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 Halloween comedy 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 Sanderson sisters, the film has since become a seasonal fixture, its cult status growing with each October rewatch until it stands as one of Disney's most enduring genre outings from the era.
This cell centers on Billy Butcherson, the reanimated ex-beau of Winifred Sanderson, played by Doug Jones under heavy makeup and prosthetics. Billy is a favorite among collectors for his blend of pathos and comic menace, a corpse dragged unwillingly back into service. A 35mm frame preserving him speaks to the physical performance work that made the character memorable long before Jones became known for elaborate creature roles elsewhere, offering a tangible piece of the practical effects craftsmanship this production relied on.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm 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; spacing appears even and the punched corners are rounded and cleanly cut.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern; a band of fine digital data blocks consistent with a Dolby Digital track is also visible between the optical track and the perforations on that same edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight warm-amber tint toward one edge; the image area is predominantly very dense and dark, consistent with a colour print stock.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible running the length of the strip, consistent with projection wear.
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 combination of dual bilateral variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations, and colour print stock is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early-to-mid 1990s, matching the 1993 release date 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 000063371
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
