Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Muppet Treasure Island arrived in 1996 from Walt Disney Pictures, the fifth theatrical feature to pair the Muppets with a literary classic and the first Muppet film made after Jim Henson's death, directed by his son Brian Henson. It reworked Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure with Tim Curry as Long John Silver alongside the Muppet ensemble, earning a lasting following among fans who value it as a bridge between the Henson era and the studio's later stewardship of the property.
This piece pairs two of the film's central figures, Benjamina Gunn, Miss Piggy's turn on Stevenson's marooned castaway Ben Gunn, and Captain Abraham Smollett, Kermit the Frog commanding the Hispaniola. Collectors seek Piggy and Kermit material for the enduring pull of their pairing, here recast within the ship's chain of command and the island's plot. A scene from this stretch of the story, preserved on 35mm, offers a physical trace of the production reduced to a single strip of film.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Muppet Treasure Island (1996).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with rounded corners, no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, appearing as a dual bilateral (two-track) variable-area pattern; a separate fine digital timecode or data line is also visible adjacent to it, consistent with a DTS timecode stripe.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer text or key numbers clearly.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight violet-purple tint in the clear areas; the dye image reads as warm with amber and gold tones, no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible running the length of the strip, consistent with a projected print that has passed through a gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the characters and setting are consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track combined with a DTS timecode stripe and the violet-tinted polyester base are consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1996 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 000063433
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
