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

FILM FORMAT35mm

YEAR2001

CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003385

FILM NOTES

Pokémon 3: The Movie arrived in 2001 as the third theatrical feature built on the Pokémon franchise, distributed in the United States by Warner Bros. after Pioneer and 4Kids handled the Japanese to English pipeline. It followed the box office success of the first two films and continued the strategy of pairing a main feature with a bonus short, in this case the Pikachu and Pichu segment that gave younger audiences a standalone adventure starring the series mascot and its pre-evolved companions. These theatrical pairings were a hallmark of the franchise's early cinema run, bringing Pikachu back to the big screen at the height of Pokémon's global popularity.

This cell comes from the trailer material promoting that release, placing Pikachu front and center as the franchise's defining figure. Trailer cells like this one were produced and distributed ahead of a film's run, used for promotional display and later retained as collectible ephemera distinct from the feature print itself. Pikachu's presence alone makes this piece desirable, since the character anchors the series' identity and commercial reach. For collectors, owning a trailer fragment tied to Pikachu captures that promotional moment, a small physical remnant of how the character was marketed to audiences in 2001.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

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

Gauge: 35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames, the third being a blank white leader-style frame.
Perforations: Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with rounded-rectangle holes and no tears or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack: A variable-area optical track of two bands runs along one edge beside the picture; no Dolby Digital blocks, DTS timecode or SDDS tracks are seen.
Edge print: "FUJICOLOR" is printed along one edge, reading backwards; no key numbers or other codes are legible in this capture.
Base & colour: Pale cyan-blue edge tint with a clear, neutral base; the dye image looks saturated and unfaded in the picture frames.
Projection history: No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the oval glare on the second frame is a camera reflection and is ignored.
Picture: Positive image; the first two frames are consecutive from one shot, the third is blank white, and the Pikachu artwork fits the Pokémon trailer on record.
Era check: Consistent with a 2001 release print: Fujicolor positive stock and a two-band optical track suit a trailer print of that period.

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 000071160

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