Abstract: In order to interpolate each instantaneous picture skipped between a preceding and a succeeding picture in a moving picture signal comprising a movement vector signal, a decoder comprises a movement region detector responsive to the moving picture signal for detecting a movement region for a moving or movable body in each of the preceding and the succeeding pictures, a vector selector for selecting a representative movement vector for each movement region from individual movement vectors reproduced from the movement vector signal, and an interpolator responsive to the movement region and the representative movement vector for interpolating the skipped picture between the preceding and the succeeding pictures. Preferably, the decoder is a predictive decoder for a moving picture signal of the above-mentioned type and including a prediction error signal for the movement vector signal.