Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie

Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie (劇場版カードキャプターさくら) is a Japanese anime film directed by Morio Asaka and produced by Madhouse and Bandai Visual. The film is based on the anime TV series adaptation of Clamp's Cardcaptor Sakura manga series. Written by Nanase Ohkawa, Clamp's head writer, it was released in Japanese theaters on August 21, 1999. It was the Feature Film Award at the 1999 Animation Kobe. A sequel, Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card, followed in 2000. Set between the first and second seasons of the television series, the film shows Sakura and her friends going to Hong Kong where they encounter a vengeful spirit who was hurt by Clow Reed in the past.

Production
The same production staff that produced the anime TV series adaptation of Cardcaptor Sakura also produced Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie. The film, animated by Madhouse and produced by Bandai Visual, was directed by Morio Asaka, written by Nanase Ohkawa of Clamp, and featured character design by Kumiko Takahashi, who based the designs on Clamp's original illustrations. The art director for the film was Katsufumi Hariu, and there were three animation directors: Hitoshi Ueda, Kumiko Takahashi and Kunihiko Sakurai. The music was produced by Takayuki Negishi, with Masafumi Mima as the sound director.

Media releases
Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie was released on VHS, LD and DVD in Japan by Bandai Visual on February 25, 2000. The film was re-released on November 25, 2000 on VHS, May 25, 2007 on DVD in a two-disc set with Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card, and on December 22, 2009 on DVD. Nelvana released an English dubbed version of the film, retaining the same name and story changes as its main Cardcaptors dub. As with the television series, Pioneer Entertainment released the film without editing, including the original Japanese audio and English subtitles. Both the edited and unedited versions were released on VHS and DVD on March 26, 2002.

The theme song for the film is "Tōi Kono Machi de" (遠いこの街で) by Naomi Kaitani. The single containing the song was released on August 11, 1999 by Victor Entertainment. The film's original soundtrack was released on August 25, 1999 by Victor Entertainment containing one disc and 30 tracks.