franchise's earliest theatrical era, when Pokémon's crossover into American multiplexes was still a novelty worth documenting on film.
This cell draws from the Sky Scene pairing Togepi and Vulpix, set among Geodude, Pidgey, and Zubat, a gathering of Pokémon spanning ground, air, and cave-dwelling types sharing a single sequence. Togepi carries particular collector interest as an early, widely merchandised baby Pokémon, while Vulpix brings its own devoted following among fire-type characters. A sky-themed moment suggests the ensemble's attention lifted skyward, a quiet beat typical of the short's loose, unhurried pacing. As a 35mm cell, it preserves a frame of hand-produced animation from a production era now valued for its craftsmanship.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm positive release print of Pokémon: Pikachu's Vacation (1999).
Gauge
35mm, with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three frames, the first one partly cut at the left end.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shaped and cleanly punched, with no tears or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A dual variable-area optical track runs between the picture and the lower perforations, with a dashed cyan-style timing line above it, and no Dolby Digital blocks are visible between the perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear, slightly cool base with a blue tint along the edges, and the dye image looks saturated and neutral, with no fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, splices or cue marks are visible across the three frames.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot, and the Pokémon artwork is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a 1999 release print: a 35mm positive with an optical analogue track, though the lower perforation area looks unusually patterned, a feature not clearly identifiable here.
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 000071045
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
