National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING

AUTHENTIC

CROWN CERTIFIED

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MOVIEPokémon 3: The Movie Trailer/Pikachu & Pichu Short Trailer

SCENEPikachu & Pichu - Title Card

FILM FORMAT35mm

YEAR2001

CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003366

FILM NOTES

Released in 2001 by Warner Bros. in North America under license from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived as the third theatrical entry in the franchise, paired in its promotional run with the short Pikachu & Pichu. The feature carried forward the momentum of the Pokémon boom of the late 1990s, a period when the property dominated toy aisles, television schedules, and trading card shops alike. The accompanying short, built around Pikachu and the newly introduced Pichu, gave young audiences a lighter companion piece to the main film's story, and it marked an early theatrical appearance for Pichu as the series continued to expand its roster.

This cell comes from the title card marking the Pikachu & Pichu short, a frame whose purpose was to announce the piece by name before the story proper began. Pikachu, the franchise's defining mascot, appears alongside Pichu, its newly debuted pre-evolution, a pairing that made this short a notable early showcase for the character. For collectors, a title card cell holds value as a marker of beginnings, the moment a film formally presents itself, and here it ties directly to the introduction of Pichu into the wider Pokémon screen canon.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm Fujicolor release print of the Pokémon 3 / Pikachu & Pichu short 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, with cleanly punched rounded-rectangle holes and no tears or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack: A variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations; no DTS timecode or SDDS tracks seen.
Edge print: Only the manufacturer name FUJICOLOR is legible along the lower edge, reading mirrored; no key numbers or safety-film text are visible in this capture.
Base & colour: Pale cyan-blue base tint along the edges, with a clean dye image and no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history: Not visible in this capture beyond a few fine hairline marks near the top-left perforation; no splices or cue marks seen.
Picture: Positive image, three consecutive frames of one held shot, and the Pikachu & Pichu logo card matches the short trailer on record.
Era check: Fujicolor stock with an optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks fits a 2001 35mm release print, so the film on record is plausible.

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 000071141

Original Film Capture As received

The film strip as photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation

Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size