Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived from Warner Bros. and Nintendo at the height of Pokémania, the second theatrical outing built on the strength of a franchise that had reshaped children's entertainment almost overnight. Known in Japan as Mewtwo Strikes Back companion feature Revelation Lugia, it carried the weight of a global phenomenon into theaters, pairing the show's television roots with a bigger, more ambitious screen story. For a brief window, Pokémon was not just a card game or a cartoon but a cinema event, and this film stands as a record of that peak.
This cell preserves Ash Ketchum alongside Pikachu, the central pairing that anchors the entire franchise on film and television alike. Ash is the trainer whose journey drives the Pokémon narrative forward, and Pikachu remains its most recognizable creature, so a frame uniting them is a frame collectors seek by instinct. Drawn from 35mm film stock, this piece reflects the physical print history of a theatrical release rather than a home video artifact, making it a tangible link to the movie's original run in cinemas during the franchise's defining era.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm layout with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three frames, each showing the same pose, with a fourth partial frame not present.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes; no torn, missing or distorted perforations are visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs between the picture and the lower perforations, with two parallel tracks visible; no Dolby Digital blocks between perforations, DTS timecode or SDDS tracks are visible.
Edge print
Upper edge reads "KODAK 2383" followed by further characters and a purple marker, quoted as read (the strip is emulsion-up, so the text runs backwards).
Base & colour
Pale blue base tint along the edges; the dye image shows saturated, neutral colour with no visible fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the single dark ring on the middle frame's neighbour area is a camera reflection and is ignored.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-identical shot, and the animated style is consistent with the film on record, which is a Pokémon feature.
Era check
Consistent with a 2000-era release print: Kodak 2383 print stock with a variable-area optical track is typical of theatrical prints from that period.
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 000071300
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
