Line #1 Trivia/HocusPocus


1	* ActorInspiredElement: Creator/BetteMidler herself had a hand in Winifred's wig and makeup design, as she wanted her appearance to evoke [[Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland the Queen of Hearts]]. This is why Winnie sports rosy red cheeks and a distinctively heart-shaped hairstyle.
2	* ActorSharedBackground: Zig-zagged; Creator/SarahJessicaParker's ancestor Esther Elwell was accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.
3	* AdoredByTheNetwork: In 2016, the Freeform network's annual ''13 Nights of Halloween'' line-up became an all-out ''Hocus Pocus'' lovefest; the channel played it every day during those two weeks, at different parts of the day. If you haven't figured it out by now that ''Hocus Pocus'' is a cult phenomenon, well...
4	** In 2019, the ''31 Nights of Halloween'' allotted even more time for it, culminating in it being scheduled to air five times, back-to-back, on Halloween day.
5	*** For being themed around Halloween, this movie gets a remarkable amount of airplay during the rest of the year, often for no apparent reason at all.
6	* {{Blooper}}: In the prologue, Emily's actress can be seen fidgeting in her chair for a bit ''after'' her character had already been killed by the witches while they're celebrating their newly acquired youth.
7	* TheCastShowoff: With Bette Midler as a main character, they were naturally going to have the witches do a musical number. (Creator/SarahJessicaParker was no slouch, either.)
8	* ChannelHop: Garris and Kirschner pitched the idea to Creator/StevenSpielberg's Creator/AmblinEntertainment; Spielberg saw Creator/{{Disney}} as a competitor to Amblin in the family film market at the time and refused to co-produce a film with his "rival."
9	* CompletelyDifferentTitle:
10	** Latin America and Brazil: ''Abracadabra''
11	** Portugal: ''Three Crazy Witches''
12	** Slovenia: ''The Witches Are Coming Back''
13	** Spain: ''Return of the Witches''
14	** Taiwan: ''Witches Are Crazy Too''
15	* {{Corpsing}}: Vinessa Shaw claims she couldn't stop laughing when Dani says "a virgin lit the candle" - as Thora Birch kept pulling her witch's hat over her eyes.
16	* CreatorsFavorite: Creator/BetteMidler said that this was her all-time favorite role. As a hammy, ShockAndAwe leader of a witch coven with a catchy song, it's easy to see why. Creator/SarahJessicaParker and Creator/KathyNajimy enjoyed working on it too, and for years all three said they would be happy to return for a sequel if one ever got made. [[Film/HocusPocus2 Wish granted.]]
17	* CutSong: At one time, the song by Music/{{Roxette}}, "Almost Unreal", was going to be used for the film in the end credits (hence "hocus pocus" in the lyrics). However, thanks to a bit of ExecutiveMeddling, it didn't make the cut, and ended up on the soundtrack for another Disney film (albeit an outside production distributed by Creator/HollywoodPictures), the live-action film adaptation of ''[[Film/SuperMarioBros1993 Super Mario Bros.]]'', instead. Ironically, an ad for this film's then-upcoming VHS release appeared in the beginning of the original VHS of ''Super Mario Bros.''
18	* TheDanza: Creator/SarahJessicaParker as Sarah Sanderson.
19	* DawsonCasting: An opposite case for this trope. The opening scene of the film's sequel ''Film/HocusPocus2'' is set in 1653 on Winifred 16th birthday, having been born in 1637. She was hanged in 1653 at the age of 56 in the opening scene of the original film. Creator/BetteMidler was 47 years old when the first movie was filmed.
20	* DeletedScene: Many, but few have been released in the film's 30 year history. A couple did appear on the anniversary Blu-ray, but they were silent and superimposed in the corner of the screen while the movie played.
21	* EditedForSyndication: Modern airings of the film on ABC Family and Freeform are subject to CreditsPushback, cutting out the entire post-ending section in the process.
22	* ExecutiveMeddling:
23	** When the film was being developed in the mid-1980s, it was intended to be much darker, and the young leads were all 12-year-olds. Subsequent rewrites lightened the tone and made two of its protagonists into teenagers.
24	** The studio also requested that the cat model used for Binx be re-designed. The initial model was more realistic, and they were worried the fangs and teeth might be too scary. The fangs were made shorter to make him cuter and more appealing.
25	** The studio also felt that Creator/SeanMurray's voice sounded too contemporary for a character who lived in the 1600s, so his voice for Binx (in both his human and cat forms) was dubbed over by Creator/JasonMarsden.
26	** [[OutOfHolidayEpisode The film was released in]] ''[[OutOfHolidayEpisode July]]'' because Disney wanted to attract kids out of school for summer vacation and that releasing it in the fall would hurt its chances at the box office. Besides, Disney already had ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' slated as their October release and didn't want any box office competition.
27	* FakeBrit: Jason Marsden (American) puts on an English accent for Binx.
28	* FakeNationality: The three WhiteAngloSaxonProtestant Sanderson sisters are played by two Ashkenazi Jews and an Arab Catholic.
29	* TheForeignSubtitle:
30	** France: ''Hocus Pocus: The Three Witches''
31	* HeyItsThatPlace: The fountain from the ''Series/{{Friends}}'' opening can be seen when Alison and Dani dance after [[spoiler: apparently burning the sisters to death in the kiln]].
32	* InspirationForTheWork: Producer David Kirschner came up with the idea for the film one night. He and his young daughter were sitting outside and his neighbor's black cat strayed by. Kirschner invented a tale of how the cat was once a boy who was changed into a feline three hundred years ago by three witches.
33	* MissingTrailerScene: Two of the trailers include four deleted scenes that aren't in the film.
34	** Mary and Sarah pushing Winnie into the school’s pool followed by them pointing at each other exclaiming “She did it!”
35	** The witches being surrounded by greedy trick or treaters who take candy crows from them in a deleted subplot.
36	** Mary squirting witch hazel in her mouth and Winnie dragging her out of a supermarket when she tries to kidnap a child.
37	** The witches meeting up with Billy after he fails to capture the kids, with Winnie complaining of his foul stench.
38	* OrphanedReference: A reference to one of the deleted scenes is kept in the film: After being resurrected, Mary says to Winnie “I knew I left this cauldron on, didn’t I tell you?” despite that exchange never happening in the film. It occurred in a deleted scene when the witches are about to be hanged Mary verbally wonders if she left the cauldron on and asks the people of Salem to allow her to go back inside to handle it. They don’t.
39	* PropRecycling: At one time the directors wanted to buy many of the Halloween costumes for the adult costume party, but the wardrobe department had run out of money, so they had to pull the outfits from the Walt Disney costume department.
40	* RealLifeRelative: "[[{{Satan}} The Master]]" and his wife are played by (uncredited) real-life [[IncestuousCasting siblings]] [[Creator/GarryMarshall Garry]] and Creator/PennyMarshall.
41	* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: Disney bought the script in 1984, then sat on the project for eight years. The original title was ''Disney's Halloween House'' and was supposed to be much darker and scarier. Rumors that Disney considered turning it into a made-for-TV movie at one point have spread over the Internet, but have not been confirmed by the cast and crew.
42	* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Creator/{{Disney}} infamously released the film in ''July'', despite it being a ''Halloween movie'', which was likely a big reason for it becoming a BoxOfficeBomb (to say nothing of the fact that it was up against ''Film/JurassicPark''). They evidently warmed up to it eventually, leading to the film [[AdoredByTheNetwork playing constantly on Disney-owned television networks]] every Halloween throughout the 2000s.
43	* ThrowItIn: Originally, the script had Billy call Winifred a "bitch", but his actor Creator/DougJones knew that the language would make him feel uncomfortable (he's very religious, and doesn't like to swear), so he had to improvise [[spoiler:(right after he got the live moths out of his mouth by a knife)]] with the "wench", "trollop" and "buck-toothed, mop-riding firefly from hell" line, which the directors were impressed by.
44	* VindicatedByCable: A box office flop dumped in theaters well before Halloween to distance it from ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'', the film was rediscovered through annual airings on [[Creator/{{Freeform}} ABC Family/Freeform]] (see AdoredByTheNetwork) that generated a strong fanbase. By 2020, Disney was treating it as just as much of a Halloween classic as ''Nightmare''; in October, both films were given splashy theatrical re-releases amidst the dearth of new films during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, with ''Hocus Pocus'' even managing to score the #2 slot at the box office. It also proved a seasonal powerhouse on Creator/DisneyPlus, spending most of October 2020 in the #2 "Trending" slot between ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''Nightmare''.
45	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
46	** A filmed but deleted subplot from the film involved the witches using candy crows to lure children. Thackery would have found a candy crow on his sister's pillow originally indicating she’d been lured away. The witches would have visited a supermarket to get ingredients to make some for their plan to lure all of Salem’s children. This would have also involved a scene of them being surrounded by dozens of trick or treaters who grab the candy crows from them. This explains why Max and Allison are not in a trance when Sarah sings to the children of Salem. Some shots from those scenes appeared in some trailers.
47	** The casting director's other choice for Thackery was Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio. He chose not to do it because it was too family-friendly, and ended up getting Oscar nominated in ''Film/WhatsEatingGilbertGrape'' the same year.
48	** Music/JenniferLopez auditioned for the role of Sarah Sanderson. Creator/ChristineBaranski, Creator/JoanCusack, and Creator/CarolKane were also considered
49	** Creator/ClorisLeachman was the producers' first choice to play Winifred. Kristin Griffith, Creator/SamanthaMathis, Rocio Banquells, and Creator/DianeKeaton were also considered.
50	** Creator/RosieODonnell was originally set for the role of Mary, but she felt too reluctant to play a scary character and turned it down. Creator/DonnaMurphy and Creator/AnneMeara were also considered.
51	** Music/JamesHorner was originally supposed to score the film but pulled out due to scheduling conflicts and recommended Music/JohnDebney to score the film (after Rachel Portman turned it down). Horner still composed Sarah's theme ("Come Little Children") for the film and is credited.
52	** Alison was supposed to spend the whole film in her Halloween costume. Both Creator/VinessaShaw and the costume designer argued that it would be impossible for her to do so much running and fighting in a 17th century party dress, so producers had Alison change into normal clothes after she leaves the house.
53	* WordOfGod: Binx was not able to speak until the Black Flame Candle was lit - hence he couldn't tell his parents who he was or warn Max not to light the candle. [[WordOfStPaul Jason Marsden]] has offered a [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation different explanation]], though: that Binx needed years to re-learn how to talk after being transformed.
54	* WorkingTitle: ''Disney's Halloween House''.

Context Trivia / HocusPocus