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 4Kids Entertainment at the height of Pokémania, following the original Pokémon: The First Movie into theaters as a continuation of the franchise's early cinematic push. Built around the legend of the three Legendary Birds and the balance of the Orange Islands, it gave American audiences another large-screen outing for Ash and friends while the television series was still finding its footing stateside. For collectors of early Pokémon cinema, these strips remain a tangible link to that brief, concentrated window when the property was a genuine cultural phenomenon.
This cell draws from a quieter corner of that story, pairing Tobias with the Shamouti Island Elder, figures tied to the film's mythology surrounding the island's guardianship and prophecy. The Elder represents the old customs and warnings woven through the Orange Islands arc, while Tobias is remembered by fans as part of the human thread anchoring that lore to the present. A strip naming these two together points to a narrative or expository moment, the kind of connective scene that carries the film's legend forward rather than its action, and collectors prize such cells for preserving the story's foundation on film.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes cleanly punched with no visible tears.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations and a dashed line along the outer edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral with saturated colour and no visible fading.
Projection history
Not visible in this capture; no scratches, cue marks or splices are seen across the three frames.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-identical shot, and the animated cel look fits the film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a 2000 release print: optical track plus Dolby Digital data blocks matches theatrical 35mm of that period, and the animated picture suits 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 000071321
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
