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National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000003380 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEPokémon 3: The Movie Trailer/Pikachu & Pichu Short Trailer
SCENECleffa, Igglybuff, Smoochum and Furret
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003380

FILM NOTES

Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived in 2001 from Warner Bros. and 4Kids Entertainment, the third theatrical outing built on the Pokémon anime's late-nineties boom. Paired with the Pikachu & Pichu short, it followed the established pattern of pairing a feature with a standalone Pikachu-focused bonus reel, a format fans came to expect each year. These trailer and short reels circulated in theaters ahead of release, building anticipation and showcasing the franchise's growing roster of baby and pre-evolution Pokémon designs, which were a major merchandising draw during this period of the series' expansion.

This cell draws from that promotional material, naming Cleffa, Igglybuff, and Smoochum together, three baby-form Pokémon tied closely to the Pichu short's emphasis on younger, cuter designs within the Pokémon universe. Cleffa and Igglybuff represent the pre-evolved forms of longtime favorites Clefairy and Jigglypuff, while Smoochum serves as the baby form of Jynx, making this grouping appealing to collectors focused on baby Pokémon variants. As a trailer or short-subject cell, it represents a promotional fragment rather than main feature footage, valued for its connection to the Pichu short's distinct roster and its place in early-2000s Pokémon theatrical ephemera.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm release-print strip of the Pokémon 3: The Movie trailer (2001).

Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge, with a dashed, timecode-style line beside it; no Dolby Digital blocks are visible between the perforations on that edge.
Edge print
The word "SAFETY" is printed along the lower edge, reading backwards; no key numbers or other codes are legible.
Base & colour
The base shows a pale blue-green tint at the edges, and the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no obvious fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; the frames look clean.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and the animated look matches an animated Pokémon trailer.
Era check
The safety-base print, optical track and saturated dye image are consistent with an early-2000s 35mm release print of this 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 000071155
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