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

SCENEPichu Brothers

FILM FORMAT35mm

YEAR2001

CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003373

FILM NOTES

Released in 2001 by Warner Bros. in North America under license from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived during the franchise's first great wave of theatrical crossover success, following Pokémon: The First Movie and Pokémon: The Movie 2000. Paired with it was the short "Pikachu & Pichu," one of the charming bonus animations Pokémon USA produced to screen before the features, giving audiences a lighter, dialogue-light companion piece distinct from the main story's weightier themes. These trailer and short reels circulated through theaters and promotional channels, making surviving 35mm material from this era a scarce link to the franchise's theatrical peak.

This cell preserves a moment from "Pikachu & Pichu," centered on the Pichu Brothers, Big Pichu and Little Pichu, sibling characters whose dynamic anchors the short's gentle comedy and emotional beats. As pre-evolutions of Pikachu, the Pichu brothers hold particular appeal for collectors tracing early Pokémon media's expansion of its core cast beyond the main games. A short preceding a feature film serves as its own self-contained story, and material from it offers a rarer physical artifact than frames from the primary movie, since shorts received less widespread theatrical and home video attention.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm Fujicolor release print of the Pokémon 3 Pikachu & Pichu trailer.

Gauge: 35mm: four perforations span each frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations: Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched and uniform across the strip.
Soundtrack: A variable-area optical track runs along the lower edge as two parallel tracks, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print: "FUJICOLOR" and "CL" are printed along the lower edge, reading backwards; no key numbers or other codes are legible in this capture.
Base & colour: The base looks clear with a pale blue-green edge tint, and the dye image looks vivid and neutral, with no obvious fading or colour shift.
Projection history: None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices are visible across the three frames.
Picture: Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one continuous shot, and the cartoon characters match a Pokémon Pikachu and Pichu trailer.
Era check: Consistent: Fujicolor stock with Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations plus an optical track is typical of a 2001 35mm release print.

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 000071148

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