Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in theaters as Warner Bros. and Nintendo capitalized on the franchise's first wave of American success, following hot on the heels of the original Pokémon: The First Movie. Known in Japan as Revelation Lugia, it expanded the series mythology with Legendary Pokémon and raised the stakes of the Ash and Pikachu partnership for a theatrical audience hungry for more. Trailers for this release circulated widely in early 2000, building anticipation through footage cut specifically for promotional use, distinct from the final feature.
This cell comes from that promotional reel, a 35mm trailer fragment preserving a moment tied to the film's plot: Ash and Pikachu obtaining one of the orbs central to the Legendary Pokémon storyline. Ash remains the franchise's enduring protagonist, and Pikachu its signature companion, making any pairing of the two a natural point of collector interest. A trailer cell like this one offers a glimpse of how the film was marketed before release, capturing a story beat chosen to entice audiences rather than a frame from the finished picture itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print trailer for 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, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs beside the picture as two bright waveform bands, and the gaps between the lower perforations carry grainy block patterns, consistent with Dolby Digital data.
Edge print
A short purple key number reads "2383" with a digit beside it, mirrored, along the top edge; no other manufacturer text is legible.
Base & colour
The base shows a pale blue tint along the edges and the dye image is saturated and neutral, with no obvious fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; the one dark ring on the middle frame is a camera reflection and is ignored.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-identical shot, and the picture is a Pokémon animation that matches the film on record.
Era check
The optical track with Dolby Digital blocks and the 2383 print stock code are consistent with a release 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 000071278
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
