Hocus Pocus is a 1993 American comedy horror comedy directed by Kenny Ortega, starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker; written by Neil Cuthbert and Mick Garris, and based on stories by Garris and David Kirschner. It follows a trio of wicked magicians, who are inadvertently raised by a teenage virgin boy in Salem, Massachusetts.
Although it was not a critical or commercial success when it was first released, Hocus Pocus has become a cult film, mostly from annual broadcasts on Disney Channel and Freeform (formerly the ABC Family).
Video Hocus Pocus (1993 film)
Plot
In 1693 on October 31, near Salem, Massachusetts, Thackery Binx saw his younger sister, Emily, spirited into the witch's three huts. There, the sisters Sanderson, Winifred, Sarah and Mary, spelled Emily to absorb her youth and regain her strength, killing her in the process. Thackery confronts the magicians who turn him into a perpetual black cat to live with his guilt for not saving Emily. The townspeople, led by Binx's father, capture the magicians. But before hanging up, the spelling of Winifred throws a curse that will revive the magicians during the full moon at All Hallows Eve when every virgin lights the Black Light Candle. The keeper of the cottage to make sure no one called the magicians.
Three hundred years later on October 31, 1993, Max Dennison felt uneasy from his family's sudden action from Los Angeles to Salem. While exploring the city, he and his sister, Dani, meet Allison, whose family owns Sanderson's cottage as a museum. Max suggests that they went there and impressed Allison, but was forced to take Dani a trick-or-treat.
Investigations inside the cottage, Max lit a Black Fire Candle and inadvertently rekindled the magicians, who planned to continue their plans to suck the souls of all Salem's children, starting with Dani. Escaped, Max steals Winifred's spelling based on advice from Thackery. The magicians hunt them down to the grave, where Winifred picks up his unfaithful lover Billy Butcherson as a zombie to chase them on foot. The magicians try to adjust to the 20th century, but it feels horrified when they find Halloween has become a holiday, and their broomstick is stolen. The magicians plan to reach their destination or they will be destroyed at sunrise. They chased children all over the city using Mary's increasing sense of smell. Max, Allison and Dani find their parents at a Halloween party at the town hall, where Winifred dazzles party visitors to dance and sing until they die. At Jacob Bailey Secondary School, children trap magicians in a kiln to burn him alive. While celebrating, the witch's curse revives them, and they kidnap Dani and Thackery after Max and Allison open a spellbook that reveals their location. Sarah then uses a siren-like song to captivate Salem's children, luring them to the Sandersons hut. Max and Allison rescue Dani and Thackery by tricking the magicians into believing that the rising sun comes an hour early.
Back at the cemetery, Max runs into Billy, who cuts his sewn mouth and insults Winifred, joins Max to protect Dani. The magicians attacked and Winifred tried to suck the soul of Dani with a single bottle of concoction he had taken from a cauldron. Thackery jumped into Winifred and tapped the concoction from his hand into Max's hand, but was then thrown to the ground and badly wounded. Instead of smashing the bottle, Max drank it and seemed to make himself a victim. As the sun rose, Winifred could not deplete Max's life after falling to the holy land, and soon turned to stone and crumbled to dust along with his sister.
When satisfied Billy returns to his grave, Thackery dies, freeing his soul. She thanked Max, Dani and Allison for their help, and said goodbye to them, before she and Emily walked to the afterlife. When the final credit begins, the exhausted party attendees are freed from the spell and return home. Meanwhile, in Sandersons cottage, Jay and Ernie, two male bullies who previously tortured Max and Dani, remain imprisoned in their cages while spending time singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". The movie ends with a Winnie spellbook opening his eyes, implying that Winnie's last words reactivate the resurrection spell.
Maps Hocus Pocus (1993 film)
Cast
- Bette Midler as Winifred "Winnie" Sanderson, Sanderson's eldest brother and leader of the trio.
- Kathy Najimy as Mary Sanderson, middle brother, often praises and comforts her older sister Winnie. She can kiss the children and hunt her.
- Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson, the youngest and most beautiful sister. He has the ability to include children with his singing like sirens.
- Omri Katz as Maximilian "Max" Dennison, a teenager from Los Angeles, California who moved to Salem, Massachusetts with his family. Max is angry at his parents for making them move to Salem. He was responsible for bringing back the Sanderson brothers 300 years later on Halloween night.
- Thora Birch as Danielle "Dani" Dennison, an 8-year-old brother of Max and an impostor or an enthusiast. Dani addicted to candy and turned to Max.
- Vinessa Shaw as Allison, Max's love interest and Salem's rich natives. Allison formed a close bond with Dani.
- Sean Murray as Binx Thackery; Originally a teenager from 1693, he followed Emily into the woods, where he failed to prevent his death at the hands of Sanderson's sisters. The magicians turn him into a perennial cat, voiced by Jason Marsden.
- Doug Jones as Billy Butcherson, Winifred's lover and zombie. He died on May 1, 1693 after Winifred found him sporting with his sister Sarah, poisoned him and sewed his mouth with a dull needle, so he could not tell his secret, even in death.
- Charles Rocket as David "Dave" Dennison, Max and Dani's father.
- Stephanie Faracy as Jennifer "Jenny" Dennison, Max and Dani's mom.
- Amanda Shepherd as Emily Binx, Thackery's sister. He's about the age of Dani. He died on October 31, 1693 after the magicians depleted his life force from him.
- Larry Bagby as Ernie "Ice", leader of a bunch of junior high school delinquents and Jay's best friend.
- Tobias Jelinek as Jay, another mischief and Ernie's best friend.
- Steve Voboril as Elijah, the boy from a farm in 1693.
- Norbert Weisser as Mr. Binx, Emily's father and Thackery.
- Kathleen Freeman as teacher of Miss Olin, Max, and Allison at Jacob Bailey High School.
- Garry Marshall (uncredited ) as "The Devil", a man dressed in a demon suit that Sanderson assumed as their "Master".
- Penny Marshall (uncredited ) as the wife of "Devil", assumed by the sisters is Medusa because of the curler, which resembles a snake.
Production
In the 1994 TV documentary Hocus Pocus: Begin the Magic, and on the Blu-ray movie release, producer David Kirschner said he came up with the idea for a movie one night. She and her little daughter were sitting outside and her neighbor's black cat got lost. Kirschner finds a story of how the cat used to be a boy who turned into a cat three hundred years ago by three magicians.
Hocus Pocus started life as a script for an original movie special for Disney Channel, to be produced by one of the small studios owned by The Walt Disney Company. However, this script attracted the attention of Walt Disney Studios, who decided that the film was strong enough to carry famous names and to attract audiences. Leonardo DiCaprio initially offered Max a major role for big salaries, but refused to pursue What to Eat Gilbert Grape . The idea of ​​getting Bette Midler partly inspired by the performance nominated by Midler Golden Globe in a milestone for The Walt Disney Company on the line of Touchstone Pictures, Down and Out in Beverly Hills. Midler, who plays the central antagonist of the film, was quoted as saying that Hocus Pocus was the most fun I had in my career up to that point. "
The subject of photography began on October 12, 1992. The film is set in Salem, Massachusetts, but is largely taken at a sound stage in Burbank, California. However, the daytime scenes were filmed in Salem and Marblehead, Massachusetts for two weeks filming with the lead cast. Production was completed on 10 February 1993.
Music
The music score for "Hocus Pocus" was composed and performed by John Debney. James Horner was originally scheduled to print the film, but became unavailable at the last minute, so Debney had to score the entire movie in two weeks. Though he did not print the film, Horner returned to write the theme for Sarah (sung by Sarah Jessica Parker, better known as "Come Little Children") featured in the Complete Edition of Intrada.
Debney released a promotional score over the internet that contains 19 songs from the film. Bootlegs were later released on the internet, mainly because the promotional release missed the entire music opening sequence.
- Songs
- "Sarah's Theme" - music by James Horner; lyrics by Brock Walsh; done by Sarah Jessica Parker
- "I Put a Spell on You" - written by Jay Hawkins and produced and composed by Marc Shaiman; done by Bette Midler
- "Magic" - written by Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh; done by Joe Malone
- "I Put a Spell on You" - written by Jay Hawkins; done by Joe Malone
- "Saber Dance" - written by George Wilson
- Hymns and Mantra - compiled and written by Brock Walsh
Reception
The film received negative reviews from film critics, at the time of release. The reception has grown to be more positive towards film, and has become a cult film. In the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 30% approval rating, based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4 stars out of 10. The important consensus of the website reads, "Hokey harm but never more than mediocrity, Hocus Pocus is a chaotic, family-friendly effort that fails to meet the impressive talents of its players. "
The Miami Herald calls it "a pretty passionate affair", adding to this comment: "Although the triple-threat actress combo, Hocus Pocus will not be Sister Act 1993. There's a lot of must-see this summer, and this is not one of them. " The New York Times Janet Maslin writes that the movie" has a flash of visual style but hardly any grip on the story ". Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly gave the C-movie, calling it "a stupid, stupid kid who can be accepted by little children, unless they are Bette Midler fans, in that case, it's very sad. " hell, "and declares that while Najimy and Parker" have a moment of inspiration for dilapidated comics, and special effects are good enough to make younger visitors stunned [...] to see Ms. Divine M. who thrust her way through the ragged kiddie supernatural comedy is , to say the least, despair. "
Media and home television
The film was released to VHS in North America on September 9, 1994, and then to DVD on June 4, 2002. After the release of the film in the last format, it continues to show strong yearly sales, raking in over $ 1 million in DVD Sales every month October. In the mid to late 1990s, the film was re-aired annually on ABC and Disney Channel before switching to the ABC Family 13 13th Nights of Halloween lineup in the early 2000s. The film is constantly bringing recordings to the lineup, including a 2009 broadcast watched by 2.5 million viewers. In 2011, the October 29 show became the most watched program, with 2.8 million viewers.
On September 4, 2012, the film was released on Blu-ray.
Legacy
Over the years, through various outlets such as strong DVD sales and the annual record-breaking show at ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween, the film has achieved cult status. Various media such as Celebuzz and Oh No They do not repeat the claim. In October 2011, the Houston Symphony celebrated various classic horrors and Halloween, including Hocus Pocus , with "The Hocus Pocus Pops."
On October 19, 2013, D23 held a special play on Hocus Pocus at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, in honor of the film's 20th anniversary. Nine of the cast and crew gathered for screenings, and hundreds of D23 members attended. Returning members include Kathy Najimy, David Kirschner, Thora Birch, Doug Jones, Vinessa Shaw, and Omri Katz.
During his First Intervention Tour, Bette Midler appeared on stage dressed like Winifred Sanderson. Her harlettes appeared with her clothes as Mary and Sarah, and the three of them played the "I Put a Spell on You" movie version.
On September 15, 2015, Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular was introduced in Magic Kingdom as part of Mickey's Not-So-Frightening Halloween Party. The show introduces a new actress as Sanderson Sisters, who tries to make a party of criminals and summon or attract Disney criminals in the process.
In September 2016, entertainment critic Aaron Wallace published Hocus Pocus in Focus: A Fan Thinking Guide for Classic Halloween Disney, the first long book written about the film. This book includes a preface by Thora Birch and closing words by Mick Garris. Billed as a "light but scientific look on film," this book analyzes the main themes of the film, identified as parties, nostalgia, home, horror, virginity, feminism, Broadway-style musical moments, sibling rivalry, Spielbergian " Disney villains' traditions, and more. Wallace also analyzed Walt Disney World Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular as part of the film's heritage and included "the largest collection of Hocus Pocus fun facts and trivia ever assembled," complete with extensive ending note excerpts.
Possible sequels and remakes are confirmed
In July 2014, it was announced that Disney was developing a supernatural-themed movie about wizards, and that Tina Fey was on board as a producer and star. However, the Deadline uncovers rumors that this movie is a sequel of Hocus Pocus .
In November 2014, Bette Midler said in an interview that she was ready and willing to return for the sequel. He also said that co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy are interested in repeating the role of Sanderson nuns as well, but stressed that Disney has not yet refreshed any sequel.
In November 2015, Midler stated in Facebook FAQ that A "after all these years and all fan requests, I'm sure I can stand up and firmly say no firmly" in response to a question about the sequel.
In June 2016, actor Doug Jones mentioned that Disney had considered the sequel, and behind the scenes held discussions for the possibility of continuing the series.
In October 2016, Sarah Jessica Parker was asked by Andy Cohen about the sequel. The answer is, "I would like that, I think we are very vocal that we are very interested."
In Hocus Pocus in Focus: Thinking Guides for Thinking of Disney's Halloween Classic, author Aaron Wallace identifies several potential approaches to the sequel, but notes that the project's biggest challenge is Walt Disney Studios' interest in tentpole projects promises it returns very high box office.
In September 2017, screenwriter Mick Garris admitted that he was working on a script for Hocus Pocus 2 and that it was potentially developed as a TV movie for Disney Channel, Freeform or ABC. It was later confirmed that it would instead be a remake to be broadcast on the Disney Channel, with Scarlett Lacey's The Royals writer attached to writing, and original producer David Kirschner's producing film. The following month, Midler says he does not like the idea of ​​a remake and he will not take part in it.
Accolades
See also
- List of American films in 1993
References
External links
- Official website
- Hocus Pocus on IMDb
- Hocus Pocus in Box Office Mojo
- Hocus Pocus at Rotten Tomatoes
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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