Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in theaters courtesy of Warner Bros. and 4Kids Entertainment at the height of Pokémania, when the franchise's leap from television and trading cards to the multiplex was still a novel proposition. Built around the legendary bird Lugia and the gathering of elemental titans, the film served as the second theatrical outing for the series and a major test of whether the craze had staying power. It did, and the picture remains a touchstone for collectors who trace the brand's early cinematic ambitions, a promotional trailer strip from the release offering a tangible fragment of that theatrical push.
This cell preserves a glimpse of Lugia in battle, the guardian of the seas whose scale and mythic stature made it one of the era's most sought-after Pokémon. As a trailer fragment, it comes from material designed to stir anticipation ahead of release, a condensed sampling of the feature's spectacle meant to draw audiences into theaters. For collectors, Lugia's presence alone carries weight, representing the franchise's first great legendary showcased on the big screen, and a battling moment speaks directly to the creature's role as the film's central force of conflict and wonder.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release trailer print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes, no torn or distorted holes seen.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted base along the edges; the dye image in the frames looks warm, with saturated yellows and oranges and no obvious fading.
Projection history
A few tiny dark specks on the picture area; no lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot and show a drawn, animated flying figure, consistent with the animated film on record.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks on a 35mm positive is consistent with a release print from around 2000, the year of the film on record.
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 000071234
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
