Sfdebris.net

So I just got back from watching Hocus Pocus in Theaters for the film's 30th Anniversary. I'm honesty kinda amazed that Disney went out of it's way to re-release this film in theaters alongside The Nightmare Before Christmas which is also celebrating its 30 Anniversary this year. I've made it no secret that I ADORE this film. Oh yeah it's cheesy as Hell but it's DELICIOUS Cheese. The Kind of cheese that all cheese strives to be.

I've loved this film since it first came out and it was so nice to see it again in theaters after all these years and it really says a lot about how big the fanbase for this film has become. As one critic said about the film "Hocus Pocus is no longer a Cult Classic it's a Classic Period!" Again Disney had no issue issue releasing this film alongside The Nightmare Before Christmas which weirdly has kind of a same history as the film, on release, was seen as just okay by critics but as time went on it gained more and more of a following until it became an iconic part of Halloween and was just seen as a classic.

I think a big part of this film's popularity and why everyone keep coming back to it year after year is that it's not trying to be something deep and meaningful. It knows and it's a dumb movie and just roles with it. It's not ashamed of what it is and that makes it all the more appealing.

There was actually a big difference in their relative histories, so it is pretty incredible they treat them as equal now.

The Nightmare Before Christmas gained a strong following pretty soon after its release, and was already very widely popular by 1998, only five years after its release. The Haunted Mansion overlay at the theme parks started in 2001.

Hocus Pocus OTOH didn't get the revival it's currently enjoying until at least a decade later, well into the 2010s. It was mostly a forgotten and maligned film for most of the time before that. Having rewatched it recently for the first time since High School (no one I knew liked it at the time), it holds up better than I remember. It's not great, but the weak parts matter a bit less. The sequel was an enjoyable addition that does some new things with it that I appreciate, even if I noticed a deliberate "softening" of the villains and their origins-as-stated from the original. The dumb jokes work pretty well, I agree. It's goofy, but it's okay.

I suspect movies like Ernest Scared Stupid, which already had a couple of years head start, limited the audience for this film initially. They're very similar in tone, but Ernest is a little more adept at its execution.

Anyway, good for Hocus Pocus. It's not a personal favorite by any stretch, but I do think it deserved better than it had gotten back then. It's nice for the kids who grew up with it that it's more appreciated now.