The Powerpuff Girls Movie arrived in 2002 from Warner Bros., expanding Craig McCracken's Cartoon Network series into a theatrical origin story for Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. The accompanying trailer campaign introduced general audiences to the show's distinct visual style and tone, blending candy-colored design with genuine action and humor. For a property built on television syndication, a theatrical trailer run marked a notable step, signaling the studio's confidence in the franchise's crossover appeal beyond its original young viewership.
This 35mm cell preserves a close-up of Professor Utonium, the girls' creator and father figure, whose accidental use of Chemical X sets the entire mythology in motion. Trailer material featuring him speaks to the film's emphasis on origin and family before spectacle, a quieter counterpoint to the action beats fans expect. Collectors value Utonium cells for their relative scarcity compared to the trio's imagery, and for the character study they offer: a reminder that beneath the superheroics lies a story rooted in creation, responsibility, and home.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of The Powerpuff Girls Movie trailer (2002).
Gauge
Four perforations per frame along both edges, which matches 35mm; the strip holds three frames, with a fourth cut off at each end.
Perforations
Four per frame on both the top and bottom edges, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no tears or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track (two tracks) runs inside the lower perforations, with a dashed line above it, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a pale cyan-blue tint at the outer edges; the dye image looks neutral to slightly warm with no obvious fading.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices are visible on these frames.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot with only slight movement between them, and the stylised cartoon artwork fits an animated film like the one on record.
Era check
Dolby Digital blocks with an analogue optical track on a clear-base print fit a 2002 theatrical release print, so this is consistent with 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 000071078
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
