It's been 27 years right down to the day that Hocus Pocus first hit cinemas and what a wonderful 27 years its been!
From box office bomb to one of the biggest Halloween films on the planet, this film has definitely had a bumpy ride along the way.
It was originally released on this day (July 16th) in 1993, with the UK receiving the film during October of the same year. Over the years the film has grown with every Halloween and is even shown multiples times throughout October on tv.
So to celebrate one of the greatest Halloween films ever made, here's 27 bewitching facts for you to sink your teeth into.
From box office bomb to one of the biggest Halloween films on the planet, this film has definitely had a bumpy ride along the way.
It was originally released on this day (July 16th) in 1993, with the UK receiving the film during October of the same year. Over the years the film has grown with every Halloween and is even shown multiples times throughout October on tv.
So to celebrate one of the greatest Halloween films ever made, here's 27 bewitching facts for you to sink your teeth into.
1 - Hocus Pocus was originally created as a story by writer David Kirschner. He would read the story to his children before bed.
2 - Although a Halloween film, it was originally released in July 1993 and didn't perform as well as Disney had hoped. Created on a budget of $28 million, the film ended up making just over $39 million in the end.
3 - Sarah Jessica Parker absolutely loved flying on her broom, so much so that she would often spend hours at a time suspended on her broom while learning her lines.
4 - A scene cut from the film (but available on the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray) features Mary asking if the towns people can check to see if she left her cauldron on before she is hanged. When the Sanderson Sisters return from the dead she exclaims "I knew I left this cauldron on, didn't I tell you!"
5 - Bette Midler has stated that Winifred Sanderson is her all time favourite role she has ever played.
6 - Rosie O'Donnell was originally offered the role of Mary but turned it down as she didn't want to play a scary witch. Kathy Najimy also wanted the role as she was desperate to work with Bette Midler due to being such a big fan.
2 - Although a Halloween film, it was originally released in July 1993 and didn't perform as well as Disney had hoped. Created on a budget of $28 million, the film ended up making just over $39 million in the end.
3 - Sarah Jessica Parker absolutely loved flying on her broom, so much so that she would often spend hours at a time suspended on her broom while learning her lines.
4 - A scene cut from the film (but available on the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray) features Mary asking if the towns people can check to see if she left her cauldron on before she is hanged. When the Sanderson Sisters return from the dead she exclaims "I knew I left this cauldron on, didn't I tell you!"
5 - Bette Midler has stated that Winifred Sanderson is her all time favourite role she has ever played.
6 - Rosie O'Donnell was originally offered the role of Mary but turned it down as she didn't want to play a scary witch. Kathy Najimy also wanted the role as she was desperate to work with Bette Midler due to being such a big fan.
7 - Although featured in an original trailer a whole bunch of deleted scenes didn't make it to the 25th Anniversary Blu ray. These scenes include the Sanderson Sisters at the pool, in a supermarket and additional scenes with trick or treaters. They are referenced but the actual scenes are not shown.
8 - An original idea for the film was that the witches would trick the children by feeding them candy crows. In two deleted scenes (that once again didn't make it to the 25th anniversary blu-ray) we see the Sanderson Sisters at a supermarket buying ingredients for the candy crows and in another we see them handing them out.
9 - The Hocus Pocus sequel book isn't the only official Hocus Pocus book.... a novelisation of the film was released to coincide with the films release and actually features many of the deleted scenes and the candy crow storyline. You can still get your hands on the book from sites like ebay but expect to pay a pretty penny for a copy.
10 - The film has several alternative names. In Mexico and Venezuela it was released as Abracadabra and in France it was known as Hocus Pocus: Les trois sorcières which translates to The Three Witches.
11 - Hocus Pocus takes place on Halloween night in 1993. In the film there is a full moon but in reality there wasn't a full moon that night. The last time it was a full moon on Halloween was in 1974.
12 - Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimi have all agreed to doing a sequel and although there are many rumours of a sequel in production for Disney+, there hasn't actually been any official announcement from Disney themselves.
13 - Thackery Binx was actually played by two different actors. Human Binx was played by Sean Murray while his voice was from Jason Marsden.
14 - The Sanderson Sisters were hanged in Salem on October 31st 1693. In reality the Salem Witch Trials ended in 1692 and so no hangings would have occurred.
12 - Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimi have all agreed to doing a sequel and although there are many rumours of a sequel in production for Disney+, there hasn't actually been any official announcement from Disney themselves.
13 - Thackery Binx was actually played by two different actors. Human Binx was played by Sean Murray while his voice was from Jason Marsden.
14 - The Sanderson Sisters were hanged in Salem on October 31st 1693. In reality the Salem Witch Trials ended in 1692 and so no hangings would have occurred.
15 - The scene where Billy cuts open his mouth and moths fly out actually featured real moths. A special mouth rig was created and placed inside Doug Jones' mouth to stop him from swallowing any of the moths. When the time came he was able to breath out enough air to push the moths out of his mouth and create the famous scene.
16 - Towards the end of the film the Sanderson Sisters take flight into the night and Sarah begins to sing (The song's original title is actually Garden of Magic). The scene of all three sisters flying over Salem was actually created using puppets. Each of the sisters were created as miniature puppets on brooms/a vacuum.
16 - Towards the end of the film the Sanderson Sisters take flight into the night and Sarah begins to sing (The song's original title is actually Garden of Magic). The scene of all three sisters flying over Salem was actually created using puppets. Each of the sisters were created as miniature puppets on brooms/a vacuum.
17 - Satan and his wife were played by Penny and Garry Marshall. In real life they were actually brother and sister.
18 - The original title for Hocus Pocus was Halloween House. Early scripts even had this title, it was later changed to the movies name that we all love.
19 - Sarah Jessica Parker discovered that her 10th Great Grandmother was originally accused in Salem of witchcraft in 1692. Esther Elwell was accused of committing "Sundry acts of witchcraft". This was discovered when Parker took part in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are.
20 - The film was originally slated to be a Disney Channel original movie and there were no plans to release it in cinemas. Disney saw potential in the film and wanted to see if it would be a huge hit. Although it has reached cult status over time, maybe releasing the film in October and not July would have ensured it was a bigger hit in 1993...
21 - Real cats were used to play Binx. Kenny Ortega has stated that nine cats were used in total and each one was used for different scenes. An animatronic cat and cgi were also used. Even by today's standards, the effects created to bring Binx to life are still extremely effective.
22 - The song "Almost Unreal" by Roxette was written by Per Gessie as a theme song for Hocus Pocus. It was later scrappe and instead used for the live action Super Mario Bros film. Doesn't really fit at all though does it?
18 - The original title for Hocus Pocus was Halloween House. Early scripts even had this title, it was later changed to the movies name that we all love.
19 - Sarah Jessica Parker discovered that her 10th Great Grandmother was originally accused in Salem of witchcraft in 1692. Esther Elwell was accused of committing "Sundry acts of witchcraft". This was discovered when Parker took part in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are.
20 - The film was originally slated to be a Disney Channel original movie and there were no plans to release it in cinemas. Disney saw potential in the film and wanted to see if it would be a huge hit. Although it has reached cult status over time, maybe releasing the film in October and not July would have ensured it was a bigger hit in 1993...
21 - Real cats were used to play Binx. Kenny Ortega has stated that nine cats were used in total and each one was used for different scenes. An animatronic cat and cgi were also used. Even by today's standards, the effects created to bring Binx to life are still extremely effective.
22 - The song "Almost Unreal" by Roxette was written by Per Gessie as a theme song for Hocus Pocus. It was later scrappe and instead used for the live action Super Mario Bros film. Doesn't really fit at all though does it?
23 - A mini animated series was released via the official Hocus Pocus Facebook page for the 25th anniversary. The short-lived series is called The Brew and only consists of 5 episodes and they're extremely fun to watch. Personally I had hoped for more episodes the following year but it seems as though Disney has put the animated series to bed.
24 - The colours of Max Dennisons tie-dyed t- shirt all coincide with the colours of the three witches. Red for Mary, purple for Sarah and green for Winifred.
25 - During scenes where there are a large number of children trick or treating, various costumes are actually famous characters from different movies and games. Mrs Potts from Beauty and the Beast, Sonic the Hedgehog and even Michael Myers from Halloween all make a very brief appearance.
26 - In the scene where the witches suck the life force out of Emily Binx, she slumps over and is apparently dead. When the Sanderson Sisters begin to dance you can see Amanda Shepherd, who plays Emily, move a little.
27 - The house that Allison lives in was also used in American Beauty, which also stars Thora Birch. In reality the house is only a few doors down from the real Witch House in Salem.
24 - The colours of Max Dennisons tie-dyed t- shirt all coincide with the colours of the three witches. Red for Mary, purple for Sarah and green for Winifred.
25 - During scenes where there are a large number of children trick or treating, various costumes are actually famous characters from different movies and games. Mrs Potts from Beauty and the Beast, Sonic the Hedgehog and even Michael Myers from Halloween all make a very brief appearance.
26 - In the scene where the witches suck the life force out of Emily Binx, she slumps over and is apparently dead. When the Sanderson Sisters begin to dance you can see Amanda Shepherd, who plays Emily, move a little.
27 - The house that Allison lives in was also used in American Beauty, which also stars Thora Birch. In reality the house is only a few doors down from the real Witch House in Salem.
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