Hocus Pocus (1993)

As it was Halloween at the weekend we decided to watch a scary film… Hocus Pocus! Ok so it’s funny rather than scary, but it was a bit of nostalgia as we both fondly remembered this Disney movie from our youth.

I’ve said that it’s not scary, but watching the movie again as a 25-year old, it’s a little disturbing to note how adult some of the beginning is! In the first introduction to Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker, the trio of wacky, comedic, Sanderson sister witches, we see them kill a child, condemn another to eternity as a cat, before seeing them hang. Infanticide and capital punishment – what a way to start a family film! And then later, when Omri Katz’s Max unwittingly lights a candle to bring the witches back to life, there’s much comedic mileage garnered from the fact that he’s a virgin. I’m not sure how old the character is supposed to be (US school years confuse me), but I gather from imdb that Katz was around 16 or 17 at the time, so is it so odd that the character hasn’t yet popped his cherry?

Talking of Katz, since I now know he was over 16 I can safely say he’s quite cute in Hocus Pocus! Aside from Eerie Indiana (another fondly remembered show from my youth) it seems he’s done little else of note, which is a shame because he was a great young actor. 11 year-old Thora Birch threatens to steal a lot of the movie as Max’s precocious sister, but it would be difficult to upstage Bette Midler in such a camp role!

Midler is an absolute hoot here, and apparently she admitted last year that Hocus Pocus was the favourite of all of her movies. She seems to relish playing the ugly villainous, and makes the part her own. Kathy Najimy has little to do as one of her sisters, and Sarah Jessica Parker has only slightly more to do as the hornier, younger sibling (I’ve always been shocked to learn that this beautiful actress was SJP, and it still amazes me now!). Why is Bette Midler’s witch the only one with any powers to speak of?

While the plot may not win any prizes for originality, Hocus Pocus has enough laughs and fun to get by on the strengths of the performances alone – not just from Midler and the witches, but from the talented young stars too. A Halloween treat for everyone.

It’s interesting to note that director Kenny Ortega would not direct another (TV) movie until 13 years later, and that was High School Musical! What a small world.