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/4Kids at the height of Pokémania, following the franchise's record-setting theatrical debut the prior year. Built around the Legendary birds and Lugia, the film extended the series' reach from television into a global box office event, cementing Ash Ketchum's journey as a cultural fixture for a generation of young viewers. Its theatrical run included exclusive promotional cards and tie-in merchandise, making surviving film material from this release especially sought after by collectors of early Pokémon memorabilia.
This cell preserves a gathering moment early in the Shamouti arc, where Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Tracey, Togepi, and the island characters Melody and Carol come together. Melody and Carol are notable as characters unique to this film, giving them a narrower place in merchandise history than the core television cast. For collectors, a scene uniting travelers with local islanders signals the film's setup phase, the calm gathering before its larger legendary-creature plot unfolds, and such ensemble cells are valued for capturing multiple named characters within a single frame of movie history.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000, with Dolby Digital, optical and DTS tracks.
Gauge
35mm, with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three frames, all fully visible.
Perforations
Four perforations per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shaped and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
A Dolby Digital data block sits in the gaps between the perforations on one edge, with a variable-area optical track and a dashed DTS timecode line running beside the picture.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue clear base at the edges, with a neutral dye image and no red shift or fading seen.
Projection history
None seen at this size; the round ring marks on the third frame are camera reflections in the base, not wear.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames repeat the same shot with only slight differences, and the animated look matches an anime Pokémon film such as the one on record.
Era check
Dolby Digital blocks, an optical track and a DTS timecode line on a positive print fit a 2000 theatrical release print.
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 000071320
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
