Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived in 2001 courtesy of Warner Bros. and 4Kids Entertainment, the third theatrical outing built from the franchise during its first great wave of American popularity. Promotional trailer material from this period circulated through theaters and licensed print channels, giving collectors a secondary category of film relics distinct from the feature itself: previews assembled to build anticipation ahead of release. These trailer cuts often drew on key action beats meant to showcase a Pokémon's character and capability in just a few seconds of screen time.
This cell preserves a moment of Phanpy attacking, a scene built around one of the more approachable and well liked Pokémon of the era, prized by collectors for its round, friendly design and its comparative rarity in feature film appearances. An attacking pose signals energy and purpose, a glimpse chosen for a trailer precisely because it promises action. As a trailer fragment, this piece sits apart from the finished film, a relic of how Pokémon 3 was marketed to audiences before they ever saw the full story.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon 3: The Movie (2001).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three full frames, shown sideways on the panel.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle punches, evenly spaced and cleanly cut, with no visible tears or stretched holes.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge, and the gaps between the perforations on that side carry a gray speckled data pattern consistent with Dolby Digital blocks.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Pale blue-tinted base at both edges, with a neutral clear picture area and vivid, unfaded dye colours in the image.
Projection history
A fine hairline scratch near the top of the first frame and a few small specks are visible; no splices or cue marks seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames are near-identical consecutive frames of one shot, and nothing in them contradicts a Pokémon trailer.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital data between the perforations on a blue-tinted base fits a 2001 theatrical release print, so the stock matches 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 000071110
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
