Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived in 2001 from Warner Bros. and 4Kids, part of the franchise's early theatrical run that brought the anime's creatures to American cinemas during peak Pokémania. The film centered on the legendary beast Entei and introduced a storyline darker in tone than its predecessors, dealing with loss and illusion. Trailer material from this period circulated widely as promotional ephemera, distributed to theaters and collectors as part of the marketing push, making surviving 35mm trailer cells a tangible link to how the film was sold to audiences before release.
This cell preserves a promotional moment pairing two of the franchise's most recognizable figures: Charizard, the fan favorite starter evolution prized for its dragon-like design and competitive pedigree, and Entei, the legendary beast central to this film's plot. A trailer cell exists to entice, built to showcase conflict and spectacle in brief, and pairing an established icon like Charizard against the film's mythic antagonist signals the stakes being advertised to audiences. For collectors, this combination of a mainline favorite with a movie exclusive legendary makes the piece a notable artifact of the franchise's cinematic marketing era.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print trailer of Pokémon 3: The Movie (2001).
Gauge
Four perforations per frame along both edges, which fits 35mm; the strip holds three full frames, with the picture area running as tall, narrow frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both the top and bottom edges, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched and uniform.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, with a dashed cue line above it, and grey speckled blocks sit in the gaps between the lower perforations, consistent with Dolby Digital data.
Edge print
A small mirrored code reading "00-OD" beside a purple dot sits along the lower edge; no other manufacturer text or key numbers are legible.
Base & colour
Pale cyan-teal edge bands with a neutral clear base; the dye image shows saturated blues and no obvious fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot of an icy cave scene, and nothing in them contradicts the film on record.
Era check
The optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks and a modern teal-edged stock are consistent with a 2001 35mm release trailer print.
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 000071125
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
