MOVIEPokémon 3: The Movie Trailer/Pikachu & Pichu Short Trailer
SCENECleffa, Igglybuff, Smoochum and Furret
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003381
FILM NOTES
Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived in 2001 as Warner Bros. and The Pokémon Company continued the franchise's theatrical run following the success of the first two films. Distributed alongside the Pikachu & Pichu short, this release came at the height of Pokémon's global popularity, when trailers and promotional reels circulated widely to theaters and collectors alike. These early trailer materials captured the anime's expanding roster of Baby and Dark-type Pokémon, reflecting Nintendo's push to diversify merchandising and screen presence beyond the core cast.
This cell gathers Cleffa, Igglybuff, and Smoochum, three Baby Pokémon introduced to broaden the series' early generations, alongside Houndour, a Dark-type often tied to moodier or more dynamic sequences. Their pairing suggests a promotional moment meant to showcase variety, pairing gentler, nursery-adjacent characters with a tougher, pack-oriented species. Trailer cells like this one hold appeal for collectors because they preserve ephemeral advertising material rather than feature footage, offering a glimpse of how the franchise marketed its growing cast during a pivotal theatrical era.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print trailer strip for Pokémon 3: The Movie (2001).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames, the strip lying sideways on the panel.
Perforations
Four per frame on both the picture-side and sound-side edges, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with no visible tears or missing holes.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge, appearing as multiple parallel white waveform bands, with small grey-speckled blocks in the gaps between the sound-side perforations.
Edge print
A small mirrored code reading "OD-00" beside a purple dot sits near the lower edge; no manufacturer name or SAFETY FILM text is legible.
Base & colour
Clear base with a pale blue-teal tint along the edges; the dye image in the frames looks saturated and neutral, with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; the only marks are glossy reflections from the backlit panel, not wear.
Picture
Positive image. The first frame is a different shot from the second and third, which look near-identical, so the frames are not one continuous shot; the picture is animated, which fits the film on record.
Era check
The optical track with speckled data blocks between perforations suggests a digital-plus-optical release print, which is consistent with a 2001 theatrical 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 000071156
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
