Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Treasure Planet arrived from Walt Disney Feature Animation in 2002, a swashbuckling reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island transplanted into a galaxy of solar-driven ships and alien ports. Blending traditional hand-drawn animation with pioneering CGI backgrounds, it was an ambitious, expensive gamble during a transitional era for the studio, released as computer animation was reshaping the industry. Though it underperformed commercially, the film has since earned a devoted following for its visual imagination and earnest coming-of-age story.
This cell centers on Jim Hawkins, the restless young protagonist whose journey from disillusioned dreamer to capable spacefarer anchors the entire film. Collectors seek him out as the emotional throughline of the story, the character whose growth gives the adventure its stakes. A single 35mm frame of Jim Hawkins preserves a physical fragment of that arc, a tangible piece of the print reels once projected in theaters, connecting the viewer directly to the film's original theatrical run.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Treasure Planet (2002)
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no visible tearing or distortion
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, alongside what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block pattern in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge; a DTS timecode line also appears present as a thin stripe
Base shows a light cyan-blue tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a projected print
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the animated imagery is consistent with the 2002 Disney animated feature on record
Era check
The Kodak stock edge code referencing 2002, the cyan base tint, the combined Dolby Digital and optical variable-area soundtrack configuration, and the DTS stripe are all consistent with a theatrical release print from 2002
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 000062793
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
