060 Hocus Pocus (1993)

Retro Grade Podcast

“YOU KNOW, I’VE ALWAYS WANTED A CHILD. AND NOW I THINK I’LL HAVE ONE ON TOAST!”

On this week’s episode, we are officially leaving behind summer and getting ready for Halloween. We start this season with revisiting a childhood classic, Hocus Pocus, directed by Kenny Ortega starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, and Doug Jones. Being released in 1993, the film was received very poorly, with well known film critic Gene Siskel calling it “dreadful,” and with little to no marketing support from Disney Studios, the film was dead on arrival, losing Disney around 16 million dollars at the time, But since then, the film has grown into a cult classic, with yearly presentations on television during Halloween. Similar to It’s a Wonderful Life, this movie had a second life on television, and it was continued to grow with no signs of stopping. And with the sequel being released on September 30th, there’s a chance for a whole new generation to learn about Hocus Pocus.

But how does the original hold up? We talk about one of the main reasons this film grew in popularity, the Sanderson Sisters. Being lead by the well-known Broadway actress, Bette Midler, the Sandersons Sisters antics and relationship was so charming and hilarious, that it’s easy to see why they were so impressionable to so many kids. From their dialogue to their performances, the Sanderson Sisters are brought so vividly to life, you can never forget them once you’ve spent time with them. We also talk about camp that is found in the film, and we discuss whether Kenny Ortega was intentional in the campiness, or if it just so happened to be there.

We talk about the release of this film, and how the cast and crew coped with the failure that is was considered to be, and how they feel about the film having seen a resurgence in recent years. And also, we talk about moving forward, this film might or might not have the same impact for future generations. So get ready for a spooktacular episode on a childhood classic, and stay tuned for the entire month of October, because we have a whole month of exciting films we’ll be revisiting.
Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o