Pokémon 4Ever arrived in 2002 as the fourth theatrical feature from the franchise, distributed by Warner Bros. in North America following its original Japanese release by Toho the same year. It marked a notable chapter for the series, introducing Celebi, the Mythical Time Travel Pokémon, to the wider audience and tying the film's plot to themes of forest preservation and the bond between past and present. As with earlier entries, the movie was supported by a theatrical trailer campaign designed to build anticipation ahead of release, giving fans an early glimpse of the story's key figures.
This cell, Butterfree In The Forest, comes from that promotional reel and centers on Celebi, a character prized by collectors for its rarity within the series' mythology and its central role in 4Ever's narrative. A forest setting ties naturally to Celebi's story, which unfolds amid woodland surroundings tied to time and memory. As a trailer cell, this frame belongs to the brief visual language used to introduce audiences to the film before its release, a single preserved moment meant to represent the larger story still to come.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon 4Ever (2002).
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 tears or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs inboard of the lower perforations as two white waveform bands, with a dashed line above them; the data between the lower perforations looks like Dolby Digital blocks.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear, neutral base with a light blue tint at the edges; the dye image shows saturated colour with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot, and the butterfly-type creatures match the Pokémon content of the film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a 2002 35mm release trailer print: it has an analogue optical track plus Dolby Digital data between the perforations, on a clear polyester-type base.
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 000071201
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
