Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived from Warner Bros. and 4Kids Entertainment as the franchise's second theatrical release, riding the crest of Pokémania's peak in the West. Built around the Legendary Birds and the balance-restoring Lugia, it pulled American audiences back into theaters only months after the first film's success, cementing Pokémon as a genuine box office force rather than a passing craze. Its soundtrack and tie-in merchandise further embedded the movie in millennial pop culture, making it a touchstone for collectors of early Pokémon theatrical memorabilia.
This 35mm cell preserves a moment shared by Maren and Pikachu, pairing the franchise's enduring mascot with one of the film's human cast members. Maren appears in the story's island setting, and her scenes with Pikachu speak to the quieter, character-driven threads woven between the film's larger mythological stakes. Collectors value these human-Pikachu pairings for their rarity relative to the battle-heavy frames more commonly preserved, offering a different register of the film's narrative, one centered on companionship rather than spectacle.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
Perforations sit in four-per-frame groups on both edges, which reads as 35mm, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four perforations per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle shapes; no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two parallel waveform tracks runs along one edge, and a dotted blue-purple line sits beside it; Dolby Digital blocks between the lower perforations look like grey speckled squares.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Pale blue edge margins with a neutral clear base; the dye image shows full saturated colour, with no fading or red shift seen.
Projection history
None seen at this size; the frames look clean, with no scratches, cue marks or splices.
Picture
Positive image, three consecutive frames from one shot with almost no change between them; the cartoon artwork is consistent with a Pokémon film.
Era check
Consistent with a 2000-era release print: it carries an optical track plus Dolby Digital data blocks, which suits a theatrical print of the film on record.
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 000071310
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
