Hocus Pocus (1993)

Director:

Kenny Ortega

Writers (WGA):

David Kirschner (story) and
Mick Garris (story) ...

Release Date:

16 July 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

It's just a bunch of Hocus Pocus!

Plot:

More than 300 years ago, 3 witches were sentenced to die in Salem, Massachusetts and a boy was turned into a cat (a black cat...

Plot Keywords:

Sister | Salem | Halloween | Cat | Children

Awards:

2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Bette Midler	...	Winifred 'Winnie' Sanderson
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Sarah Sanderson
Kathy Najimy	...	Mary Sanderson
Omri Katz	...	Max Dennison
Thora Birch	...	Dani
Vinessa Shaw	...	Allison
Jodie Rivera	...	Emily Binx (as Amanda Shepherd)
Larry Bagby	...	Ernie / 'Ice' (as Larry Bagby III)
Tobias Jelinek	...	Jay
Stephanie Faracy	...	Jenny Dennison
Charles Rocket	...	Dave Dennison
Doug Jones	...	Billy Butcherson
Karyn Malchus	...	Headless Billy Butcherson
Sean Murray	...	Thackery Binx
Steve Voboril	...	Elijah

MPAA:

Rated PG for some scary sequences, and for language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:10 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Netherlands:6 | Germany:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Peru:PT | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Ballroom, Park Plaza Hotel - 607 S. Park View Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Rosie O'Donnell was originally offered the role of Mary Sanderson, but it was ultimately given to Kathy Najimy. O'Donnell claims on her blog that she turned down the offer to work with the Divine Miss M because she didn't want to be a "scary witch".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Winifred is looking through her spell book, you'll notice the page to the left of the potion page is the same page to the left of the "Black candle" page.

Quotes:

Jenny: Hey, Max, how was school?
Max: It sucked!
Dave: Hey, watch your language.
[Max goes upstairs and slams his bedroom door]
Max: I can't believe you made me move here!
Jenny: Hmm, he wasn't wearing any shoes.
Dave: Must be some form of protest.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Roseanne Show: (#1.31)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

Sabre Dance

Bewitching Bette

This movie is funny, scary, but warm and human all at once. It emphasizes the value of families working together to help each other and does not create confusing messages about good and evil. It's a fast-paced comedy that does not trivialize the characters. Bette Midler's rendition of "I've Put a Spell on You" shows the depth of her talent as a singer/stage performer. The divine Ms. Bette has great chemistry with both Kathy Naijimy (how does she get her mouth to do that?), and Sarah Jessica Parker (amok, amok, amok). While the scary factor with corpses and death may not be appropriate for very small children, the movie is lots of fun for the whole family.