Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
"Pikachu's Vacation" screened as the companion short to "Pokémon: The First Movie" during its 1999 theatrical run, placing it in front of one of the widest audiences any animated short would see that year. Produced in Japan and distributed stateside by Warner Bros. alongside Pokémon USA and 4Kids' dubbing work, the short gave Pikachu and friends a quiet aside from the main feature's drama, letting a roster of Pokémon enjoy a day of games and leisure. It arrived at the height of Pokémania, making any surviving 35mm material from this release a snapshot of a cultural peak for the franchise.
This cell draws from that vacation sequence, with Snubbull named as the scene's focus alongside Squirtle and Vulpix. Snubbull is a less frequently merchandised Pokémon, so collectors who favor animation history over headline characters tend to seek this one out specifically for its presence. The "Sky Scene" designation points to one of the outdoor interludes built into the short's loose, episodic structure, where background and incidental Pokémon share space with the more familiar cast. As a film cell rather than a key animation drawing, it preserves a single frame from that collective footage.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of Pokémon: Pikachu's Vacation (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames in full.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with no visible tears or damage.
Soundtrack
One variable-area optical track runs along the lower edge, with a Dolby Digital block pattern visible in the gaps between the lower perforations. No DTS or SDDS seen.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Pale blue-tinted base with a neutral, undimmed dye image; no red shift or fading seen.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices across the three frames.
Picture
Positive image. The three frames run consecutively as one shot, the first two nearly identical, and the animation matches Pokémon: Pikachu's Vacation.
Era check
Consistent with a 1999 release print, since an optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks suits late-1990s stock and the animated look suits the film on record.
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 000071048
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
