Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in theaters courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo's partnership with 4Kids Entertainment, riding the first great wave of Pokémania in North America. Following hot on the heels of the original Pokémon: The First Movie, it capitalized on a franchise at its commercial peak, pairing Ash Ketchum's animated adventures with a legendary creature central to the Pokémon mythos. The promotional trailer for this release circulated widely in theaters and on home video, building anticipation among a young but devoted fanbase and marking a moment when the series still commanded major studio marketing muscle.
This cell preserves a strip from that trailer, specifically a moment of Lugia in battle. Lugia, the guardian of the seas and one of the franchise's most sought-after Legendary Pokémon, anchors the film's plot and its marketing push alike. A trailer cell like this one functioned as a teaser fragment, meant to stoke excitement without revealing the full story. For collectors, Lugia material carries particular weight given the character's rarity and iconic status, and a promotional piece tied directly to this creature's screen presence holds appeal beyond the feature film itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
Four perforations per frame along both edges, which is the 35mm layout; the strip holds three frames, each framing a tall narrow picture.
Perforations
Four per frame on both the top and bottom edges, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched and uniform.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two bilateral tracks runs between the picture and the lower perforations, with a dashed cue line above it; the Dolby Digital blocks between the lower perforations look like noise-pattern squares.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue tint along both edges; the dye image looks neutral and saturated in purples and blues, with no visible fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the dark oval on the middle frame is a camera reflection and is ignored.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot with only slight movement between them, and nothing in the picture contradicts the film on record.
Era check
A two-track optical track with Dolby Digital data blocks between the perforations is consistent with a 35mm release trailer print from 2000, when this format was standard.
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 000071232
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
