Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in theaters at the height of Pokémania, distributed by Warner Bros. in North America following Pikachu's original Japanese release. It was the second theatrical entry in the franchise, built to capitalize on a cultural wave that had swept toys, trading cards, and television into a single phenomenon. The trailer campaign surrounding it was itself a cultural artifact, assembled to pull young audiences and their families into theaters with promises of new Pokémon and higher stakes. For a brief window, Pokémon sat at the center of American pop culture, and promotional 35mm material from this run captures that moment in physical form.
This cell comes from that trailer reel and features Pikachu alone, the franchise's defining mascot and the figure most responsible for its crossover appeal. A single-character trailer frame like this serves a simple purpose: establishing recognition before plot or spectacle enters the picture. For collectors, Pikachu material from this exact release is especially sought after, marking the character at the peak of its theatrical prominence rather than in later, more diluted appearances.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
Four perforations per frame along both edges, which fits 35mm; the strip holds three full frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched and undamaged.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical soundtrack runs beside the picture, and a dotted Dolby-style data line sits along its edge; no data blocks are visible between the perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted base with a neutral-to-warm yellow dye image; no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, splices or cue marks are visible on these three frames.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot, and the Pikachu artwork is consistent with the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
A two-track optical track with a Dolby-style data line on a clean positive print is consistent with a release trailer 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 000071276
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
