Movie Review # 394: Hocus Pocus (1993)

Well ladies and gentlemen, hope you all have been enjoying your October so far. Anyway, tonight, we are going to talk about an old live-action Disney film that was released around the early to mid 1990s. Tonight’s review won’t just be any live action Disney film. This time, because of the fact that we are approaching a holiday that occurs at the end of October by the name of Halloween, it only seems appropriate that we talk about a film that is Halloween-themed. With that said, let’s talk about the one and only Hocus Pocus.

Plot: When a former L.A. citizen named Max Dennison (Omri Katz), and his family move to Salem, Massachusetts, Max hears of a rumor that three witches lived three centuries before, and live in an accursed old house, in which the witches could easily be resurrected around Halloween every year, and his skeptical about it. However, when Max, along with his sister Dani (Thora Birch), and Max’ new friend Allison (Vinessa Shaw) come across the old home on the night of Halloween, and unintentionally resurrect the three witches, known as the Sanderson sisters (played by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker respectively), can these protagonists, with the help of a human that’s trapped in a cat’s body, send the witches back to their graves once and for all?

Now, even though I was five years old when this movie came out, I never heard of this film until just a few years ago when a friend of mine had reviewed it during the month of October, if I recall correctly. Also, I know a friend of mine, who also just watched it just a week, or two ago. Because of this, I was really curious to see it. So, I watched it a friend’s place, who had a Disney+ account. And now, it’s time for me to say how good the film was. Friends, I must say that while it’s a decent film, Hocus Pocus may not exactly be one of Disney’s best works, animated, or live-action. Why? For one, the story might feel a little too quick-paced more often than not. Okay, there are times when that can work okay. However, in this case, it doesn’t seem to work as well. One of the reasons for this is because of some of the characters. Actually, most of them! Sure, some of them are fairly fleshed out to one degree, or another. However, hardly any of them seem to stand out, and/or be noteworthy in this case. While I watched Hocus Pocus today, I can recall certain other live-action Disney films that ended up making better decisions. One most notable example that I could think of was when I watched the Disney Channel Original Movie Johnny Tsunami for the very first time this past summer, and thinking how much better that film seemed to be. Granted, that film was a TV movie, while Hocus Pocus was theatrically released. Despite this, Johnny Tsunami does a better job of showing how change can sometimes be for the better in the long run, has better developed characters, and doesn’t feel as rushed for being around an hour and a half to two hours. Not to mention the fact that Tsunami was release disc years after Hocus Pocus. Also, there were certain aspects of the beginning that could have been better as well.

Now, am I saying that this film is bad as a result? No! In fact, there are some elements that do work, such as characters like the witches, and the cat character being the only stand out characters in this film. The idea about having a live book with an eye in it is also very clever. As for the CGI effects, those were decent too, even if not quite great. Also, even for the underdeveloped characters, they certainly do have some charm to them to a degree too. There were also a few funny moments in this film too. Oh, and for the climax, while not exactly one of the greatest, seemed to be executed fairly well too. The acting from people like Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Omri Katz, and the rest of the cast was very good too.

And that’s my review for Hocus Pocus. Sure, it may not be one of Disney’s best movies. Still, if you’re looking to watch a Disney film on Disney+, or even On Demand that’s fairly entertaining, you should give it a shot. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a Disney film that’s grand, and one that you want to really, really like, you’ll be disappointed. However, if you’re okay with a Disney film that you haven’t seen, and want to see for the first time, then Hocus Pocus is worth a shot.

Final Grade: C+