The Powerpuff Girls Movie was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2002, an expansion of the Cartoon Network series created by Craig McCracken into a theatrical origin story. The film arrived at a high point for the franchise, translating its candy colored, hyper stylized action comedy to the big screen and introducing Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup to audiences beyond television. It stands as one of the more notable Cartoon Network theatrical efforts of the early 2000s, a period when the network was testing how far its properties could travel.
This cell comes from the trailer reel, the promotional run of 35mm prepared to announce the film ahead of release. Trailer cells like this one are prized by collectors for capturing a title at the moment of its theatrical introduction, before the feature itself had even opened. With all three sisters present, the cell represents the team as a unit rather than any single character, reflecting how the Girls were marketed collectively, each distinct but inseparable from the trio. For fans of the series, that pairing of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup together is the core image the franchise was built on.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip for The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three full frames of picture.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes; no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A dark purple variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, with a dashed white line pattern above it, and square speckled Dolby Digital data blocks sit between the perforations on the opposite edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Pale blue-tinted base at the edges, with the dye image looking neutral to slightly warm in the picture area and no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and the cartoon characters are consistent with The Powerpuff Girls Movie trailer.
Era check
Consistent with a 2002 release print: an analog optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations is the standard mix for that period.
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 000071082
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
