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 budgeted family horror comedy that found its true audience only after years of Halloween television airings turned it into an annual ritual. Set in Salem and built around three resurrected witches, the film has since become one of Disney's most enduring seasonal properties, prized now for the cast's commitment to broad, theatrical performance.
This cell preserves Mary Sanderson, played by Kathy Najimy, one of the trio of Sanderson sisters whose dynamic drives the film's comedy. Mary is the sniffing, tracking sister, a role collectors seek for its distinct comic identity within the group. A single-character 35mm cell like this isolates her from the ensemble, offering a piece tied specifically to her presence in the production rather than a shared scene, making it a focused artifact for anyone assembling the sisters as a set or focusing on Najimy's performance alone.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical 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, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area stripe; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge
Edge print
Not fully legible in this capture; partial characters and symbols visible but cannot be quoted with confidence
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image reads as a warm-toned positive with no obvious red shift or significant fading
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible running through the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of Hocus Pocus (1993)
Era check
The combination of dual bilateral variable-area optical track and Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks is consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1993 production date of the film 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 000063361
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
