Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie 2000, released by Warner Bros. in theaters following the franchise's explosive 1999 debut, arrived at the height of Pokémania in the West. Produced by OLM and distributed under the Nintendo/4Kids pipeline, the film followed Ash's quest to stop an ecological catastrophe involving the legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, with Lugia at the story's center. It cemented the series as a theatrical event rather than a television spinoff, and its soundtrack and merchandising push made it a defining artifact of the Pokémon boom's second wave.
This cell gathers the core traveling party of the era: Ash, the franchise's lead trainer, Misty, the sharp-tongued Water type specialist and fan favorite, Tracey Sketchit, the Pokémon watcher who briefly rounded out the group, and Togepi, Misty's companion creature. A grouping like this reflects the ensemble dynamic that defined the show's early theatrical run, with Tracey's presence marking a specific, limited window in the lineup. For collectors, this is a frame that documents the full traveling cast together, a configuration that didn't last many films beyond this one.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm layout: 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 tears or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track with two parallel white waveform lines runs beside the picture; no Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations, no DTS timecode, no SDDS tracks seen.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear to slightly blue-tinted base against the light panel; dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices visible on the three frames.
Picture
Positive colour image; three consecutive frames of one shot, near-identical. Animated, matching the film on record's anime style; the title cannot be confirmed from the frames.
Era check
Consistent with a release print: analogue optical track on a colour positive stock suits an animated feature from 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 000071305
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
