Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived from Warner Bros. and The Pokémon Company at the height of franchise mania, following hard on the heels of the original Pokémon: The First Movie. Built around the legendary birds and the guardian of the seas, it extended the anime's reach into theaters for a second consecutive year, cementing Pokémon as a genuine cinematic event rather than a passing craze. For collectors, this release marks a high point of the character's crossover into mainstream film culture, with marketing and trailer material circulating widely to build anticipation among fans eager for the next chapter.
This cell comes from the trailer reel itself, the footage built specifically to promote the film ahead of release, and it centers on Lugia, the legendary Pokémon whose presence anchors the movie's mythology. Lugia's inclusion in promotional material signals the creature's central role in the story being sold to audiences, a guardian figure whose rarity and mystique made it one of the most sought-after designs of the era. A trailer cell capturing Lugia preserves a piece of that advance campaign, the moment the character was first introduced to the public imagination.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of the Pokémon: The Movie 2000 trailer.
Gauge
35mm, with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three full frames, shown with a tall, narrow picture area.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched with no visible tears or missing teeth.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two tracks runs beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Edge print reads backwards along the top edge, partly legible as "2383" followed by a partly cut-off character; no other text or key numbers are legible.
Base & colour
The base shows a light blue tint at the edges, and the dye image is strongly saturated purple and blue, with no fade or red shift evident.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the picture and soundtrack areas look clean in this capture.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames are near-identical and run consecutively as one shot, but the picture cannot be confirmed as the film on record from this strip alone.
Era check
Consistent with a release print: Kodak 2383 print stock with an optical track and Dolby Digital blocks fits a 35mm print from around 2000.
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 000071268
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
