Only a few days are left before Hocus Pocus 2 (2022) premieres on Disney+. 29 years separate the sequel from the first film, Hocus Pocus which debuted in 1993. Bette Midler as Winifred Sanderson, Kathy Najimy as Mary Sanderson, and Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson, the sister witches from the 17th century, are set to reprise their roles in the upcoming film.
Yet according to IMDb, Hocus Pocus 2 might have had a different cast as there were plans that the film would have aired on Freeform rather than Disney+. There are a few more surprising facts about the two movies that viewers might have trouble believing are true.
Didn't Even Premiere on Halloween
A day later or a month or two can make a difference when it comes to movies debuting in theaters. Most Christmas or New Year's Eve movies will likely premiere during December or in January. There are other days that Hollywood steers clear of, such as Labor Day weekend, where all the summer blockbuster hits either debuted days before Labor Day or after, like Top Gun: Maverick (2022).
A film about witches that takes place on Halloween should have premiered on Halloween or at least in October right? Hocus Pocus wasn't released on Halloween; it actually wasn't released in October either. The film opened in theaters on July 16, 1993.
Filmed In 5 Months
Star Wars and James Bond make take the records for the longest series (that may never seem to end), while other films take the record for the longest production time to produce one film. The Other Side of the Wind took 48 years to make and finally premiered in 2018.
The longer a film production schedule is, there are likely more details that need to be addressed. Hocus Pocus didn't have a long production schedule to complete the film. According to IMDb, Hocus Pocus started filming on October 12, 1992, and ended on February 10, 1993. This was a conscious decision as the same year The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) premiered. If both films released during Halloween, it might have stirred competition.
Did you catch the Zodiac signs at the beginning?
Filmmakers like to insert references into their films. They could be as small as referencing another film from the same production company or a character walking by in the background from a different film. In the 2022 film Turning Red, some viewers caught Canadian references from the most obvious ones such as the CN Tower to the most minuscule ones such as the Tim Horton box on the kitchen table.
At the beginning of Hocus Pocus, there is a scene that reveals zodiac signs. A book shows the Taurus, Scorpio, Aries, and Gemini signs. This could possibly be actors' actual zodiac signs as Sarah Jessica Parker's sign is an Aries or possibly just referencing the Sanderson sister's signs.
Sarah Jessica Parker Ate The Spider
Did that really happen? How do actors create a realistic experience that viewers forget that there could have been digital effects added? Some actors turn towards method acting where they embody the personality and behavior such as Rooney Mara in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011) or Natalie Portman in the Black Swan (2010).
While this might not have been considered method acting per se, one actor did commit to making sure the scene looked real. During the Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Halloween Bash, Sarah Jessica Parker revealed that she did eat a spider. The Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Halloween Bash will soon be available on Disney+.
Brother and Sister Play Husband and Wife
Actors sometimes share the screen with their families. In It Runs in the Family (2003), Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, and Cameron Douglas all played a role in the film. In The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Owen Wilson shared the screen with his brother Luke Wilson.
In Hocus Pocus, Garry Marshall and Penny Marshall, who are siblings in real life shared the screen. However, in the film, they didn't play siblings. They played husband and wife. Garry Marshall played Devil, and Penny Marshall played The Master's Wife.
The Moths Were Real
Special effects can be computer generated, such as jumping off a tall building or sitting on a boat in the middle of an ocean with a wild tiger. In Hocus Pocus, spiders weren't the only real creatures in the film.
Doug Jones played Billy Butcherson, a zombie whose mouth was sewn shut. During the scene in the film Hocus Pocus, as Billy holds on to a boy, he cuts mouth open and spits out moths. According to the website Bloody Disgusting who interviewed Jones in 2018, the moths that flew out of Jones's mouth were real.
Whose Dog Is That?
In some films, dogs have the leading role such as The Call of the Wild (2020), Togo (2019), or even the 2022 movie, Dog. Hocus Pocus was focused on witches and specifically, the Sanderson sisters who reappeared after centuries wreaking havoc.
Among the creepy, and crawly creatures that made their way into the film, there was one cute dog that also appeared. The dog, Ralph, who wore a devil's costume, had a minor role in the film. According to IMDb, the dog that was owned by the Devil belonged to Najimy in real life.
Not Every Scene Made the Film
Movie trailers tease viewers with what they can expect to see in the final film. Some editors deliberately alter scenes so the scenes that appear in the trailer don't show too much of the movie. Other films have multiple movie trailers that show scenes out of chronological order.
Viewers might have been disappointed when they realized that multiple scenes in the trailer for Hocus Pocus didn't appear at all in the film. In one of the trailer clips, Winifred fell into a swimming pool after Mary and Sarah pushed her. In the movie, trick-or-treaters didn't surround the witches asking for candy, and Mary and Winifred didn't look through school lockers either.
Are the Names Just a Coincidence?
Biopics recount the lives of real people, while other "based on a true story" films might tell an event with some details added in for effects. Hocus Pocus is categorized as a family-friendly horror movie and is primarily a fictional film. However, that doesn't exclude the series of persecutions that took place during the 17th century, when people who were believed to perform witchcraft were hung.
This was known as the Salem Witch Trials. According to the New York Times, one of the last two people who were persecuted in New England for witchcraft was a woman and daughter, both named Winifred. According to IMDb, Winifred's (senior) mother was named Mary. In Hocus Pocus, Winifred and Mary were persecuted for witchcraft in the 17th century.
The Cat(s) were Both Real and Fake
The black cat is the essential sidekick for any witch. While the main cast returned for the sequel, Thackery Binx, at least in cat form that appeared in Hocus Pocus, didn't return. Instead, the cat was replaced by Cobweb; however, filmmakers are not excluding that Thackery Binx wouldn't be back in a different form in the film, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The role of the cat in Hocus Pocus wasn't played by one cat. According to Humane Hollywood, several cats were used in Hocus Pocus and depending on the cat's personality, they were selected for only particular scenes. Of course, the scenes where Binx talked involved a computer-animated head. Some scenes involved a real trained cat, an animated cat, and a fake cat