Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
FILM NOTES
"Pikachu's Vacation" played in theaters as a short accompanying "Pokémon: The First Movie" during its November 1999 release, distributed by Warner Bros. in North America under the Pokémon USA/4Kids banner that drove the franchise's early theatrical push. The short gathers Pokémon left in Ash's care while their trainers attend a tournament, letting them romp through forest and lake without dialogue beyond their own cries. It became a fan favorite in its own right, prized for its quieter, slice of life tone compared to the feature's bombast, and 35mm material from this release carries the appeal of that theatrical moment.
This cell preserves a frame of Pikachu and Squirtle together, two of the roster given free rein during the vacation sequence. Pikachu remains the franchise's defining mascot, the character most sought by collectors regardless of format, while Squirtle brings the gathered-Pokémon ensemble into the frame alongside it. A pairing of these two speaks to the short's loose, communal structure, where familiar faces share screen time outside the main story's stakes. For collectors, a cell naming both by their shared presence is a direct link to that ensemble spirit.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm positive release print of Pokémon: Pikachu's Vacation (1999).
Gauge
35mm layout with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three frames, all fully visible.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes and no visible tearing or stretching.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs as two white waveform lines beside the picture, with a dashed line above it; no Dolby Digital blocks or DTS timecode are visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue border tint; the dye image looks neutral to slightly warm, with strong greens, yellows and reds and no obvious fading.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the frames look clean.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and the animated style is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
A positive colour print with an optical track and a Dolby-style grey-patterned strip along the edge is consistent with a late-1990s release print of an animated feature.
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 000071054
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
