Remember the days when Disney Channel original movies used to actually be good and not ditzy as hell? Once upon a time, Hocus Pocus was slated to be a TV movie until Disney decided it had too much star power in Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker and put it on the silver screen instead. And ever since then, it’s turned into a cult classic and there aren’t enough words in the universe to express how much I adore this film. It’s been a must-watch Halloween movie since I was a kid and October just isn’t the same if there are no Sanderson Sisters hell bent on terrorizing the children of Salem.
My friend, who
doesn’t quite understand what the big hoopla is about, hopes that this article
will shed some light as to why Hocus
Pocus is so awesome. I hope to give the film the justice it deserves. And
while there isn’t just one word to describe the awesomeness that is this movie,
it’s also hard to pinpoint the reasons for its awesomeness. The fondness might
come from nostalgia, a keen tradition to see the movie at least once every
October, or the movie itself.
We all know the story
(and for those who don’t, for shame!) of the Sanderson Sisters stealing
children and taking their youth to keep themselves young and beautiful (though
that term is used loosely here). Enter Max and his sister Dani, who have just
moved from L.A. to Salem, Max’s crush Allison, whose mother used to run the
Sanderson Sisters museum, a talking cat, and a black-flame candle and you've got a great, fun-filled adventure with a dash of sibling togetherness.
This movie is
probably the happiest Halloween movie you’ll ever come across and in a lot of
ways that’s part of its appeal. It’s funny. There’s never a time I don’t
chuckle when I watch this film. The Sanderson Sisters are worthy of their own
Halloween costumes and their crazy, cuckoo, and the questionably stupid way
they go about their business makes for a very entertaining watch.
Bette Midler
sports bright red hair, buck teeth, and looks like she put on her lipstick in
the dark. It’s amazing that Kathy Najimy is able to keep her mouth twisted in
that angle the entire film, and Sarah Jessica Parker is ditzy and boy-crazy. What’s
not to love about that? They’re completely psycho and that’s why they’re so
memorable. They even get to visit the devil’s house—director Gary Marshall in a
costume—and ride vacuums and mops in place of flying brooms. They’re really the
most unique and best witches to ever come out of Hollywood.
One of the
reasons this film is so awesome is simple: I’m a sucker for sibling
relationships portrayed in movies. There are plenty of romance movies to go
around, but it’s rarer to find films about siblings and great onscreen families
are sorely lacking most of the time. It’s Thora Birch at the beginning of her
career. She and Max (Omri Katz) act like most siblings do. They hate each other
one minute and are protective and love each other the next.
And they’re not
the only siblings in the film. They kind of parallel the witches and their
relationship with each other. Granted, Dani and Max are much more willing to
save each other; unlike Winnie, who would easily give up her sisters to remain
young and alive. But the witches also fight one second, get along the next. They
obviously care about each other, even if it’s not to the point of self-sacrifice,
which is ironically what helps destroy them in the end.
Hocus Pocus is the epitome of Halloween. It’s just a
great representation of fun and brings back nostalgia of celebrating the
holiday as a kid. I know most of the lines by heart and love to imitate the Sanderson
Sisters in random conversation. What? It’s one of the most quotable Halloween
movies out there. It’s filled with silly fun and is the best of the non-scary
Halloween films ever made, so I’ll agree with Winnie Sanderson in saying that
it’s not just “a bunch of hocus pocus.”
