Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in theaters as Warner Bros. and Nintendo capitalized on the height of Pokémania, following the franchise's explosive American debut the previous year. Distributed with a promotional push that included this very trailer, the film cemented Pikachu's status as a cultural fixture beyond the games and television series, drawing families and collectors alike into theaters for the character's big-screen theatrical run. It remains a touchstone of that late-nineties into-2000 boom, when Pokémon merchandise and media saturated the marketplace.
This 35mm trailer cell preserves a moment built entirely around Pikachu, the franchise's enduring mascot and the figure most responsible for Pokémon's crossover into mainstream popularity. A close-up promises an intimate, focused presentation of the character, the kind of isolated image trailers use to anchor audience recognition and affection before wider plot or ensemble shots follow. For collectors, a cell centered solely on Pikachu, drawn from promotional material rather than the feature itself, holds particular appeal as a piece of the marketing history that helped launch the character into worldwide visibility.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000 (2000).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations span each frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched; the lower edge shows a few more because the soundtrack sits beside it.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge, with a dashed blue-edged data line and speckled Dolby Digital blocks in the gaps between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a slight blue-grey tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral and fully saturated, with no visible fading.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot of a yellow character, consistent with Pokémon: The Movie 2000 trailer on record.
Era check
The analogue optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks fits a 2000-era 35mm release trailer print, and the picture matches 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 000071239
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
