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 comedy that found only lukewarm response at the box office before becoming a perennial Halloween favorite through home video and television replay. Directed by Kenny Ortega, it capitalized on the era's appetite for family friendly spooky fare, blending slapstick and witchcraft lore into something that generations of viewers would return to each autumn.
This cell preserves Winifred Sanderson, the eldest and most commanding of the resurrected Sanderson sisters, the character most associated with the film's identity. As the trio's leader and chief schemer, she anchors the story's blend of menace and comedy, making her the figure most sought by collectors drawn to this title. A single character cell like this one serves as a distilled reference point, isolating the performer central to the film's legacy without the surrounding cast, offering a focused artifact for anyone assembling frames tied to her presence throughout the picture.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital SR theatrical release print of Hocus Pocus (1993).
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 torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
Variable-area optical track visible along one edge; Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the inter-perforation gaps, consistent with a Dolby Digital SR optical print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote characters accurately.
Base & colour
Base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows rich color saturation with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has been run through a projector.
Picture
Positive color image; two consecutive frames appear to be from the same shot, and the third frame is a near-clear or very light frame; image content is consistent with a theatrical release print of Hocus Pocus (1993).
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track is consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1993 release 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 000063363
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
