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 comedy of witchcraft and Halloween mischief that underperformed at the box office before finding its true audience on home video and annual cable rotation. Directed by Kenny Ortega and led by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as the resurrected Sanderson sisters, the film's blend of camp, spookiness, and sincerity turned it into an October perennial. Decades on, it stands as one of Disney's most enduring seasonal titles, beloved by generations who grew up watching the Sanderson trio scheme against a Salem backdrop.
This cell carries Dani Dennison, the younger Dennison sibling played by Thora Birch, whose skepticism and courage anchor the audience's view of the Sanderson sisters' return. Dani is a favorite among collectors drawn to the film's family core rather than its witches, representing the everyday kid thrown into a supernatural crisis. A frame under her name preserves a piece of that grounding presence, the human counterweight to the film's more theatrical figures, and a reminder of the young cast that gave Hocus Pocus its lasting warmth.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of Hocus Pocus (1993).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three complete 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, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip and a blue DTS timecode line running beside it, suggesting a composite multi-format optical track area.
Edge print
Not fully legible in this capture; partial markings are visible along the bottom edge but cannot be quoted with certainty.
Base & colour
Base appears warm to slightly amber-tinted; the dye image reads as a rich, saturated colour positive with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light longitudinal scratches are visible on the base side, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of Hocus Pocus (1993).
Era check
The composite optical soundtrack area combining variable-area, Dolby Digital data blocks, and a DTS timecode stripe is consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1993 production and its re-release window.
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 000063359
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
