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 modest box office performer that found its true audience later through television airings and home video. Directed by Kenny Ortega, it paired family friendly Halloween spectacle with a sly, knowing sense of humor, and over the following decades it grew into an autumn perennial, screened every October alongside the classics it now stands beside.
This cell centers on Winifred Sanderson, the eldest and most commanding of the three Sanderson sisters, the role most associated with Bette Midler and the character collectors chase first when assembling a run from this title. Her presence alongside Mary Sanderson places the frame within the sisters' shared scenes, the dynamic at the heart of the film's coven. A 35mm cell of this pairing captures the core sibling relationship that drives the story, appealing to collectors who want the central duo rather than a single isolated figure.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical colour release print of Hocus Pocus (1993).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip in the inter-perforation gap beside it, consistent with a dual-format optical track layout.
Edge print
Text reading 'FILM' is visible along the lower edge; additional alphanumeric key numbers are present but not fully legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base shows a warm amber-gold tint along the rebate; the dye image reads with warm, saturated colour suggesting a healthy colour print with no visible fading.
Projection history
No splices or cue marks visible; minor surface reflections present but no scratches or heavy projection wear observed.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the subject matter is consistent with a theatrical release print of the film on record.
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital data blocks, and colour positive stock on a warm-base safety film is consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1993 production date.
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 000063353
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
