A Halloween classic that has captured the attention of multiple generations. Is it perfect? Absolutely not, but it's fun and delightfully devilish for a Disney film.
Is it that time of year? Gosh, it’s that time of year. As October is approaching, more and more ghoulish and goblin-driven delights begin to creep out of their creepy crevices to rear their heads once again in the delight of horror lit home entertainment rooms. In short, Halloween’s coming and we all want to see some horror on the screen. To be one of the first to break the Halloween ice, Disney has re-released a few titles onto Blu-ray (with some features), which includes a 25th anniversary edition of Hocus Pocus on Blu-ray and Digital. It’s certainly a classic film with a lot of quirkiness in it, as well as a huge fanbase that stretches multiple generations, which makes a good choice for release, as well as a classic. Let’s get right into it.
Official Synopsis
In “Hocus Pocus,” the Sanderson sisters are in for a devil of a time when their restless spirits are accidentally conjured up on Halloween night, in 1993 Salem, Massachusetts. Banished 300 years ago for practicing their sorcery, this trio of triple-threat demons vowed to one day reappear—and now they’re back—weaving an outrageous web of comedy and chaos. However, to guarantee their immortality, the things they need are the very things that could bring them down: Max Dennison (Omri Katz), his little sister Dani (Thora Birch), and the Allison (Vinessa Shaw), three kids with the power to make or break the witches’ spell.
What’s amazing about this release is that it’s still entertaining after 25 years. A lot of things coming out of the 90s don’t usually hold up very well for a lot fo reasons, mainly production value and a lot of crappy color patterns for clothing, but this one survives the test of time because Bette Milder, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy are astounding as the three main antagonist. Each contains their own wacky and zany personality, which compliments the other, while also bringing a layer of fear, discomfort, and horror to add to the humor. It’s such an odd balance for a Disney film because at most you usually have a thin layer of horror for evil Disney characters, but nothing that says, “Good lord” when they do something horrific, such as sucking the life-force out of a child and hiding her body with a blanket. That’s not something you see every day with a Disney film, but you see it with these characters and that is one reason why they are memorable.
Anyway, the three-act narrative, while somewhat loosey-goosey with explanation, still brings a fun fear-filled Halloween delight. The first act gives you a good explanation of the sisters and reasons why Salem feared them. It doesn’t beat around the bush, as the three witches kill a child, turn her brother into an immortal cat, and laugh in the face of being hung for their crimes. It’s a great introduction to the antagonist, sets the tone for their capabilities as witches, as well as a good setup for the cat, who will relevant in the main story.
As the act transitions to modern times, 1993, we’re introduced to our protagonist, Max, Thora, and Vinessa, whom have made their way to the witches’ homestead, a popular historical landmark for Salem and on Halloween, where the kids decide to mess around haphazardly. Max, wanting to impress Vinessa, and not be a lame duck in a new town, lights a candle that is said to bring back the witches, if lit by a virgin (and on going humor piece throughout the film). Once the candle is lit, the witches are resurrected, and their reign of terror continues where it left off in 1693, as they want to take the life out of as many children as humanly possible. A great way to transition to the second act, where we find a fair amount of different situations for the witches to get into, which includes singing at a Halloween party, before trying to take the town by storm.
The movie transitions into the third act with a huge dilemma, and…well, you’ll just have to watch the film to see how it wraps up. Again, this film lives and dies by the three witches and the performances from our main actors. While I would bet more than a few lines in the film were made-up on the fly, the style in which and performance from Milder, Parker, and Najimy bring their characters and how they interact with each other without breaking character to an incredibly epic level for movie that was almost a ‘made for television’ production. Without them, this becomes a forgettable film, but thanks to them it’s a classic tale that deserves a Halloween viewing year-in and year-out.
On a side note, it’s nice to see that Disney is giving it some anniversary love. It’s a movie that lives in the hearts and minds of multiple generations, so it definitely deserved a Blu-ray release with a fair amount of features to go with it. Here’s what you’re getting with this Blu-ray:
We ♥︎ “Hocus Pocus”: Trivia and Treats Edition – A spellbinding new way to experience the film with:
– Fun facts and trivia
– Deleted scenes
– Cast and crew commentary
– Concept art and storyboards
– Behind-the-scenes secrets, and more!
Original 1993 Production Featurette – Discover that witchcraft is cinematic artistry in disguise in this resurrected throwback production featurette.
For a time period that didn’t have special features planned during production, it was good to see some solid features make it home.
Beyond features, the film also looks really cleaned-up for a 1993 flick. Disney knows how to bring some solid quality to 1080p, so it’s no surprise that the film looks good on the HD format. Maybe next year 4k? Ah, not sure I want to see the 90s clothing style that well lit. Anyway, it’s a great release, especially for this time of year.
