MOVIEPokémon 3: The Movie Trailer/Pikachu & Pichu Short Trailer
SCENEPikachu & Pichu - Title Card
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003370
FILM NOTES
FILM NOTES
Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived in 2001 as the third theatrical feature built from the Pokémon franchise, distributed by Warner Bros. in North America following 4Kids' dub work on the television series. It continued the brief but lucrative era when Pokémon films commanded real box office attention, pairing the main feature with a short, in this case the Pikachu & Pichu bonus short that became a staple inclusion on home video and promotional reels. This cell comes from the trailer materials for that pairing, a 35mm artifact from the marketing push rather than the feature print itself.
The short centers on Pikachu alongside Pichu and the Pichu Bros, characters prized by collectors for representing the franchise's gentler, slice-of-life side away from battle narratives. Elekid's presence rounds out the cast as a familiar Electric-type face from the same family line. A title card cell marks the short's own identity within the larger release, the moment where the picture announces itself before the story proper begins. For collectors, these cards hold value as the clearest link between the promotional campaign and the finished short, a single frame standing in for the whole.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon 3: The Movie Pikachu & Pichu short trailer (2001).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames in a narrow, tall picture area.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with rounded-rectangle holes of uniform shape along the whole strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two tracks runs beside the picture, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower perforations.
Edge print
The word "SAFETY" is printed along the lower edge, reading backwards; no key numbers or other manufacturer text are visible.
Base & colour
The base shows a pale cyan-blue tint at both edges, and the dye image looks neutral, with strong yellow and purple colours and no visible fading.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices are seen at this size; the only marks are a camera reflection on the second and third frames.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot, with the third showing heavy motion blur, and the animated look fits the film on record.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks on a safety-base print is consistent with a 2001 35mm release trailer for an animated feature.
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 000071145
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
