Hocus Pocus (1993)

It's just a bunch of Hocus Pocus.

After 300 years of slumber, three sister witches are accidentally resurrected in Salem on Halloween night, and it is up to three kids and their newfound feline friend to put an end to the witches' reign of terror once and for all.

Directed by: Kenny Ortega

Written by: Neil Cuthbert, Mick Garris

Music by: John Debney

Starring: Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Tobias Jelinek, Larry Bagby, Doug Jones, Amanda Shepherd

Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Family

Released: 1993-07-16

Runtime: 96 minutes

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Hocus Pocus (1993): trivia & fun facts

Fun facts

• Midler, who plays the central antagonist of the film (originally written for Cloris Leachman), is quoted as saying that Hocus Pocus "was the most fun I'd had in my career up to that point".
• Hocus Pocus started life as a script by Mick Garris, that was bought by Walt Disney Pictures in 1984.
• James Horner was originally slated to score the film, but became unavailable at the last minute, so Debney had to score the entire film in two weeks.
• Various rewrites were made to the script to make the film more comedic and made two of its young protagonists into teenagers; however, production was stalled several times until 1992, when Bette Midler expressed interest in the script and the project immediately went forward.
• Rosie O'Donnell was offered the role of Mary Sanderson but she declined as she did not want to play a mean witch.
• The musical score for Hocus Pocus was composed and conducted by John Debney.
• Even though he did not score the film, Horner came back to write the theme for Sarah (sung by Sarah Jessica Parker, more commonly known as "Come Little Children") which is featured in Intrada's Complete Edition of the score.
• Hocus Pocus was released July 16, 1993, and came in fourth place on its opening weekend behind Jurassic Park, In the Line of Fire and The Firm, grossing $8.1 million.
• Gene Siskel, reviewing for The Chicago Tribune, remarked that the film was a "dreadful witches' comedy with the only tolerable moment coming when Bette Midler presents a single song".
• With this supposed-family movie, they disappoint on nearly every level.

Source: Wikipedia

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