Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in theaters courtesy of Warner Bros. and The Pokémon Company at the height of the franchise's first great wave of popularity, when Pokémania had fully crossed from Japan into American pop culture. Following the original movie's success, this second theatrical feature kept the momentum going, and its trailer played a significant role in building anticipation among fans who had grown up with the games and television series. The promotional materials from this period remain prized by collectors as artifacts of that cultural peak.
This cell comes from the trailer itself, a format meant to tease and excite rather than narrate the full story. Pikachu, the franchise's enduring mascot, appears here in a frame built for promotion, a moment meant to draw audiences into theaters rather than advance plot. For collectors, Pikachu cells carry particular weight since the character stands as the face of the entire franchise. A trailer cell like this one captures the marketing history of the film, a physical remnant of how the movie was sold to its audience.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release-print strip from the Pokémon: The Movie 2000 trailer.
Gauge
35mm layout, with four perforations spanning each frame on both edges; the strip holds three full frames.
Perforations
Four per frame along both edges, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or damaged perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two tracks runs beside the picture, and speckled Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a pale blue-cyan tint at the edges; the dye image is warm and orange-shifted in the left frame, and the middle and right frames look washed out and bleached.
Projection history
A few fine specks and hairline marks show on the right frame; no splices, cue marks or heavy scratches seen at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot, and the cel-animated yellow character with lightning-bolt tail is consistent with the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Dual optical track with Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations is consistent with a year-2000 35mm release print, and the animation style fits a Pokémon title.
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 000071283
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
