Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived in 2001 as the third theatrical feature built from the franchise, released stateside by Warner Bros. after Toho and Shogakukan handled the original Japanese production. It landed during the height of Pokémon's crossover into American mainstream culture, when trailers, tie-in merchandise, and promotional ephemera circulated as aggressively as the films themselves. The movie's marketing push was substantial, with theatrical trailers and promotional cards distributed to build anticipation ahead of release, part of a broader strategy that made Pokémon one of the defining media properties of its moment.
This cell preserves a promotional appearance of Entei, the Legendary Beast whose role in the film's mythology made it a natural choice for advance marketing. Entei cards and trailer stills from this release are sought by collectors for bridging two worlds, the trading card game and the cinematic property, in a single artifact. A promotional cell like this one functions as a marketing document as much as a frame of film, meant to stir recognition and desire before audiences ever saw the finished feature. For Pokémon collectors, that dual identity, character and campaign, is the draw.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Fujicolor release print of the Pokémon 3: The Movie trailer (2001).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three full frames, shown with the picture area running sideways between the sprocket rows.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn, stretched or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
Variable-area optical track (two tracks, dual-bilateral style) beside the picture, with a Dolby Digital data pattern in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Reads backwards as "FUJICOLOR" along the lower edge; no key numbers, 'SAFETY FILM' text or other codes visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Clear base with a pale cyan-teal tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral, with violet-blue and tan tones and no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
A few tiny specks and one faint hairline mark on the left frame; no cue marks, splices or heavy scratches seen at this size.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames show the same card on the same background, consistent with one held shot, and the Entei Pokémon card is consistent with a Pokémon 3 trailer.
Era check
Consistent with a 2001 release print: Fujicolor stock, a dual optical track and Dolby Digital data between the perforations all fit early-2000s theatrical distribution.
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 000071135
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
