Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived in theaters in 2001 as Warner Bros. and The Pokémon Company continued to capitalize on the franchise's peak popularity, following Pokémon: The First Movie and Pokémon: The Movie 2000. Built around Molly Hale and the legendary Pokémon Entei, the film pushed the series toward a more emotional, character-driven story than the battle-heavy shorts that preceded it, broadening the saga's appeal to younger audiences and longtime fans alike while sustaining the merchandising wave still fueling Pokémon mania at the turn of the millennium.
This piece comes from a trailer reel promoting that release, a marketing cut meant to stir anticipation ahead of the film's debut. Pairing Molly with Ash and his friends points to the trailer's framing of new and familiar faces together, a common technique for signaling that the third film would expand the cast's world beyond its usual travels. Molly remains a sought-after figure among collectors for being the rare original human character introduced specifically for a Pokémon film, giving this cell added interest as a piece of promotional history tied to that distinction.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip for Pokémon 3: The Movie (2001).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations span each frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames, apparently the same shot repeated across consecutive frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or damaged perforations seen.
Soundtrack
One variable-area optical track, shown as two cyan bands with white waveform lines, runs beside the picture; no Dolby Digital blocks, DTS timecode or SDDS tracks are seen.
Edge print
Faint pink edge print reads "SAFETY" at one corner and "CL" at the other; no key numbers or other codes are legible.
Base & colour
Base looks slightly warm cream along the edges; the dye image shows saturated, balanced colour, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
A little dust or speckle is visible near the edges; no scratches, cue marks or splices are seen at this size.
Picture
Positive image, three consecutive frames of one near-static shot; the animated characters and Pikachu are consistent with a Pokémon film such as the one on record.
Era check
A cyan optical track on safety-base positive stock fits an early-2000s 35mm release print, consistent with a 2001 Pokémon 3 trailer.
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 000071137
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
