SCENEWild Pokémon Being Attacked/Sam, Ash and Pikachu
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2002
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003435
FILM NOTES
Pokémon 4Ever (released in Japan in 2001 as Celebi: A Timeless Encounter, and in North America in 2002 by Miramax and 4Kids Entertainment) marked the franchise's fourth theatrical feature and a notable creative pivot, folding in themes of conservation and time travel while reintroducing Ash's hometown rival-turned-friend, Sammy Oak, grandfather of Professor Oak. The film arrived during Pokémon's continued dominance of youth media in the early 2000s, and promotional trailer material from this period is prized for capturing the series mid-transition, bridging the original Kanto cast with new narrative ground.
This cell comes from trailer footage depicting wild Pokémon under attack, with Sam, Ash, and Pikachu present in the moment. Trailer cells like this one serve as a promise of the film's stakes, assembled to stir anticipation rather than narrate plot directly. The presence of Sandslash, Stantler, and Furret alongside Butterfree points to the forest ecosystem central to the story's environmental urgency. Collectors value this grouping for pairing Ash and Pikachar with Sammy Oak, a rare second-generation Oak appearance, within a scene emphasizing the film's wildlife-in-peril theme.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release-print trailer strip of Pokémon 4Ever (2002).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames, two near-identical and one differing, lying sideways on the panel.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched with no visible tearing or distortion at this size.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge beside the picture, with a Dolby Digital data pattern visible in the gaps between the perforations on the other edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear to faintly bluish base along the edges, with saturated, neutral dye colours in the picture and no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen; the dark ring on the third frame is a camera reflection and is ignored.
Picture
Positive colour image; the first two frames are near-identical consecutive frames of one shot, the third differs, and the animated style fits the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Consistent with an early-2000s 35mm release print: an optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks between perforations matches theatrical prints of that period, and the animated picture fits the title.
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 000071210
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
