Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in theaters at the height of Pokémania, distributed by Warner Bros. as Warner Home Video and The Pokémon Company pushed the franchise's big-screen ambitions following the success of the first film. Promotional trailers from this period circulated widely, building anticipation among a young but fiercely devoted audience and cementing Pikachu's role as the face of the entire enterprise. These theatrical trailer reels are scarce survivors, often discarded once their promotional run ended, which gives them a quiet significance separate from the feature film itself.
This cell comes from that trailer reel, a promotional fragment rather than a scene from the finished movie. Pikachu, the franchise's central mascot, anchors the identification, and collectors prize material built around the character above nearly any other figure in the Pokémon library. A trailer cell like this represents the marketing machine behind the film, the images chosen to sell the experience before audiences ever sat down to watch it. Owning it means holding a piece of that promotional moment, tied directly to Pikachu's presence in the campaign for this theatrical release.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print trailer for Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three full frames, shown in a vertical layout on a backlit panel.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible between the lower perforations. No DTS timecode or SDDS tracks are visible in this capture.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
The base looks clear with a light blue tint at the edges, and the dye image is neutral with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
One faint thin horizontal line crosses the middle frame, and a few tiny specks show on the frames. No splices or cue marks are visible.
Picture
Positive image. All three frames repeat the same shot with only slight movement between them, and the artwork is consistent with the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
A variable-area optical track with Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations is consistent with a 35mm release print of a 2000-era trailer.
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 000071275
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
