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 airings and home video, eventually becoming a Halloween perennial. Directed by Kenny Ortega and set in Salem, Massachusetts, the film follows three resurrected witch sisters as they scheme through one All Hallows' Eve. Its cult afterlife has made it a fixture of seasonal programming and merchandising, keeping demand steady among collectors of early nineties Disney ephemera.
This cell preserves a moment shared by two of the Sanderson sisters, Winifred and Mary, the coven's ringleader and her devoted companion. Winifred stands as the driving force of the story, sharp tongued and commanding, while Mary rounds out the group's dynamic as loyal support. A pairing of these two on 35mm offers a direct link to the sisters' scenes together, prized by fans who follow the interplay between the coven's members and by anyone assembling a set spanning the full trio.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour 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, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A dual variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with a narrow blue stripe adjacent to it, consistent with a Dolby SR analogue optical format.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-amber tint toward the lower edge; the dye image reads as a colour positive with no obvious fading or red shift.
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; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the subject matter is consistent with the live-action feature film on record.
Era check
The dual variable-area optical track with blue Dolby stripe and colour positive stock are 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 000063390
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
