Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived in 2001 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo's ongoing partnership with 4Kids Entertainment, riding the tail end of the franchise's first great wave of American popularity. Marketed as "Spell of the Unown," the film brought the legendary beast Entei into the spotlight alongside series regulars, and promotional material for its release circulated widely through theaters and tie-in merchandise, including the trading card inserts and trailer reels that introduced audiences to the film ahead of its run.
This cell preserves a promotional pairing of trailer footage and card imagery built around Entei, one of the three legendary beasts and a figure prized by collectors for its rarity and its central role in this particular film's plot. Promotional cards distributed around theatrical releases occupy a particular niche in Pokémon ephemera, straddling cinema and collectible card game culture at once. A trailer cell such as this one functioned as advance promotion, meant to stir anticipation before the feature itself, making Entei's presence here a marker of the film's marketing identity.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print trailer for Pokémon 3: The Movie (2001).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, with three full frames visible on this strip.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape, and cleanly punched with no torn or missing holes visible.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Only a purple number reading '57' is visible along the lower edge; no manufacturer text or safety-film wording is legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Clear base with a teal-blue edge tint and a neutral to cool-leaning dye image; no fading or red shift is evident.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, splices or cue marks are visible across the three frames.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one static shot of a trading card, which is plausible for a Pokémon trailer's card insert.
Era check
Consistent with a 2001 release print: optical tracks plus Dolby Digital blocks and a positive print on a clear base match theatrical trailer prints of that period.
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 000071134
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
