Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived in 2001 courtesy of Warner Bros. and 4Kids Entertainment, the third theatrical outing built on the anime phenomenon that had swept American pop culture just a few years earlier. Distributed alongside a wave of merchandise, trading cards, and television tie-ins, the film represented the franchise at the height of its first great wave of mainstream popularity. Trailer prints from this period are scarce, as promotional reels were typically struck in limited numbers and recalled or discarded after theatrical runs, making surviving fragments a window into how the studio marketed the series to audiences beyond its core fanbase.
This cell preserves Cyndaquil, the Fire-type starter Pokémon beloved for its design and its ties to the Johto region introduced in the games. As a trailer piece, the frame comes from promotional material meant to entice audiences ahead of release, distinct from the feature print itself. Collectors prize Cyndaquil material for its relative scarcity compared to Pikachu-centric ephemera, and for the character's enduring popularity among fans of the second generation. A single figure on 35mm stock, drawn from marketing rather than the film proper, offers a tangible artifact of how Pokémon's cinematic ambitions were sold to a new generation of moviegoers.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release-print trailer for Pokémon 3: The Movie (2001).
Gauge
Four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames; this layout is 35mm.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with rounded-rectangle holes; the lower edge perforations sit between the soundtrack and the edge band.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, and Dolby Digital data blocks appear as grey patterned squares in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Pale cyan-tinted base with a bright blue dye image; no warm or red shift and no fading seen.
Projection history
None seen at this size; the frames are clean, with no scratches, cue marks or splices visible.
Picture
Positive colour image, three consecutive frames from one shot; the cyan-blue animation is consistent with an animated feature trailer, which fits the film on record.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks on a cyan-tinted base is consistent with a 2001 release-print trailer from 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 000071119
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
