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Hocus Pocus is a 1993 fantasy comedy flick from Disney. It marked Disney's first entry into digital visual graphics in a live-action movie. For such a milestone movie, it had a very underwhelming box office response and went unnoticed for years. That was until it was rediscovered during Halloween celebrations.
Hocus Pocus tells the story of three witches who were executed during the Salem witch trials but eventually return to contemporary Salem after a boy lights a cursed candle. Although revived through the curse, the witches need to suck the life force out of at least one child before sunrise, or they will perish. The trio sets off to fulfill their objective so that they can ultimately come back to life.
Max, Dani, and Allison fight off the witches and prevent them from succeeding, and after a whole night of misadventures, the witches are finally defeated by the rising sun. While the witches die, their spellbook is still alive, signaling that the trio may return sometime in the future.
With the sequel dropping on September 30, 2022, let us explore some lesser-known exciting facts about the original 1993 cult classic, Hocus Pocus.
Sharing props, real witches, and more - 4 fun and interesting facts to know about 1993 cult classic Hocus Pocus
1) Hocus Pocus boasts famous movie sets
The filming of Hocus Pocus started in 1992 after several script changes. While the film is set in Salem, most of the filming was shot on sound stages in Burbank, California.
Understandably, the set has been used by other films as well, and American Beauty is one of them. In a shot, after Max and his group have escaped the witches and are talking to Brinx, we can see a familiar house in the backdrop. It is the same house as the one in American Beauty, where the Burnham family resided.
Hocus Pocus also shares a scene with a famous object from another popular TV show. In the scene where Max, Dani, and Allison celebrate in the locality, we can see the same fountain featured in the intro of the famous sitcom Friends. Both the sequences were shot in the same location, in a Warner Bros. ranch in LA.
2) Sarah Jessica Parker might be a real witch
Sarah Jessica Parker plays the role of Sarah Sanderson, the youngest of the three witches terrifying Salem. One of the most interesting facts about this casting was that Parker was distantly related to a woman called Esther Elwell, who was accused of practicing witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. However, witch trials were abolished before her case reached trials.
In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Parker talked about how she loved flying in the movie. She would sit on the flying rig and read newspapers while others took a break.
3) The film tanked in the box office during its 1993 theatrical run
Hocus Pocus was initially a flop at the box office and became a cult classic years later. According to Yahoo, the film earned only $39.5 million during its initial theatrical run. Although a flop, the movie gained traction later and eventually put on the mantle of a cult classic.
While its theatrical release brought negative reviews from the audience and critics, network channel reruns and home video sales have been surprisingly good over the years. It has become a staple for Halloween in the American household and airs multiple times throughout October. The film received so much praise recently that Disney was convinced to make a sequel exclusively for its streaming platform, Disney+.
4) The inception of the story
The story of Hocus Pocus was initially designed as a bedtime story. One night, producer and co-scriptwriter David Kirschner was sitting on the porch with his two young daughters when their neighbor's black cat passed by. Kirschner thought up a story where the cat was an immortal being, cursed to walk the earth for eternity.
In the video attached below, Kirschner talks about the same around the twenty-three minutes mark.
The story developed from that idea and ended up being sold to Disney. The pitch to the producers was also an exciting affair. The team went all out and hung brooms and a vacuum cleaner to create a spooky ambiance. After years of deliberation, the script got sold to Disney in 1984, and the production commenced in 1992.
These were some fun and exciting facts about the 1993 Halloween flick by Disney, Hocus Pocus. If you also enjoy getting in the spooky spirit of Halloween and like watching related content during October, then be sure to catch the sequel to the film, releasing on September 30, 2022, on Disney+. If you still haven't seen the 1993 original, be sure to try it.
