Hocus Pocus (1993)

A curious youngster moves to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.

Director:

Kenny Ortega

Writers:

David Kirschner (story), Mick Garris (story)

Stars:

Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy

2 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

300 years have passed since the Sanderson sisters were executed for practicing dark witchcraft. Returning to life thanks to a combination of a spell spoken before their demise and the accidental actions of Max, the new-kid-in-town, the sisters have but one night to secure their continuing existence...

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Plot Keywords:

halloween | spell | black cat | witch | magic | 

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Taglines:

It's just a bunch of Hocus Pocus!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some scary sequences, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

16 July 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hocus Pocus

Filming Locations:

Plimouth Plantation - 137 Warren Avenue, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$39,514,713

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rhythm & Hues Studios,Touchwood Pacific Partners 1,Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sean Murray played the human Thackery Binx. He was dubbed over by Jason Marsden, voice of the cat Binx, for consistency.

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Goofs

At Allison's house, Dani is surprised to find out that there is a museum about the Sanderson Sisters. However, when Allison leaves to change, Dani says that her friends at school told her all about that place, meaning she had to know it was a museum at one point.

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Quotes

Winifred Sanderson: Why? Why was I cursed with such idiot sisters?
Sarah: Just lucky, I guess.

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, the parents finally stop dancing and leave the building, exhausted; Jay and Ernie have been forgotten about and are still dangling in their cages, singing Row Row Row Your Boat, then the camera pans over to the spell book as the eye opens once more.

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Alternate Versions

When ITV showed the film at Easter 2001, the following scenes were cut: the witches hanging, Max swinging a branch at Billy Butcherson and the subsequent loss of his head, the shot of a flattened Binx the cat after he's run over by the bus, Billy cutting open his mouth after he snatches the knife off Max, and Billy losing his head for a second time. The ending was also altered, skipping over the parents leaving the party and Ernie & Jay still locked in their cages, cutting straight to the book's eye opening.

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Connections

References Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

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Soundtracks

Chants and Incantations
Conceived and written by Brock Walsh

User Reviews

**** out of ****

I don't what the critics were talking about, but I found Hocus Pocus to be extreme fun, from start to finish. The use of color and the sets is all magical, giving the movie a strange fairy-tale feel. I also found it to be very funny with great special-effects. The movie's just plain fun. The three witches, thankfully, aren't flat and dull. This movie is scary without being profane (ala Mighty Joe Young) or super duper frightening. A great film that's much better than most Disney live-action films today.