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 character work with digital environments 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 more ambitious late efforts, blending classic storytelling craft with then-new production tools. Though it underperformed commercially, it has since gathered a devoted following for its visual imagination and score, making surviving film artifacts from its production desirable to collectors of animation history.
This cell carries the name Pirate Invasion, marking a pivotal turning point in the story's plot, the moment when hidden threat becomes open conflict aboard the ship. Such a sequence would represent one of the film's larger set pieces, the kind of footage prized for capturing scale and momentum in a single frame of hand-inked animation. For collectors, a cell tied to this exact narrative beat holds value as a physical fragment of the film's dramatic center, a tangible piece of the production's most consequential act.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Treasure Planet (2002).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by 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 visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the bottom edge, appearing as a dual bilateral waveform; a Dolby Digital data block pattern is also visible between the lower perforations, consistent with a combined optical and digital soundtrack.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a light blue-cyan tint typical of estar or acetate safety stock; the dye image appears rich and not visibly faded or red-shifted.
Projection history
Fine longitudinal lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear consecutive from a single shot and the animated imagery is consistent with a release print of Treasure Planet (2002).
Era check
The combined Dolby Digital data block between perforations and dual bilateral variable-area optical track 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 000062837
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
