Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived in 2001 courtesy of Warner Bros. and 4Kids Entertainment, riding the tail end of the first great wave of Pokémon mania in the West. It followed the franchise's theatrical run after two prior features had already proven the series' pull at the box office, and its marketing push, including trailer reels distributed to theaters, kept the property visible to a generation of young fans and collectors who were already deep into cards, games, and merchandise crossover.
This particular cell comes from promotional trailer material built around Entei, the legendary beast at the center of the film's plot. Entei's appeal to collectors rests on its rarity in the mythology, a Pokémon whose mythic status made it a natural choice for tie-in promotion, including the trading card produced alongside the movie. A trailer cell like this one functioned as advance advertising, a single frame meant to stir anticipation ahead of release, tying the character's promotional card presence directly to the reel used in theaters.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of the Pokémon 3: The Movie trailer (2001).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape, and cleanly punched with no tears or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, appearing as two parallel tracks, with no Dolby Digital blocks, DTS timecode or SDDS tracks visible.
Edge print
Only a small purple 'CL' is legible along the lower edge, reading reversed; no 'SAFETY FILM' text or key numbers are visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base shows a light blue-green tint along both edges, and the picture dye looks neutral to cool with no red shift or fading seen.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen; the dark oval ring on the right frame is a camera reflection, not wear.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames repeat the same still of a trading card on a lavender sky, and a card named Entei fits a Pokémon film.
Era check
Consistent: a blue-tinted base with an optical track and no digital data suits an early-2000s 35mm release print, though the optical track alone does not date it.
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 000071133
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
