Hocus Pocus

This is a nostalgic movie that can be watched over and over! My family and I enjoy adding this to our Annual October watch list in the spirit of Halloween!

iconic cinema and anything less is most likely from the perspective of a white male

This has always been a great movie that we loved to re-watch multiple times a year since I was a kid. Just met Omri, Vinessa, and Jason at a convention and they're the nicest people ever. I also got to see the town hall, Ropes mansion, and Max/Dani's house in Salem recently. This movie will always be a feel-good nostalgic experience for me.

It's worth a watch every Halloween. It's a fun story although not a very deep one. I like seeing this every year

A classic Halloween treat for the entire family! Filled with classic nostalgia!

The best movie for fun in halloween, a treasure

Awful, just awful. Too loud, too corny, and unexpectedly dark. There's a dead child in the room for a loooong time and the only reference they give is when the "townsfolk" come to the door, the witches say, "Hide the girl." You mean the corpse of a small child? The teenagers and 8-year-old girl put the witches in an oven and burn them alive. Whoa, that's not Disney. Virgin references? Icky. Sarah Jessica Parker has the only amusing character in this movie. She was bonkers and it was great.

Nostalgia adds to this but I enjoyed it. Used to watch it over and over because my siblings loved it when we were kids. Was great to see it in a theater for the first time. Definitely brought back memories

A fun family film for every Halloween. Each year around Fall, my family and I go through all our favorite Halloween movies. Hocus Pocus is certainly one we revisit each year. Though it is steeped with 1990's outfits, slang, and references, I still find it charming. I find Hocus Pocus more endearing every year I revisit its spooky good times. Kenny Ortega directed Hocus Pocus with a neat eye for some cool shots and entertaining sequences. The music is very pretty, I especially adore Sarah Jessica Parker’s song "Come Little Children" alluring lullaby to lure children to their demise. By far, my favorite aspect of Hocus Pocus is the setting. Salem looks the part for Fall with the wind blowing leaves everywhere for a haunting atmosphere. You really feel like it's Halloween night in the East Coast suburbs. The homes are filled with realistic decorations and furnishings. You can imagine living in these dreamy little homes. The silly outfits, dated to the 90’s, are certainly period accurate yet feel like something kids wore at the time. You see plenty of cool locations, sets, and homes that make Hocus Pocus look quaint, while feeling cozy. This warm setting filled with background props culminate into a sweet distraction while you watch. The acting is probably why audiences adore Hocus Pocus, while critics despised it at the time. I think they need to relax and take life less seriously because it’s all just some Hocus Pocus! I enjoy the charismatic 3 main witches: The Sanderson Sisters. Bette Midler is hilarious as the head witch Winifred Sanderson. She eats up the scenery with wicked glee like whether she’s consuming children’s souls or singing Screaming Jay Hawkins’ iconic shock rock anthem “I Put a Spell on You.” While she’s overacting, Midler is giving Hocus Pocus a fearsomely formidable antagonist with delightful energy. Sarah Jessica Parker is stunning as the youngest sister Sarah in one of her few standout roles. Parker is also wonderful in Ed Wood, Footloose, and Girls Just Want to Have Fun, but most will always remember her as the airhead sister witch Sarah Sanderson in Hocus Pocus. She's funny as the airhead flirtatious sister, who sings beautifully with a dreamy serenity on “Come Little Children.” Then, there’s the foolish Kathy Najimy is the stout sister witch Mary Sanderson. Her snarl and child sniffing nose are comedy gold. Overall, the sisters are the highlight performers due to their charisma in just going for it. They practically carry Hocus Pocus. Of the main cast, Thora Birch gives the best performance in the whole film. She is genuine and sweet as the little sister Dani Dennison. I like her quick wit and innocent persona in Hocus Pocus. She's clearly having the most fun on set. Her giggles are infectious like her endearing personality. I’ve always liked Thora Birch in Hocus Pocus ever since I was a young boy first seeing this cute movie. She’s quite remarkably natural for a child actress. Disney cast the perfect hellion as Dani. Birch plays the precocious girl witch for Halloween with a devilish joy. On the other hand, we come to Hocus Pocus' main quirk. It's two leads are typical carefree '90's heroes. Too cool for everything, coming across as lackadaisical with charming line delivery. Omri Katz is great as Max Dennison. He’s such a lame protagonist as the new kid in Salem who doesn’t believe in witches and gets bullied left and right. Everything is stacked against the kid, so you immediately root for this know-it-all kid to learn his lesson and change his ways to be a magic believer and decent older brother to Dani. He gives an endearing performance conveying his duties as Birch’s brother seriously and is charismatic and memorable as the reluctant hero of Hocus Pocus. Omri Katz acts with an aloof manner that makes his angst filled teenager feel more real. Similarly, Vinessa Shaw is gorgeous and likable as the cute girl Max likes named Allison. She’s charming, elegant, polite, and playful as Allison. Her entertaining performance seems aloof and down to Earth like she’s really just a girl from Salem. I feel like Katz and Shaw were strangely well cast as definitive teenagers of the early 1990’s. Katz and Shaw bear a special chemistry that feels like a genuinely awkward high school romance during Halloween. At the time I never realized that Doug Jones makes an early career appearance as Billy the zombie. I enjoy his campy take on the undead. His flesh rotting makeup still looks creepy today. I also love the double cameo of directors Garry Marshall and his sister Penny Marshall as “Satan” and his wife “Medusa.”. It's a cute cameo for the parents who are watching Hocus Pocus with their kids. Overall, the cast is pretty entertaining and they all appear to try their best. In short, Hocus Pocus is a blast to watch with the family. Kids will love it, while their parents should get a few laughs along the way. The movie plays it safe with goofy jokes that sometimes fall flat, but if you can appreciate some campy Disney style humor, Hocus Pocus is Halloween magic!

What truly endures is the unforgettable performances of Midler, Nimjamy, and Parker, who throw themselves entirely into their wickedly campy roles.