SCENEAsh, Sam and Butterfree/Butterfree In The Forest
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2002
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003429
FILM NOTES
Pokémon 4Ever arrived in 2002 as the fourth theatrical entry in the franchise, released by Warner Bros. in North America following Toho's domestic run, with Kids' WB and The Pokémon Company driving a promotional campaign that reached television and print well ahead of the film itself. Trailer material from this period is scarce in physical form, as studios rarely preserved 35mm promotional reels once a film completed its theatrical window, making surviving trailer cells a distinct category from the feature print itself.
This piece draws from that promotional reel and pairs Ash Ketchum with a younger version of Professor Oak, identified here as Sammy, alongside Butterfree, a tie connecting past and present within the story. Butterfree carries particular weight for longtime collectors, recalling Ash's earliest companions and the series' recurring themes of growth and parting. A forest setting places the moment within the natural world the franchise returns to often, and as a trailer cell, it represents the film's early marketing push rather than a frame from the finished theatrical print.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon 4Ever Movie Trailer (2002).
Gauge
35mm layout, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames, the first partly cut off at the left end.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with rounded-rectangle holes and no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs as two parallel bands beside the picture, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a slight blue-cyan tint along the edges; the dye image looks neutral and saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
One short thin green scratch mark on the middle frame; no splices, cue marks or other wear seen.
Picture
Positive image; the two right-hand frames repeat the same shot, the left frame is a different shot, and the characters and creatures match a Pokémon animated film.
Era check
Consistent: optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks on a clear-base 35mm print fits an early-2000s theatrical trailer, and the animation style suits Pokémon 4Ever.
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 000071204
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
