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 received family comedy that found its true audience years later through television replay and home video, eventually becoming a Halloween perennial. Directed by Kenny Ortega, it blended broad comedy with genuine witchcraft menace, anchored by three lead performances that collectors and fans came to treasure long after its theatrical run faded from memory.
This 35mm cell preserves Winifred "Winnie" Sanderson, the eldest and most commanding of the three Sanderson sisters, the character who drives the film's plot and its most quotable dialogue. As the central figure of the trio, Winnie is the name most sought by collectors building a Hocus Pocus set, since her presence anchors the film's identity more than any supporting player. A single-subject cell like this one isolates her from the ensemble, offering a focused artifact of the character herself rather than a shared scene, a distinction that matters to anyone assembling frames around specific figures rather than moments of plot.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm 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; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern consistent with an analog stereo optical track; Dolby Digital data blocks are also visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a Dolby Digital SR·D composite track.
Edge print
Partial text readable along the lower edge reads 'N S' and '1+1' or similar numeric code; full key number sequence is not fully legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-yellow tint typical of a color print stock; dye image shows rich, saturated color with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive color image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a theatrical release print of Hocus Pocus (1993).
Era check
The composite Dolby Digital SR·D optical track alongside a variable-area analog track is consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print, as Dolby Digital was introduced to release prints from 1992 onward, matching a 1993 production.
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 000063375
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
