Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Disney's Hocus Pocus arrived in the summer of 1993 through Buena Vista Pictures, landing as a modest box office performer that found its true audience later, through repeated Halloween season television airings and home video circulation. Directed by Kenny Ortega and built around a trio of resurrected witches terrorizing Salem, the film has grown into an enduring seasonal touchstone, its cast and imagery now inseparable from October viewing traditions across generations of fans.
This cell centers on two of the three Sanderson sisters, Winifred and Mary, the commanding elder and her devoted follower within the coven that anchors the film's premise. Collectors seek these pairings because they represent the sisterly dynamic at the story's core, the interplay between leadership and loyalty that drives much of the film's comedic and narrative energy. A 35mm cell featuring these two together captures a piece of that established relationship, a physical remnant tied directly to characters whose popularity has only deepened with time.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby SR·D theatrical release print of Hocus Pocus (1993).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern; a blue-tinted Dolby Digital data block strip is also visible between the perforations on the same edge, consistent with a Dolby SR·D combined optical track.
Edge print
Not clearly legible in this capture; faint edge markings are present but cannot be quoted with certainty.
Base & colour
Base appears warm amber-to-clear; dye image shows warm reddish-orange tones consistent with a colour release print in good dye retention.
Projection history
Light longitudinal scratches are visible running parallel to the film length, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with a theatrical release print of Hocus Pocus (1993).
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track is consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1993 production 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 000063391
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
