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 feature built around the franchise's rapid global expansion. Following the success of the first film, this installment brought the Legendary Birds and Lugia to American audiences, cementing the franchise's foothold in Western theaters. For many young viewers of the era, it was a formative theater experience, and the film's merchandising and marketing push made it a cultural touchstone of 2000, a snapshot of Pokémon at its commercial and creative peak.
This cell centers on Magikarp, among the earliest and most recognizable Pokémon, long prized by collectors for its humble reputation and its place in the franchise's origins. A migration suggests movement en masse, a detail tying this frame to the natural world the films often depict, where ordinary creatures exist alongside legendary ones. For collectors, a cell naming Magikarp specifically holds appeal precisely because it favors the overlooked over the spectacular, offering a quieter counterpoint to the film's larger mythic set pieces.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three full frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, with clean rounded-rectangle punches and no visible tears or damage.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two white waveform lines sits beside the picture, with a dashed digital-looking line above it and Dolby Digital data blocks between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue tint on the clear base edges; the dye image looks saturated and neutral, with no visible fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames repeat the same shot with only slight differences, consistent with one continuous sequence and with an animated feature like the film on record.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks on a safety-type base is consistent with a 35mm release print from around 2000, the film's release 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 000071314
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
