2018 marked the 25th anniversary of Disney’s Hocus Pocus. For over two decades fans have been watching the Halloween themed movie repeatedly during the month of October. Even the most die-hard fans can miss details in their favorite movies.
Throughout the ninety-minute adventure, Max Dennison, his little sister Dani, and their new friend Allison spend their Halloween night taking on the witches the Sanderson sisters and stopping them from ruining the lives of children all over Salem, Massachusetts. During all of the action and comedy, there were a lot of details fans could overlook.
Max’s Note To Allison Changes
When the movie kicks off, Max Dennison is busy doubting the truth behind the witchy stories about the Sanderson sisters. His history class gets the tale recounted by their teacher, and when Max balks at the idea of Halloween being a real holiday at all, he gets corrected by Allison. Max’s response is to give Allison his phone number. Allison gets one over on him by returning the note to him when they next meet up outside the school.
Eagle-eyed fans will notice that the placement of Max’s phone number on the paper as well as aspects of the writing change. There were two different notes! Of course, modern fans will also notice in TV viewings that Max Dennison’s phone number was blurred out. Though 555 numbers are typically used for fictional numbers, telephone companies started issuing those numbers as the amount of people with cellphones grew. Someone actually has Max Dennison’s phone number today.
The Fountain From Friends Appears In Hocus Pocus
While it might not have been noticeable in 1993, many fans might find one particular fountain in the movie familiar in the modern day. When the group thinks they broke they defeated the witches, Dani and Allison run around in front of a fountain while Max and Binx talk. That fountain has a place in pop culture history.
It’s become a famous filming location thanks to the opening credits of the sitcom Friends. It’s the same fountain that the main cast of the show splash around in. It’s really located in Cherry Hill, New York.
Hocus Pocus Used Real Bugs
There have been a lot of anniversary interviews with members of the cast over the years, and one point that often gets brought up is the use of bugs. Sarah Jessica Parker’s Sarah eats a spider at one point in the movie, and Doug Jones’ Billy Butcherson has moths fly out of his mouth.
The 1993 audience might have been surprised to find out that those bugs were all real years later. Yes, Parker ate a real spider and Jones held live moths in his mouth to get the perfect take.
Bette Midler’s Music Career Has Nods
Because Bette Midler’s Winifred has a love for performing just like the entertainer herself, there are nods to Midler’s music career sprinkled throughout the movie. While one nod occurs before a performance, the other doesn’t.
Mary refers to Winifred as “divine” early in the movie, which is a nod to Midler being known as “the divine Miss M” for her stage presence. Winifred also famously says, “Hello, Salem. My name’s Winifred. What’s yours,” before singing at a Halloween party. That is a play on a similar line from Midler as Madam Rose in the musical Gypsy, which she also appeared on TV in during 1993.
Someone Is A Fan Of Astrology
The movie opens the same way a lot of classic Disney movies do — with a storybook. The cover of that book, however, is an interesting one. It features an artist’s depiction of the Sanderson sisters’ house, but that’s not all.
In the area that would be the night sky there are symbols that will be familiar to those who love astrology. The book that appears to be the storybook version of Hocus Pocus has the zodiac signs Virgo, Leo, Gemini, and Taurus appear in the sky. Those symbols aren’t visible from the same place at the same time on Earth, so they either have important meaning to the Sandersons, or the artist responsible for the picture.
Allison Swaps Out Her Pendant
When Max and Dani find themselves at Allison’s house on Halloween, Allison is wearing a necklace with her costume. The necklace has a cameo on it. Allison’s necklace in Hocus Pocus, however, changes. After she changes to take them to the Sanderson house, she’s wearing a different one.
The necklace Allison wears during the rest of the movie doesn’t have the cameo on it. Instead, it looks more like a metallic locket. What’s interesting though is that the pendant is on the same string of pearls, which means Allison either has two very similar necklaces, or she took the time to switch out the pendant for the night.
The Witches’ Costumes Are Reflected Elsewhere In The Movie
The dresses of Winifred, Mary, and Sarah have become iconic Halloween costumes. The characters are impossible to miss in the movie thanks to their very distinctive garb. Each of the sisters has their own specific color scheme, and that’s reflected in other areas of the movie as well.
Allison is seen wearing a cloak that resembles Mary’s at the start of the movie, for example. Likewise, Max’s first tee shirt in the movie is a tie-dyed one that combines the colors of all three of the sisters’ dresses.
There Are Numerous Wizard Of Oz References
One of the most iconic witches on screen remains the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard Of Oz. Her theme music is instantly recognizable. In fact, fans might hear riffs of it throughout the movie.
There’s also one thing in the movie that calls back to that same witch. In The Wizard Of Oz, when Dorothy’s house lands in Kansas, it lands on top of the Wicked Witch’s sister. As Glinda removes her shoes, her striped stockings are visible right before they roll up. Winifred wears a pair of striped stockings through Hocus Pocus as well, and they get plenty of focus when she turns to stone in the graveyard.
There Are Familiar Costumes
In scenes that involve a lot of extras, it’s not uncommon for the same people to appear repeatedly. If fans are paying attention, they’ll notice that happen in Hocus Pocus as well.
Just outside the “master’s” house, there are quite a few kids trick-or-treating. At least, the camera wants the audience to think there are quite a few kids. A few of them walk back and forth across the scene multiple times, including a child dressed like a bumblebee and one dressed like a playing card. Maybe the kids were just trying to get as much candy as possible from the neighborhood? The more obvious costumes, like Mrs. Potts from Beauty And The Beast, don’t walk by as often.
The Sanderson Sisters Were Not Witch Trial Victims
Though Hocus Pocus presents itself as a kid-friendly tale of witches marked by the Salem Witch Trials (if there is such a thing), the Sanderson sisters were not women affected by the trials. The Hocus Pocus opening was set in 1693, exactly 300 years before Max and Dani’s part in the story. The Salem Witch Trials were put to a stop in 1692.
That’s not to say that women couldn’t have been persecuted after 1692 in the colony. The governor of Salem, however, saw his own wife accused of witchcraft in 1692 and ordered the trials, the tests, and the hangings to stop.
Billy Cheated On Winifred Six Months Before Her Death
Thackery Binx tells Max, Dani, and Allison the story of Billy Butcherson’s death to bring home how vindictive Winifred Sanderson can be. What fans might not notice on Billy’s headstone is just when Winifred sewed Billy’s mouth shut and murdered him.
Billy Butcherson’s date of death is May 1, 1693. That means he supposedly cheated on Winifred with Sarah only six months before the Sanderson sisters decided to steal the life of Emily Binx and cursed the town of Salem. Billy liked the witches before Winifred decided to make them “young and beautiful” again.
Siblings Played A Married Couple
These days, adults will be quick to spot this odd bit of casting. Kids watching the movie for the first time, however, will have no idea that “satan” and his “little woman” were actually played by siblings.
Gary Marshall played the man in a devil costume that the Sanderson sisters mistook for their master. His wife was played by his real-life sister Penny Marshall. Both have a storied career in the industry as actors, directors, and producers, but they haven’t played a married couple since (or before Hocus Pocus).
There’s A Witchy Police Badge
After Max lights the black flame candle and brings the Sanderson sisters back, he tries to go to the police for help. Unfortunately, the gag is that the police officer isn’t really a police officer at all. The guy dismisses Max for playing a prank, but reveals himself to be in costume in the same scene after Max leaves.
If the audience is paying attention, they would be in on the gag before the reveal. The man’s “uniform” doesn’t have a real Salem Police Department patch on the sleeve. Instead, the patch features a witch riding a broomstick.
Filming Produced A Lot Of Continuity Errors
If this was a list of filming mistakes the audience missed, it would be even longer. Fans might not have noticed some of these on the first watch, but they can be easy to spot on repeat viewings.
In some scenes of the witches flying, the cables holding the Hocus Pocus actors up can still be seen. Sarah’s hair changes styles throughout the movie. In some scenes it’s curly, in others wavy, and in still others, blow-dried straight. Mrs. Dennison’s wedding ring disappears and reappears during her party scene, just like Ernie’s hat does when he first encounters the Sanderson sisters. Spotting all the mistakes can take away from the movie magic for kids, but it makes for a fun party game for adults.
Binx Dies On Emily’s Grave
Though Binx is cursed to spend immortality as a cat, when the Sanderson sisters are destroyed, his spirit is able to move on, and the cat “dies.” When Binx dies, it’s in the same graveyard where he took the kids to give them background on the witches.
His place of death, however, is even more significant because it’s not on Billy’s grave, where he first told them stories. Instead, it’s on his sister’s grave, who then meets him to take him to the afterlife.
Winifred Couldn’t Have Heard The “Hocus Pocus”
“It’s just a bunch of hocus pocus” is one of the often-quoted lines from the movie. One of the things most people remember first, it is originally said by Max when he lights the black flame candle. Winifred then quotes it back to him later in the movie.
Winifred’s snide quote to him is meant to mock him for doubting the existence of magic. The trouble is, her quoting him is impossible. She wasn’t yet brought back to Earth and couldn’t have heard him. If the audience buys that she heard him from beyond the grave, she would have already known that Dani, Max, and Allison were all present in the house as well.
Binx Is Played By Two Actors
Like the Marshall siblings appearing as a married couple, this detail is more likely to be noticed by adults than kids watching the movie for the first time. Sean Murray, who starred as the human version of Thackery Binx, isn’t the only actor to play the role.
James Marsden, famous for voicing Max in A Goofy Movie, voices the role of Binx the cat. When realizing that Marsden and Murray’s accents sounded nothing alike, producers had Marsden record Murray’s lines as well. Murray still read Binx’s lines on set for the cast to react.
Hocus Pocus Occurs On An Impossible Day
Everyone can rest easy knowing that the Sanderson sisters will never return to this Earth because Hocus Pocus has to be set in some other reality. In the real world, the events of the movie occur on an impossible day.
The movie is set on October 31, 1993. During the movie, the kids go to school, then go home to attend Halloween parties or trick-or-treat. The trouble is, that day was a Sunday in 1993. Likewise, there was no full moon on that day. The last time Salem, Massachusetts saw a full moon on Halloween was in 1974. The next one occurred in 2020 - though on a Saturday.
