Fall is here! That means many things: sweaters, candles, comfort food, family, and so much more. But one of the best things about fall is the Spooky Season! From candy to costumes to decorations, Halloween is a great holiday! Another fun thing about Halloween is the movies people watch. Favorite movies can vary depending on the person from horror movies, to thriller movies, to movies that center around the holiday, but no matter what, almost everyone has a favorite. One of the most popular Halloween movies out there is Disney’s “Hocus Pocus”.
Released in 1993, “Hocus Pocus” is known to money as a Halloween and Disney classic and has been watched by many over the course of the spooky season for three decades now. However, it was not always this way. When “Hocus Pocus” was released it brought in only 8.1 million its opening weekend and altogether made less than 45 million dollars following mixed reviews by critics. The movie cost 28 million to make, which at the time, was considered a flop.
Some people might wonder how “Hocus Pocus” would even be a flop, considering how popular it is now. One of the reasons was probably because of the time of its release. While “Hocus Pocus” is clearly meant to celebrate the spooky season, it was released on July 16, 1993, hardly anyone is ready to let go of summer at that point. According to the producer David Kirschner, “Disney chose to release ‘Hocus Pocus’ in July to take advantage of children being off school for the summer.” However, it is also believed that Disney chose to release it in the summertime to avoid competition with Disney and Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” which was released on October 13 of the same year. Even though people were off and it was intended to be for kids, a lot of people did not want to see a Halloween movie during summer. The reason it became wildly popular later was because of its replays on “The Disney Channel ” as well as other movie channels, which brought it to the limelight many years after its release date.
Although its constant replay was helpful to “Hocus Pocus”’s success, many people love it because of its cast and storyline. “Hocus Pocus” follows Max Dennison (Omri Katz) and his sister Dani (Thora Birch), after moving to their new home in Salem, Massachusetts. They then meet Allison (Vinessa Shaw), and on Halloween the three decide to visit the abandoned home of the Sanderson sisters played by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker. While there, Max lights the Black flame candle, which brings the witchy Sanderson sisters back to life. Along with a magical cat Binx (Jason Marsden), they have to figure out how to kill the witches before they “suck the lives out of all the children in Salem”.
With this plot along with the Disney magic, “Hocus Pocus” is perfect for all ages. People may be surprised to learn, however, that when it was pitched to Disney the first time it had a much darker plot and a different title. It was originally called “Halloween House”, but because the plot was eventually changed to be more family friendly, a name change was made along with it. The inspiration for the story came from the producer David Kirschner who came up with the story for his daughter’s for bedtime, after he saw his neighbor’s black cat.
It’s no wonder “Hocus Pocus” is so loved with the plot, the cast, and the crew, who put so much time and love into making it. All their hard work shows even after 30 years since its release, making it a guarantee that “Hocus Pocus” will continue to be loved by many for years to come.
