‘Hocus Pocus’ A Fun Halloween Treat for the Family
- Matt Palmer
- Oct 22, 2021
- 2 min read
It is hard to believe that the Disney feature “Hocus Pocus” was released 27 years ago. During its initial release, the movie only became a modest success. Over the years, “Hocus Pocus” has earned a cult following and is now considered to be a modern classic. Now, for the Halloween season, families can come on down to the theater and check out this modern and beloved Disney classic.
In the Walt Disney Pictures presentation of “Hocus Pocus,” after moving to Salem, teenager Max Dennison explores an abandoned house with his sister Dani and their new friend, Allison. After dismissing a story Allison tells as superstitious, Max accidentally frees a coven of evil witches who used to live in the house.
Now, with the help of a magical cat, the kids must steal the witches’ book of spells to stop them from becoming immortal.
“Hocus Pocus” is an enjoyable and humorous family film that is a great Halloween treat, From start to finish, this Disney feature will keep you entertained with all the fun that this beloved classic will offer. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy did a great job playing the witches and you can tell they had a good time making the movie. When the movie was first released, the reviews were surprisingly mixed. But, “Hocus Pocus” is definitely one of those movies that families will always enjoy. So, have a little family time and check out “Hocus Pocus” at the Dietrich!
The cast: Bette Midler (The Addams Family - 2019 movie) as Winifred, Sarah Jessica Parker (New Year’s Eve) as Sarah, Kathy Najimy as Mary, Omri Katz as Max, Thora Birch (The Walking Dead; The Etruscan Smile) as Dani, Vinessa Shaw as Allison, Stephanie Faracy (Max and Dave Need Wedding Dates) as Jenny, Doug Jones (The Shape of Water) as Billy Butcherson and Sean Murray (NCIS) as Thackery. “Hocus Pocus” is written by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert (Adventures of Pluto Nash; Mystery Men) and directed by Kenny Ortega (Disney’s Descendents TV trilogy).
During a February 10, 2008 interview on the BBC show “Breakfast,” Bette Midler stated that this was her favorite of all her films. The role of Max Dennison was originally offered to Leonardo DiCaprio, but turned it down to appear in the 1993 film “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.”
Various rewrites of the script were made to make it more comedic as the original script was actually darker and scarier. The movie has been broadcast every year around Halloween on television over the past several years. A potential sequel has been rumored to be in development for several years. In October 2019, a sequel was officially announced to be a Disney Plus exclusive film.
“Hocus Pocus” was initially released on July 16, 1993. During its initial run, it earned a modest $41 million. In October 2020, amid the pandemic, the modern classic was re-released in 2,570 theaters and made an additional $1.9 million over the first weekend of October.
“Hocus Pocus” is rated PG for some scary sequences, and for language and has a running time of 96 minutes.
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