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 digital rendering to reimagine Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure as interstellar swashbuckling. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, the studio's veterans behind The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, it represented one of traditional animation's last major stands before the industry pivoted fully to CGI. Despite its ambition and visual daring, it underperformed at the box office, later earning reappraisal as a cult favorite among animation enthusiasts and collectors of the studio's transitional era.
This cell pairs Jim Hawkins, the restless teenage protagonist whose journey anchors the entire film, with Morph, the small shapeshifting creature who became an instant fan favorite for his loyalty and playful nature. Collectors prize material featuring this duo because it captures the emotional core of the story, the bond between a searching young man and a companion who represents warmth and comic relief amid cosmic adventure. A 35mm cell of this pairing preserves a physical fragment of that relationship as it existed in the finished theatrical print.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital theatrical release print of Treasure Planet (2002).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the bottom edge, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern; Dolby Digital data blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the bottom edge, consistent with a Dolby Digital SR print.
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-teal tint along the edges; the dye image in the picture area reads as warm and saturated with no visible fading.
Projection history
No scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the animated character style is consistent with the Disney animated feature on record.
Era check
The combination of a Dolby Digital SR optical track with variable-area backup and the blue-edged polyester base stock 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 000062822
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
