Day 30: Just a Little Hocus Pocus

October 30, 2022

Dear Disney,

When Darling and I were in elementary school, Disney produced a Halloween film that, in my opinion, was what all 90’s kids wanted: candy, scares, and a little romance. We watched Disney try something relatively new and refreshing, but sadly, audiences did not seem to enjoy it. However, Darling and I both agree, we enjoy this movie very much. For the 30th day of Disney Halloween we would like to introduce the 1993 cult classic, Hocus Pocus.

As Darling and I watched this movie tonight, we realized that we finally live in a neighborhood that resembles this representation of Salem, Massachusetts. Our area has (depending on the weather) tons of trick-or-treaters hunting the streets in search of sugar. Growing up, the Trick-or-Treating represented in Hocus Pocus was the trick-or-treating that we wanted to experience. I always thought that somewhere in the United States, some neighborhood was EXACTLY like Hocus Pocus, but I realize that this fantastical neighborhood could never exist anywhere other than a Disney movie.

Another wonderful thing about this movie is the great characters. It would have been very easy for Disney to create a normal Hero character, but they decided to make most of the characters flawed, real. Max has anger issues. Dani is self-obsessed. Allison is a bored, rich girl. The parents are absentee at best, and neglectful at worst. Every character feels relatable.

Darling says she relates more to the parents, now that we are order. If the parents had been more attentive, more understanding of their children, the whole plot of the movie would be easily resolved. But then we would not have this treasure of a Halloween movie.

Hocus Pocus also introduced Darling and I to the amazing Doug Jones. How he can transform his body and facial expressions are outstanding. The other casting, the Sanderson Sisters (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy), as well as Max, Dani, and Allison (Omri Katz, Thora Birch, and Vinessa Shaw), personify their characters perfectly.

Lastly, Darling and I found ourselves quoting some of the perfect one liners to each other even when it’s not Halloween. The callback to Midler as Mama Rose in Gypsy is an absolute cherry on top. ‘Hello Salem, my name’s Winifred, what’s yours?’ The writing is superb, witty, and is still funny and campy decades later. There is not one scene that involved Bette Midler that she did not immediately become the main attraction. She was wonderfully melodramatic.

There is one more day left in 31 Days of Disney Halloween, we cannot wait to share it with you. Any guesses as to what we’ll watch on Halloween?

Sincerely,

Jim Dear and Darling