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 modest box office performer that found its true audience later, through repeated television airings and home video. Directed by Kenny Ortega, it paired family friendly Halloween mischief with a knowing sense of humor, and over the following decades it grew into an autumn perennial, embraced by generations who return to it every October. Its afterlife on cable and streaming turned it into one of Disney's most durable seasonal properties.
This cell centers on Winifred and Mary Sanderson, two of the three Sanderson sisters whose witchcraft drives the story. Winifred, the domineering elder sister, and Mary, her loyal and eccentric companion, are among the most quoted and cosplayed figures in the Hocus Pocus canon, prized by collectors for their instantly recognizable sibling dynamic. A frame pairing these two speaks to the film's ensemble chemistry, the kind of shared moment that anchors the sisters' scenes and their standing as Halloween's most enduring witchy duo.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Hocus Pocus (1993).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a fine modulated stripe.
Edge print
Text reads 'SAFETY FILM' printed along the lower edge; additional characters appear present but are not fully legible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base shows a warm amber-yellow tint typical of older acetate safety stock; the dye image appears warm but not strongly red-shifted.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, 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 shot, consistent with a release print of Hocus Pocus (1993).
Era check
The acetate safety base, variable-area optical soundtrack, and warm stock tint are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 1990s.
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 000063389
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
