Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived from Warner Bros. and Nintendo at the height of Pokémania, the franchise's second theatrical outing following the original movie's blockbuster success in North America. Built around the legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, it pushed the series further into mainstream event-film territory, backed by heavy promotional tie-ins and a theatrical trailer campaign designed to keep young audiences returning to cinemas. For collectors, trailer material from this period captures Pokémon at its commercial peak, before the franchise settled into a steadier, less culturally dominant rhythm.
This 35mm cell preserves a title card from that very trailer, the announcement frame that presented the film's name to audiences ahead of release. Title cards like this one served as the formal introduction within a trailer reel, marking the moment a promotional sequence identified itself to theater audiences. As a surviving physical artifact from the film's marketing run, it represents a tangible piece of the campaign that reintroduced Pokémon to theaters in 2000, appealing to collectors who value early promotional ephemera over character-specific frames.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched with no tears at this size.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Neutral to slightly cool clear base with a pale blue edge tint; the black field and yellow and blue logo dyes look saturated, with no visible fading.
Projection history
Faint speckling in the black field and a few tiny specks, but no distinct scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one static title card, and the Pokémon: The Movie 2000 logo matches the film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a 2000-era release print: optical analog track plus Dolby Digital blocks matches the late-1990s and early-2000s theatrical standard for a trailer of this film.
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 000071238
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
