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Let's be honest, Hocus Pocus is not that complex or deep of a movie. The leads are largely uninteresting, the villains are only intimidating when the plot needs them to be and it doesn't take itself seriously for even a second. And yet, it's charming.

The leads are all likable, the villains are fun to watch and there's clearly effort being put into the film. I've mentioned this before the effects hold up surprisingly well despite this film being at least 30 years old... dear God I'm old... And above all it has a rather touching ending that still makes me tear up after all these years.

Is it just a case of Nostalgia Classes? Maybe, but this film has been shown over and over again all these years and as stated in my other post in relation to the upcoming show The Girl in the Woods this film and the Sanderson sisters have become hugely popular during the Halloween season. It's kinda like He-Man, Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers, it's clearly dated and can't be seen as a true classic but it's charming and over the years that charm has drawn more and more people in to the point that the film has become a classic in its own right.

When something is still being talked about and sold decades after it was first released then it can be safely be called a classic, even one as silly as Hocus Pocus.

The aspect I particularly dislike is the emphasis on the lead's virginity. A fifteen-year-old virgin isn't just the norm, it's the overwhelming majority, yet the movie treats him like a freak.

I've heard that the actor received so much flak from his peers about "being a virgin" that he when he became old enough he made it a point to star in a porno.

It's not a realistic or, dare I say say, a healthy attitude to encourage in youth.

Frustration wrote: ↑Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:55 pm The aspect I particularly dislike is the emphasis on the lead's virginity. A fifteen-year-old virgin isn't just the norm, it's the overwhelming majority, yet the movie treats him like a freak.

I've heard that the actor received so much flak from his peers about "being a virgin" that he when he became old enough he made it a point to star in a porno.

It's not a realistic or, dare I say say, a healthy attitude to encourage in youth.

I always saw it as being a joke about how awkward it was that it kept coming up in conversation thanks to it being relevant rather than seriously saying it's unusual. Still freaking weird in a kids' movie, and if I'm right they executed it badly.

Frustration wrote: ↑Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:55 pm The aspect I particularly dislike is the emphasis on the lead's virginity. A fifteen-year-old virgin isn't just the norm, it's the overwhelming majority, yet the movie treats him like a freak.

I've heard that the actor received so much flak from his peers about "being a virgin" that he when he became old enough he made it a point to star in a porno.

It's not a realistic or, dare I say say, a healthy attitude to encourage in youth.

Dude, no one takes that joke seriously and it's mentioned only 3 times and it's more about Max being an idiot for lighting the candle in the first place. And to close this out in the TV Series Castle there's a quote I always have to point to when anyone tries to blame stories for how people act.

Castle: If I hadn't created Nikki Heat...

Beckett: He would still be killing. He'd just find another reason why.

If Hocus Pocus didn't have the virgin jokes then anyone who was virgin shamed someone or were looking for an excuse to have sex they would have done so anyway and have used something else as an excuse. Now, I'm not defending this but it's like the movies Psycho or The Silence of the Lambs having villains that cross-dresses due to their psychosis, that it was used to insult of shame those who are trans is not the movies fault. Anyone who did so was no doubt already an asshole and would have used something else to insult people who are trans.

And just for comparison Psycho and TSOTL put just as much emphasis on the villains dressing up as women as Hocus Pocus does about Max being a virgin, i.e. it's mentioned like a handful of times and it's not treated as that important as others make them out to be.

Again, not defending it but it's not treated as that big a deal in the movie itself.

I dunno, maybe it was popular elsewhere, but I didn't know anyone growing up in my friends or family group who was a fan, and even as an adult no one I knew talked about this movie or had it as some Halloween tradition. I was probably in the wrong age group for it. Last time I saw it, I'd say it actually didn't age very well. Nostalgia is key for enjoyment, and that's alright.