Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Hocus Pocus arrived from Walt Disney Pictures in the summer of 1993, a modestly performed release that found its true audience later through television reruns and a devoted cult following. Directed by Kenny Ortega and led by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson sisters, the film has since become a Halloween season staple, its status growing far beyond its initial box office reception into something closer to an annual tradition for generations of fans.
This cell brings together the three witches with Billy Butcherson, the reanimated ex-beau whose presence always signals one of the film's stranger and more memorable stretches. Collectors prize Sanderson material because the sisters carry the film's identity, and a grouping like this, all four figures sharing the frame, represents a fuller cross section of the cast than single character cuts typically offer. Pairing the witches with Billy points toward the more chaotic, ensemble driven passages of the story, making this a desirable combination for anyone building out a Hocus Pocus collection.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of Hocus Pocus (1993).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds two frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as two white wavy lines on a dark band, consistent with a dual bilateral or stereo variable-area format; a blue-tinted band adjacent to it suggests a Dolby Stereo SR encoding layer.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The clear base shows a warm yellow-gold tint along the lower edge strip; the dye image reads as a colour positive with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light vertical scratches are visible running through the picture area, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; the two frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the costumed figures and dark theatrical setting are consistent with the fantasy-comedy film on record.
Era check
The dual variable-area optical track with apparent SR encoding and the warm-base colour positive stock are consistent with a 1993 theatrical release print era.
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 000063349
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
