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 big-budget gamble that fused hand-drawn artistry with early digital effects to reimagine Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure as interstellar swashbuckling. Released during a period when traditional animation was losing ground to computer-generated features, it stood as one of the studio's last major hand-drawn efforts, ambitious in scope and design even as it struggled at the box office. Its reputation has grown steadily among animation enthusiasts who admire its visual imagination and heartfelt storytelling.
This cell centers on Jim Hawkins, the restless young protagonist whose journey from troubled teenager to capable spacefarer anchors the entire film. Collectors seek Hawkins material because he represents the emotional core of the story, a coming-of-age figure central to Disney's science-fiction retelling. A single-character reel like this one distills that arc without surrounding context, offering a direct connection to the character's presence on screen. Such cells serve as intimate artifacts of production, preserving one figure's frames from a film prized for its craftsmanship and ambition.
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; punched edges appear clean with no torn or deformed holes visible
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible on one edge, alongside what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip between the perforations on the same edge; a DTS timecode line also appears present as a thin stripe near the optical track
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with modern safety stock; dye image reads as neutral with no visible red shift or fading
Projection history
Light vertical scratches are visible running through all three frames, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the animated imagery is consistent with the CGI-animated feature film on record
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital data blocks, DTS timecode stripe, variable-area optical track, and blue-tinted polyester safety base is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s, matching the 2002 release date 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 000062813
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
