Pokémon 3: The Movie was distributed in the United States by Warner Bros. in 2001, following Pokémon: The First Movie and Pokémon: The Movie 2000 as the third theatrical entry in the franchise's early run. It arrived during the height of Pokémania, when the anime, trading cards, and merchandise dominated youth culture worldwide. The film centered on the legendary Entei and introduced a storyline built around grief and imagination, giving the series a more emotional register than earlier entries. Promotional trailers for the movie circulated widely in theaters and on home video, building anticipation among younger audiences and collectors alike who followed the franchise's expanding mythology.
This cell comes from the film's trailer and centers on Entei, one of the three Legendary Beasts and a figure of considerable draw for Pokémon collectors given its starring role in this particular movie. Trailer cells like this one served to preview the film's scope and stakes before audiences ever saw the finished feature, offering an early glimpse of the legendary creature central to the story. The description of Entei attacking marks a moment of action drawn from that promotional material, a fragment of the footage used to generate excitement for the character ahead of the movie's release.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Fujicolor release print of the Pokémon 3: The Movie trailer (2001).
Gauge
35mm layout, four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three full frames, with the picture area running as portrait-oriented blocks across the strip.
Perforations
Four per frame on both the top and bottom edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two tracks runs along the bottom edge, with a dashed line above it; Dolby Digital blocks are visible in the gaps between the bottom perforations.
Edge print
The bottom edge reads "FUJICOLOR" backwards; no key numbers or other codes are legible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base shows a pale cyan-teal tint along the edges, with a saturated blue-and-pink dye image and no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; one small speck sits on the top edge band, and the ring on the third frame is the phone reflection.
Picture
Positive colour image, three consecutive frames of the same animated shot with slight movement; the animation style is consistent with the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Consistent with an early-2000s release print: Fujicolor stock, a two-track optical track and Dolby Digital blocks between perforations fit a 2001 theatrical trailer.
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 000071101
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
