I never really got the appeal of this film. Sure the witches are funny, but the kids are bland as anything, and there are entirely too many innuendos for my taste. Also, what the fuck is up with the virgin hating?

C

I can't believe there wasn't a thread for this!

I've always loved this film. It's not one of my favorite films ever, but it'd have to be among my ten most re-watched films (watched it again last night!).

It's cheesy, but a classic and super fun, and there are some great and highly memorable sequences.

It is a hard for me to rate it as a "film." It is a type of childhood totem. It is pure camp, but in a very pleasantly theatrical way. And I love the atmosphere and texture of it, the heightened Halloween-in-New-England swirl of cats and cauldrons and cobwebs and graveyards and spells.

This is an enjoyable film. I watched it a lot when I was younger.

Is there another film called Hocus Pocus? Just wondered why the thread title has its year in it too. I thought that was only added to differentiate between two films with the same title.

I added the year because I saw Wikipedia differentiated it with a parenthetical 1993, but now I notice the other title is just a 1949 Three Stooges short (one of hundreds).

This wins for SJP's cleavage again. I don't think a children's film will ever have anything as glorious as that again.

This is basically the best Disney Channel movie ever made. Yet was released theatrically. It's fun and simple. Great for the whole family. I always love reading the stories about the sequel that never happened.

This movie is so bad I can’t fathom why people subject themselves to it every year.

I can overlook out political differences, but THIS crosses the line!

zwackerm's gonna get it now!

I'd give Hocus a B//B-, but mostly because of the cat (an easy way to win me over), so Zwack is more right than wrong.

It's not a A movie or anything, but I find it hard to believe someone would hate it.

A sequel is suppose to be in the works, finally, maybe (speculation and rumors have been around forever), for Disney+ down the road. I would have been excited to see how it would do in theaters if given the opportunity. It's become such an iconic holiday film among many over the last 25+ years, that it could deliver something special at the box office. (Assuming theater chains still exist in the U.S. in the years to come.)

Can someone explain the appeal of this movie beyond nostalgia?

Many different ages like it, so it obviously has something more than just nostalgia. For me, it is perfectly balanced between horror elements and being child-friendly. That's a big plus for it. It also focuses on a child's perspective of how the scary and the fantastical are out to get you. There's also another young person's perspective at play, and that's the aspect of the nerd or outcast getting the girl.

Another thing it has is that Horrible Histories or Roald Dahl's The Witches quality to it whereby kids are exposed to disgusting or wicked things in a palatable manner. The 'burbs also exudes such a quality, as does The Addams Family/. It is so well wrapped up in its movie world, too, with zero trace of being meta or clever. It's a straight up scary story for kids, but there's plenty for adults to suck on too. The performances of the witches, particularly Bette Midler, is of great appeal. Plus, the kid from Eerie Indiana is in it, and anyone who liked that series probably likes this movie.

Lastly, but by no means least, "I Put A Spell On You" is a big, big reason why it's so well liked. Never underestimate the power of song. I mean, that was and still is Disney's #1 rule for movie success.

I’m gonna rewatch it before the sequel releases but I remember liking the witch scenes and hating everything with the generic child protagonists

It captures the fun Halloween spirit with its setting (Halloween in New England) and basic story more than, perhaps, any Halloween-themed film does. It's not a great movie, and I don't believe many watch it thinking it is. It's simply a fun movie that fits the season perfectly.

Halloweentown is probably the closest to capture the same feel, but being a Disney Channel movie (one that hasn't really even played that often on the channel in more recent years for some reason), I suppose it didn't quite reach as many people. And it's certainly the more child-friendly of the two films, meaning it may lack some of the adult/parent appeal (more adult jokes, light spooky elements, sex-appeal, "mature" language, etc.) older audiences can still enjoy in Hocus Pocus.