Aaron Wallace points to Halloween fun in 'Hocus Pocus'
After reading Aaron Wallace’s ‘Hocus Pocus in Focus: The Thinking Fan’s Guide to Disney’s Halloween Classic,’ I thought it was time to see the film again. After all, I couldn’t remember the last time I saw ‘Hocus Pocus’ and for good reason. I had never actually seen the film. Fortunately, I was able to rectify the situation.
‘Hocus Pocus’ deserves its cult classic status. Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker are delightfully evil, scary and laugh-out-loud funny. The movie flies through in between where adults and children can mingle. There are plenty of moments where I thought, Disney got away with that, especially with Parker’s sexy witch and her shenanigans. Midler is brilliant, and Najimy is sycophantic fantastic.
There are goofy parts, scary parts, and dark parts, and according to Wallace it’s all these parts combined that make the movie beloved by a certain generation. While the film might suffer from a pacing problem given today’s standards of action films, and it doesn’t qualify as a musical or horror, you won’t mind. It’s just a good 90 minutes of entertainment and a blast from the past that should be watched for its campiness and for its groundbreaking elements (including but not limited to Billy Butcherson).
Wallace’s book provides a great complement to the film, which has a surprisingly rich history. He also gives background on Jay Hawkins’ ‘I Put a Spell on You’ and provides other unique views of the film. There are some places where Wallace ventures too far away from the film, especially in his discussion of Max’s virginity, but exploring fan theories isn’t all bad. If you haven’t seen ‘Hocus Pocus,’ now’s the time. Then pick up ‘Hocus Pocus in Focus’ to extend your viewing pleasure.
‘Hocus Pocus’ deserves its cult classic status. Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker are delightfully evil, scary and laugh-out-loud funny. The movie flies through in between where adults and children can mingle. There are plenty of moments where I thought, Disney got away with that, especially with Parker’s sexy witch and her shenanigans. Midler is brilliant, and Najimy is sycophantic fantastic.
There are goofy parts, scary parts, and dark parts, and according to Wallace it’s all these parts combined that make the movie beloved by a certain generation. While the film might suffer from a pacing problem given today’s standards of action films, and it doesn’t qualify as a musical or horror, you won’t mind. It’s just a good 90 minutes of entertainment and a blast from the past that should be watched for its campiness and for its groundbreaking elements (including but not limited to Billy Butcherson).
Wallace’s book provides a great complement to the film, which has a surprisingly rich history. He also gives background on Jay Hawkins’ ‘I Put a Spell on You’ and provides other unique views of the film. There are some places where Wallace ventures too far away from the film, especially in his discussion of Max’s virginity, but exploring fan theories isn’t all bad. If you haven’t seen ‘Hocus Pocus,’ now’s the time. Then pick up ‘Hocus Pocus in Focus’ to extend your viewing pleasure.