184 Fun Facts About Hocus Pocus

In the opening scene, Winifred says 'another glorious morning' makes her what?

Sick: 'Oh, look, another glorious morning,' Winifred sneers at the dawn of October 31, 1693, just as young Emily Binx is led into the sisters' house.

To lure the witches at school, Max poses as a game-show host named after which horror star?

Boris Karloff: 'I'm your host, Boris Karloff Jr.,' Max announces, greeting the sisters as his 'contestants' before the children shut them in the pottery kiln.

Max Dennison has just been dragged to Salem by his parents from which city?

Max moved from Los Angeles, which is why the bullies nickname him 'Hollywood' and he says people back home are 'very health conscious'.

The role of Winifred Sanderson was originally written with which actress in mind?

Cloris Leachman was the Winifred producer David Kirschner pictured, because he loved her in Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein; the film only went ahead once Bette Midler took an interest in 1992.

How does Max fake an early sunrise to rescue Dani from the Sanderson cottage?

With car headlights: Max aims his parents' car at the cottage window, the sisters shriek that the sun has come up early, and he frees Dani and Binx in the panic.

Although set in Salem, most of Hocus Pocus was shot on sound stages in which city?

Burbank, California, is where Disney has its studio lot: the flying scenes were done on wires on a soundstage there, and only daytime exteriors were shot on location in Massachusetts.

Under Winifred's curse, who must light the candle in the cottage for the sisters to return?

A virgin must light the candle on All Hallows' Eve, which is exactly what Max does to show off, earning a weary 'Nice going, airhead' from Binx.

Winifred's musical number at the town Halloween party enchants the adults to do what?

Winifred's 'I Put a Spell on You' makes the adults dance until they die; the spell breaks with the witches at sunrise and the parents stagger home exhausted.

In the original Hocus Pocus, how does Binx describe Billy Butcherson's relationship to Winifred?

Her ex-lover is how Binx introduces Billy at his graveside; raised to hunt the children, the zombie turns on Winifred the moment he can speak and fights on their side.

What fate befell Thackery Binx's younger sister, Emily, at the hands of the Sanderson Sisters?

Her life force was drained. The sisters lured Emily to their cottage and fed her a potion so that they could breathe in her youth, growing young again as she died.

What was the original working title for the film 'Hocus Pocus'?

Disney's Halloween House was the title on Mick Garris's original script, a darker tale whose heroes were all 12; rewrites made it funnier and turned two of them into teenagers.

Which future star auditioned for Max Dennison and impressed the director, but chose another film instead?

Leonardo DiCaprio impressed Ortega but passed on Max to make What's Eating Gilbert Grape, the role that earned him his first Oscar nomination.

What unique ability does Mary Sanderson possess?

Smell children is what Mary does, like a bloodhound: on waking in 1993 she sniffs out a hidden girl and guesses her age from scent alone, 'seven, maybe eight, and a half'.

Lost in modern Salem, the sisters accept a lift from a smitten driver in which vehicle?

A bus: its driver promises to convey 'gorgeous creatures such as yourselves' to their 'most forbidden desires', and even lets Sarah take the wheel.

What unconventional item does Mary Sanderson use for flight, instead of a traditional broomstick?

A vacuum cleaner is Mary's stand-in because trick-or-treaters have walked off with the sisters' brooms, and she is still riding it in the film's final battle.

What do the bullies Ice and Jay take from Max when they first corner him?

His shoes: Ice admires Max's new cross-trainers, asks to try them on and simply walks off in them, later jeering that 'the shoes fit great'.

What is the last name of Allison, Max's classmate and crush?

Allison's full name is Allison Watts, whose family has a historical connection to the Sanderson Sisters.

In Miss Olin's class, Max claims that Halloween was invented by whom?

Candy companies, Max tells the class, calling it 'a conspiracy'; Allison puts him right, tracing Halloween to All Hallows' Eve, when the spirits of the dead return.

To get Dani to visit the Sanderson house, Max agrees to trick-or-treat next year as which pair?

Wendy and Peter Pan is Dani's price, 'with tights, or it's no deal', and Max pays it because the trip is his chance to impress Allison, 'the girl of my dreams'.

What does Allison sprinkle around Billy's open grave to keep Dani safe from the witches?

Salt works because Allison has read that only a circle of it protects the witches' victims; when it stops the sisters at Max's house, Winifred sneers at 'a clever little white witch'.

How does Salem put the Sanderson sisters to death in the 1693 prologue?

Hanging is the town's sentence, but Winifred gets the last word: from the gallows she calls out the curse that will one day bring the sisters back.

What bursts out of Billy Butcherson's mouth when he finally cuts it open to speak?

Moths, and real ones: a wrangler tucked live insects into a latex pocket fixed to Doug Jones's dentures, and he had to do it twice after a light blew during the first take.

Approximately how old was Omri Katz (Max) when he was filming 'Hocus Pocus'?

Born in May 1976, Omri Katz was 16 when he shot the film between October 1992 and February 1993; he later left acting altogether.

In Hocus Pocus, which real Salem building served as the exterior for the Halloween party where the witches perform?

Old Town Hall, in Derby Square, lent only its outside: the party room where Winifred sings 'I Put a Spell on You' was a set, and no interiors were filmed there.

Hocus Pocus's 1693 opening, with Thackery Binx still human, was filmed at which historic Salem site?

Pioneer Village opened in 1930 as a recreation of Salem in its first years, billed as America's first living history museum, so the film's 1693 settlement came ready-made.

In the Sanderson cottage, what does Max convince the witches is a 'burning rain of death'?

The sprinklers go off when Max holds a lighter up to one; the sisters cower from his 'burning rain of death' until one of them notices that 'it is but water'.

After his curse, what does Thackery Binx resolve to do for the next 300 years?

Guard the Sanderson cottage: Binx watches it every Halloween for three centuries so that nobody lights the candle, and still cannot stop Max.

Which real graveyard in neighbouring Marblehead is where Ice and Jay first corner Max?

Old Burial Hill in Marblehead, not a Salem graveyard, is where the bullies stop Max on his way home and ask for cash and cigarettes.

Max and Allison sit through Miss Olin's class at which high school?

Jacob Bailey High is where Miss Olin tells the Sanderson legend on Halloween, and where the witches, lured in that night, decide the place must be 'a prison for children'.

In Hocus Pocus, Sarah Sanderson's siren song is commonly known by what title?

'Come Little Children' is heard in the opening scene, drawing Emily Binx to the cottage, and returns when Sarah calls out all of Salem's young; the soundtrack lists it as 'Sarah's Theme'.

How did Winifred kill Billy Butcherson back in 1693?

Poisoned him, then sewed his mouth shut with a dull needle so that he could not tell her secrets even in death, which is why zombie Billy cannot say a word for most of the film.

Back in her cottage after 300 years, Sarah Sanderson is thrilled to find which 'lucky' keepsake?

A rat tail: 'My lucky rat tail! Just where I left it!' Sarah cries as the revived sisters sweep back into their cottage, delighted that Winifred's curse has worked.

In Hocus Pocus, where do the children flee because the Sanderson witches cannot step onto hallowed ground?

A cemetery is off-limits to the witches, so Winifred raises Billy Butcherson from his grave and sends him in after the children.

Sean Murray, who played the human Thackery Binx, later spent two decades as Agent McGee on which series?

NCIS has kept Murray on screen as Timothy McGee since 2003; in Hocus Pocus he is seen but never heard, because his lines were re-voiced by another actor to sound less modern.

Which item does Sarah Sanderson fly on when she can't find a broom?

A mop is Sarah's ride because trick-or-treaters have made off with the sisters' real brooms; they snatch up whatever cleaning tools are to hand when the stolen book signals where it is.

The sisters take the costumed homeowner's wife for which mythical figure?

Medusa, say the sisters, pointing out 'the snakes in her hair'; the woman in curlers is unimpressed and orders them out of her house with a handful of Clark bars.

What is the name of Max and Dani's father?

Charles Rocket played Dave Dennison, Max and Dani's father.

Which figure's costume, worn by a Salem homeowner, convinces the sisters to follow the man indoors?

The Devil is who the sisters think they have met: they hail the man in the red costume as 'Master' and make themselves at home until his wife orders them out.

Which real Salem school building played the outside of Max and Allison's high school?

Phillips Elementary, on Salem Common, stopped operating as a school in 1992, which left the building free to stand in for the film's high school; only its exterior was needed.

What color is the flame of the candle that can resurrect the Sanderson Sisters?

Black is the proof that the legend is real: Max lights the Black Flame Candle to show it is 'just a bunch of hocus pocus', and the flame at once burns black.

The Hocus Pocus story began when producer David Kirschner improvised a tale for whom?

His young daughter was sitting outside with him one night when a neighbour's cat strayed past, and Kirschner made up the tale of the Sanderson sisters on the spot.

What do the Sanderson Sisters mistake a modern-day paved road for?

A black river is the sisters' first guess at the asphalt; Winifred edges onto it, finds it firm, and only then works out that it is a road.

What is the name of Thackery Binx's best friend in 1693?

In 1693, Thackery's best friend is Elijah, who helps rally the townspeople after Emily's disappearance.

In Hocus Pocus, what does Winifred warn her sisters will become of them when the sun comes up?

They turn to dust at dawn because the candle's magic lasts for a single Halloween night, which is why Winifred is so frantic to get her book back before morning.

Which director makes an uncredited cameo as the costumed homeowner who invites the sisters in?

Garry Marshall, director of Pretty Woman, plays the homeowner; the wife who orders the witches out of the house is played by his real-life sister.

What is the real first name of the bully who insists on being called Ice?

Ice's real name is Ernie, which he hates so much that he has ICE shaved into the back of his head so nobody forgets.

Hocus Pocus opened in US cinemas on the same day as which other 1993 family film?

Free Willy opened on the same Friday, July 16, 1993, and proved the bigger draw: the orca adventure went on to gross more than $150 million worldwide and to spawn sequels.

What is playing on the boombox the kids use to lure the witches into the kiln?

A French lesson on tape, beginning 'Welcome to the library', draws the curious sisters down the corridor; Allison's kiln idea came from an old oven behind a seafood restaurant.

Which actress played the youngest of the three Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus?

Sarah Jessica Parker played the youngest sister, the one described as the most beautiful but the least sharp of the three.

The sequel Hocus Pocus 2 skipped cinemas and premiered on which Disney-owned outlet?

Disney Plus had not even launched when the sequel was announced for it in October 2019; the film finally arrived there on September 30, 2022.

Kenny Ortega, who directed Hocus Pocus, later directed all three films in which Disney Channel franchise?

High School Musical is Ortega's: he directed and choreographed all three films, and the third, Senior Year, skipped television for cinemas in 2008.

Kathy Najimy, Mary Sanderson in Hocus Pocus, had just appeared in which 1992 comedy?

Sister Act made Najimy's name as the nun Sister Mary Patrick, and one critic used it as a yardstick: Hocus Pocus, said the Miami Herald, 'won't be the Sister Act of 1993'.

What does zombie Billy use to cut open his sewn-up mouth?

Max's knife does it: ordered by Winifred to kill the boy, Billy takes the blade, slits his stitches and spends his first words in 300 years insulting her instead.

Bette Midler, who played Winifred, has performed for decades under which nickname?

The Divine Miss M was the stage persona Midler built in her early New York shows; she made it the title of her 1972 debut album and won the Grammy for Best New Artist soon after.

Doug Jones, zombie Billy Butcherson, later played the love interest in which Best Picture winner?

The Shape of Water has Jones as the Amphibian Man, a creature held in a 1960s government laboratory, with whom a mute cleaner falls in love.

Which character does Kathy Najimy voice on the animated series King of the Hill?

Peggy Hill, Hank's wife, has been Najimy's role since the show began in 1997, and she went back to it when the series was revived in 2025 after a long break.

Thora Birch, who played Dani, earned a BAFTA nomination for her role in which 1999 film?

American Beauty cast Birch, six years after Hocus Pocus, as Jane Burnham, the daughter of Kevin Spacey's character; the part moved her from child roles like Dani into adult ones.

Co-writer Mick Garris is best known for adapting the work of which author?

Mick Garris directed Stephen King's Sleepwalkers (1992) and the miniseries of The Stand (1994) and The Shining (1997), becoming King's go-to screen adaptor.

Jason Marsden, the voice of Thackery Binx, has voiced which Disney character since 1995?

Max Goof, Goofy's teenage son, has spoken with Marsden's voice since A Goofy Movie in 1995, though in that film the character's songs were sung by Aaron Lohr.

Which song became Bette Midler's biggest hit and won her the Grammy for Record of the Year?

'Wind Beneath My Wings' had already been recorded by Lou Rawls, Gladys Knight & the Pips and others before Midler sang it for her film Beaches and took it to number one in 1989.

What are Max and Dani's parents dressed as at the Salem Halloween party?

Dracula and Madonna: Dad insists on being called 'Dadcula', while Mom's outfit baffles Max until she spells it out, 'Madonna... well, obviously.'

Where does Hocus Pocus leave the bullies Jay and Ice?

Locked in cages in the witches' house, where the sisters put them for calling them ugly; with nobody coming to let them out, the pair are singing 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat'.

Anne Fletcher, who directed Hocus Pocus 2, earlier directed Sandra Bullock in which comedy?

The Proposal has Bullock's publishing boss bully her assistant into a sham engagement to dodge deportation; Fletcher, like Kenny Ortega, came to directing from choreography.

Winifred's showstopper "I Put a Spell on You" was first recorded by which artist?

Screamin' Jay Hawkins cut the theatrical, growling original for Okeh Records; it has since been covered by everyone from Nina Simone to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Doug Jones played both the Faun and the Pale Man in which 2006 fantasy film?

Pan's Labyrinth was shot in Spanish, a language Jones did not speak; rather than mouth the lines phonetically as Guillermo del Toro suggested, he chose to learn the Faun's dialogue properly.

Before directing, Kenny Ortega choreographed which 1987 dance film?

Dirty Dancing's steps are Ortega's: writer Eleanor Bergstein chose him as choreographer, a protégé of Gene Kelly, who had mentored him on Xanadu.

Omri Katz, who played Max, spent eight years on Dallas as the son of which character?

J.R. Ewing's son, John Ross Ewing III, was Katz's role from the age of seven; he took the part over from a younger child actor and kept it until Dallas ended in 1991.

The first singer of 'I Put a Spell on You' began shows by rising from what?

A coffin became his trademark: after the record's wild sound caused a stir, DJ Alan Freed suggested the gimmick, and he built a mock-voodoo stage act around it.

Thora Birch, Dani in Hocus Pocus, earned a Golden Globe nomination for which 2001 comic-book adaptation?

Ghost World cast Birch as the sardonic misfit Enid beside a teenage Scarlett Johansson; it made little money in cinemas, yet its script earned an Oscar nomination and it became a cult favourite.

Jason Marsden, the voice of Thackery Binx, voiced Haku in the English dub of which animated film?

Spirited Away reached American cinemas because Pixar's John Lasseter, a friend of director Hayao Miyazaki, urged Disney to buy it and oversaw the dub; it went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

In Hocus Pocus 2, what business now occupies the Sanderson sisters' old cottage?

A magic shop, the Olde Salem Magic Shoppe, whose owner saw the sisters as a boy and learned from their Book how to make the candle that brings them back.

In Hocus Pocus, what is set into the cover of Winifred's beloved Book?

A human eye, which opens and looks about as if alive; when Max and Allison later open the Book's pages, that is what lets the witches track the children down.

Hocus Pocus 2 is set in Salem, Massachusetts, but which neighboring state hosted its filming?

Rhode Island stood in for Salem: the crew built a 1600s-style village at Chase Farm in Lincoln and also filmed in Newport's Washington Square.

Why does zombie Billy Butcherson finally fade away at the end of Hocus Pocus 2?

Winifred's magic ends once she is gone, so every spell she ever cast is undone, including the one that raised Billy from his grave.

Which Hairspray director was hired to direct Hocus Pocus 2 before leaving to make Disenchanted?

Adam Shankman could not shoot both Disney sequels at once, so he stayed on as an executive producer and said he was heartbroken not to be directing his friends.

Under what working title did Hocus Pocus 2 begin filming in October 2021?

Under the working title Black Flame, filming began on October 18, 2021, in Providence.

A biopic of which musician beat Hocus Pocus 2 to the TV-movie Emmy?

"Weird Al" Yankovic co-wrote the winner, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a spoof starring Daniel Radcliffe that gets his life story wrong on purpose; the sequel won none of its three nominations.

Which Disney film's Nielsen streaming opening record did Hocus Pocus 2 surpass?

Encanto drew 2.2 billion minutes in its first three days of streaming, after a month in cinemas; Hocus Pocus 2, which skipped cinemas altogether, logged 2.7 billion.

Which Gossip Girl reboot star plays Becca, the teenager who revives the sisters in Hocus Pocus 2?

Whitney Peak's Becca lights the candle on her 16th birthday and turns out to be a natural witch herself; in the end it is she who talks the Book out of obeying Winifred.

Which Veep and Detroiters actor plays Gilbert in Hocus Pocus 2?

Sam Richardson's Gilbert saw the witches as a boy, on the night of the first film, and 29 years later he tricks Becca and Izzy into lighting the candle that brings them back.

Which Ted Lasso star plays the Mother Witch in Hocus Pocus 2?

Hannah Waddingham's Mother Witch, who can turn into a crow, hands the banished young Winifred the Book, along with a warning that the sisters ignore centuries later at great cost.

Which Arrested Development actor plays Salem's Mayor Traske in Hocus Pocus 2?

Tony Hale plays two Traskes: the modern mayor and his Puritan ancestor, the reverend whose banishing of young Winifred sets the sisters on the road to witchcraft.

In Hocus Pocus 2, what does the all-powerful Magicae Maxima spell take from Winifred as its price?

Her sisters vanish because the spell demands whatever its caster cherishes most; a grieving Winifred begs Becca's new coven to reunite them, and fades away to join Mary and Sarah.

Hocus Pocus 2 opens with young Winifred banished for refusing to do what?

Get married, that is, to John Pritchett; the reverend called it defying the church, so she fled with Mary and Sarah into the forbidden forest, where the trio first met a witch.

In which pharmacy chain do Becca and Izzy outwit the sisters in Hocus Pocus 2?

Walgreens is where Becca and Izzy outwit the newly revived sisters and get away, only to learn that the man who gave them the candle set the whole resurrection up.

Stars of which reality show appear in Hocus Pocus 2's costume contest?

RuPaul's Drag Race alumnae Ginger Minj, Kornbread Jeté and Kahmora Hall play the Sanderson lookalikes, until the real sisters take over the stage and bewitch the carnival crowd.

Roughly how much money did the original Hocus Pocus possibly lose Disney in theaters?

Disney is estimated to have lost about $16.5 million on the theatrical run; annual October airings later turned the flop into a cult classic.

Which John Grisham adaptation topped the box office the weekend Hocus Pocus opened in fourth place?

The Firm led that weekend with $13.3 million; Hocus Pocus took $8.1 million and finished behind even Jurassic Park, which was already six weeks old.

Which film beat Hocus Pocus to first place on the opening weekend of its October 2020 re-release?

Tenet stayed on top; with studios holding their new films back during the pandemic, the 27-year-old comedy went into 2,570 cinemas and took $1.9 million to finish second.

Which comedian turned down the role of Mary Sanderson in Hocus Pocus?

Rosie O'Donnell has said she did not want to play a mean witch who eats children, even though it meant passing up a film with Bette Midler, her favourite performer.

Which director loved the Hocus Pocus pitch but balked at Disney's involvement?

Steven Spielberg heard the pitch at his company Amblin from David Kirschner and Mick Garris, but saw Disney as a rival for family audiences, so the script stayed at Disney through years of rewrites.

Who composed the Hocus Pocus score in just two weeks after a last-minute switch?

John Debney had mostly written for television until then; he returned to score Hocus Pocus 2 nearly three decades later, and that score earned him an Emmy nomination.

Which composer, unavailable to score the film, still wrote the music for Sarah's Theme?

Horner's melody, sung by Sarah Jessica Parker, is better known as 'Come Little Children'.

Which Aram Khachaturian piece appears in the Hocus Pocus soundtrack?

Sabre Dance was written in about eleven hours, by the composer's own account, when the director of his ballet Gayane asked for one more dance; it became his best-known piece.

Who produced and arranged Bette Midler's 'I Put a Spell on You' for Hocus Pocus?

Marc Shaiman and Midler sat at a piano and made up new lyrics on the spot, because the original had only a few lines and the number had to fit the story.

Which annual October festival in Salem themed its 2018 parade on Hocus Pocus?

Haunted Happenings marked the film's 25th anniversary with the themed parade, and Salem's tourism office reported a surge in visitors that year.

Where was the 2018 'Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Halloween Bash' filmed?

Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a working graveyard that also hosts concerts and summer film screenings; the anniversary special held its costume contest there, with Sharon and Kelly Osbourne as hosts.

The Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, a stage show starring the Sanderson sisters, debuted in 2015 at which Disney park?

Magic Kingdom stages it in front of Cinderella Castle during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party; the sisters call up villains such as Dr. Facilier, Oogie Boogie and Maleficent to help with a spell.

Roxette's 'Almost Unreal' was written for Hocus Pocus but ended up on which other film's soundtrack instead?

Super Mario Bros. inherited the song when Disney changed its plans for a Hocus Pocus theme; the chorus still says 'hocus pocus', and the single reached the top 20 in several countries.

The 2020 virtual reunion 'In Search of the Sanderson Sisters' benefited which charity?

The New York Restoration Project, which Bette Midler founded in 1995 to revive neglected parks and gardens, got the proceeds; the one-hour special went online because the pandemic ruled out a live event.

Sarah Jessica Parker later found global fame as which Sex and the City character?

Carrie Bradshaw arrived five years after Hocus Pocus: the dim-witted youngest witch became a streetwise newspaper columnist, and Parker went on to produce the two films that followed.

In the 2018 Hocus Pocus sequel novel, what is the name of Max and Allison's daughter?

Poppy has grown up with parents who avoid Halloween and doubts their story, so she goes to the Sanderson house to test it, 25 years to the day after the film.

Bette Midler, Hocus Pocus's Winifred, was born in which city?

Honolulu-born Midler, a house painter's daughter, left Hawaii for New York in the 1960s and got her break in the Broadway cast of Fiddler on the Roof.

Which 1979 musical drama gave Bette Midler her first starring film role?

The Rose began as a Janis Joplin biopic called Pearl; when Joplin's family refused the rights the story was fictionalised, and it still brought Midler an Oscar nomination.

Bette Midler built her early following in 1970 singing at what kind of New York venue?

A gay bathhouse: at the Continental Baths her pianist was the then-unknown Barry Manilow, who went on to produce her first album.

Sarah Jessica Parker was born in which state?

Ohio is where Parker was born, in Nelsonville; after she won a Broadway role at 11 in The Innocents, her family moved east to further her career.

Sarah Jessica Parker played the title role of which Broadway musical starting in 1979?

Annie first cast Parker in the small part of the orphan July; in March 1979 she was promoted to the title role, after Andrea McArdle and Shelley Bruce, and played it for a year.

Which 1982 CBS sitcom, cancelled after one season, starred a teenage Sarah Jessica Parker?

Square Pegs cast Parker as Patty Greene, an awkward freshman whose best friend Lauren keeps dragging her into schemes to break into the popular crowd at Weemawee High.

Kathy Najimy was born in which California city?

She is the daughter of Lebanese-American parents and graduated from San Diego State.

Kathy Najimy played Olive Massery on which late-1990s NBC sitcom starring Kirstie Alley?

Veronica's Closet made Najimy the best friend and finance chief of a lingerie tycoon; Olive's surname, Massery, is also the maiden name of Najimy's own mother, Samia.

Vinessa Shaw, Allison in Hocus Pocus, was cast in which Stanley Kubrick film while at Barnard College?

Eyes Wide Shut gave Shaw the part of Domino after Kubrick approached her as a student; she has called him very influential, and she left college to carry on acting.

In which 1995 film did Thora Birch play young Teeny alongside Christina Ricci?

Now and Then follows four friends through one summer; Birch's Teeny grows up to be a Hollywood actress, played as an adult by Melanie Griffith.

A year before Hocus Pocus, Thora Birch played Jack Ryan's daughter in which thriller?

Patriot Games has Birch's Sally Ryan badly hurt when a terrorist makes her mother's car crash, the attack that pushes Jack Ryan to rejoin the CIA.

Omri Katz played Marshall Teller in which cult 1991 TV series before Hocus Pocus?

Eerie, Indiana lasted only 19 episodes on NBC, but Saturday-morning reruns on Fox Kids in 1997 won it enough new fans to earn a spin-off series.

Kenny Ortega directed which posthumous Michael Jackson concert documentary?

This Is It was cut together from rehearsal footage of the comeback concerts he was directing when Jackson died; it reached cinemas four months later.

The director of Hocus Pocus made his debut with which 1992 Disney musical starring a teenage Christian Bale?

Newsies flopped in cinemas, as Hocus Pocus would a year later, then found its audience on home video and became a Tony-winning Broadway musical.

Doug Jones played which Star Trek: Discovery character across all five seasons?

Saru, a Kelpien who begins the series as a fearful, reluctant science officer, rises to captain the ship; his long, loping walk came from the hoofed boots built into the costume.

Doug Jones began his screen career as which 1980s advertising character?

Mac Tonight, McDonald's piano-playing crooner with a crescent-moon head, was Jones under the mask; he has said the job turned his career in a direction he had never expected.

The Hocus Pocus composer earned an Oscar nomination for which 2004 score?

The Passion of the Christ was another late call: Mel Gibson hired him in October 2003, after a first composer had spent a year on the music, and the film opened the following February.

Sean Murray, the human Thackery Binx, played Danny Walden in which military drama series?

JAG, a drama about Navy lawyers, was created by Donald P. Bellisario, who is Murray's stepfather, so the part was a family affair.

Charles Rocket, who played Max's dad, was a cast member of which sketch show?

Rocket was a Saturday Night Live cast member in the 1980–81 season, fired after saying the F-word on air; he later played the villain in Dumb and Dumber.

Stephanie Faracy, Max's mom, played John Candy's wife in which 1988 comedy?

The Great Outdoors sends Faracy's Connie and John Candy's Chet to a lakeside cabin for a quiet family holiday, only for her sister's boastful husband, played by Dan Aykroyd, to turn up uninvited.

Larry Bagby, the bully Ice, later played Marshall Grant in which 2005 biopic?

Walk the Line cast Bagby as Marshall Grant, a Memphis car mechanic who taught himself the bass so that he could back Johnny Cash in the Tennessee Two.

Hocus Pocus 2's Gilbert actor won a 2023 Emmy for playing which Ted Lasso character?

Edwin Akufo is the petty Ghanaian billionaire who buys Raja Casablanca and tries to lure Sam Obisanya away from Richmond; the part won the guest-actor Emmy at the second nomination.

Which Game of Thrones role did the Mother Witch actress play before Hocus Pocus 2?

Septa Unella is the nun who follows Cersei through the streets ringing a bell and calling 'Shame!'; when the actress left the series she was given the bell as a parting gift.

Which Toy Story character is voiced by the actor who plays Mayor Traske in Hocus Pocus 2?

Forky, a spork who believes he is trash rather than a toy, keeps trying to throw himself away; the same actor later took over Fear from Bill Hader in Inside Out 2.

Which Arthur Miller play retells the real Salem witch trials?

The Crucible used Salem to attack the anti-communist hearings of its own day; Miller was then questioned by Congress himself and found guilty of contempt for refusing to name names.

Which accused man died under torture for refusing to enter a plea at Salem?

Giles Corey was laid under a board piled with heavy stones to force a plea; he is said to have answered each demand with only 'More weight', and he died without ever entering one.

Which TV witch has a bronze statue in Salem?

Samantha Stephens of Bewitched came to Salem in 1970, when a fire damaged the sitcom's studio set and it filmed eight episodes in and around the town; her statue followed in 2005.

By what nickname does Salem, Massachusetts promote itself?

The Witch City puts witch logos on police cars and calls its high-school teams the Witches, although the witch panic itself began in Salem Village, which is now the separate town of Danvers.

Which cable channel made Hocus Pocus the star of its 31 Nights of Halloween block?

Freeform's block began in 1998 as 13 Days of Halloween on Fox Family; Hocus Pocus became its surprise hit, and in 2018 the line-up grew to fill every night of October.

Hocus Pocus producer David Kirschner designed which famous horror-movie doll?

Chucky began as Kirschner's own drawings: keen to branch out from children's entertainment, he sent his sketches of the doll to studios along with the Child's Play script.

Which 1986 animated film about the mouse Fievel did Hocus Pocus producer David Kirschner create?

An American Tail was directed by Don Bluth, who had left Disney in 1979 to start his own studio, and it out-earned Disney's own mouse film of that year, The Great Mouse Detective.

The singer who wrote 'I Put a Spell on You' first meant it to be what kind of song?

A refined blues ballad was the plan, but the producer brought ribs, chicken and plenty of drink to the session, and the band cut a wild version the singer said he could not remember making.

In Hocus Pocus, how does Max stop Winifred from forcing the last of her life potion on Dani?

He drinks it himself, so Winifred has to let Dani go and chase him instead. The gamble pays off when their mid-air struggle carries the witch down onto hallowed ground.

What does Max use in Hocus Pocus to fool the Sanderson sisters into thinking dawn has come early?

Car headlights do the trick: Max turns his parents' car on the house so the witches believe the sun is already up. In the panic, he and Allison get Dani and Binx away.

By the night Max lights the candle in Hocus Pocus, what has the Sanderson sisters' old home become?

A museum, by then abandoned, is what Max, Dani and Allison explore on Halloween night. In the sequel the same building has reopened as the Olde Salem Magic Shoppe.

Which Chicago Sun-Times critic gave Hocus Pocus just one star out of four when it opened?

Roger Ebert complained that the film was all frantic activity and shrieking with very little progress. His opposite number at the rival Chicago Tribune was no kinder, sparing only Bette Midler's song.

Which toy brand turned the Sanderson sisters' house from Hocus Pocus into a 2,316-piece set?

Lego packed in minifigures of Winifred, Mary, Sarah, Max, Dani and Allison, with Binx along in his cat form. The winning design was announced two months before Hocus Pocus 2 arrived.

Which Swedish act wrote Almost Unreal for Hocus Pocus before Disney moved it to Super Mario Bros.?

Roxette had already finished the backing track when Disney offered the Hocus Pocus theme slot to the girl group En Vogue instead. The song went to the Mario film and became a UK top ten hit.

Which mother and daughter hosted the costume contest in the Hocus Pocus 25th anniversary TV special?

Sharon and Kelly Osbourne ran the contest for the 2018 special, which also sat the actresses behind the witch trio down for new interviews. It aired on Freeform that October.

In 2021 Hocus Pocus creator David Kirschner revealed the film was being adapted into which new form?

A Broadway show based on the first film was in the works, Kirschner told a podcast that September. The original film's director had already said he would be interested in staging it.

How did the Hocus Pocus crew make the Sanderson sisters fly for the film's broomstick scenes?

Wires on a soundstage at the Disney Studio carried the actresses through the air, a long way from the real Salem streets seen in the daytime scenes.

In Hocus Pocus, what mistake by Max and Allison lets the witches track the kids to Max's house?

They open the book hoping to find a way to lift the curse on Binx, despite his warnings to keep it shut. The witches home in on it, seize Dani and Binx and take the book back.

In Hocus Pocus 2, the Sanderson sisters bewitch a Salem carnival crowd by singing which Blondie hit?

One Way or Another becomes a hunting spell: the enchanted crowd marches off to help the witches find the mayor. The Blondie original dates from 1979.

The Witches Are Back, sung by the witches in Hocus Pocus 2, reworks a 1974 hit by which singer?

Elton John first released the tune in 1974 under a ruder title, with words by Bernie Taupin. Bette Midler helped write the new witch-friendly lyrics for the sequel.

In Hocus Pocus, who walks off with the Sanderson sisters' broomsticks while the witches are indoors?

Kids dressed as them, trick-or-treaters in witch costumes, simply pick the brooms up and stroll away. It is one of several ways modern Halloween baffles the sisters on their first night back.

In Hocus Pocus 2, how do the young sisters take revenge on the reverend who banishes Winifred?

They burn his house by cursing it until flames engulf it. Centuries later, his direct descendant is the Salem mayor the sisters set out to hunt.

Which 1996 comedy reunited the actresses behind Winifred and Sarah Sanderson after Hocus Pocus?

The First Wives Club cast Bette Midler as a scorned wife and her old screen sister as the scheming fiancée of her ex-husband. It became a surprise box-office success.

Which TV series told the actress behind Sarah Sanderson that her ancestor was accused of witchcraft?

Who Do You Think You Are? traced her family back to Esther Elwell, a Massachusetts woman charged during the Salem witch panic but never tried. She gave one of her twin daughters the middle name Elwell.

Each Sanderson sister in Hocus Pocus has a signature color; which one runs through Sarah's costume?

Purple is Sarah's shade, from her embroidered bodice to the hooded cloak she flies in, while Winifred dresses in green and Mary in red.

On Bette Midler's 2015 concert tour, who dressed as Mary and Sarah Sanderson beside her Winifred?

The Harlettes, her backing singers, put on the other sisters' costumes and joined her for the film's version of I Put a Spell on You.

In the Hocus Pocus backstory, Winifred turned on Billy Butcherson after catching him with whom?

Her sister Sarah was the rival, and Winifred's jealous revenge on Billy was swift. In the sequel he protests that he and Winifred were never really a couple.

In Hocus Pocus 2, where do the banished young Sanderson sisters first meet the Mother Witch?

A forbidden forest outside Salem is where the Mother Witch finds them and teaches the trio the grim secret of staying young. The girls of the sequel end up in the same woods for the finale.

In Hocus Pocus, what does Mary Sanderson keep urging her sisters to form?

A calming circle is Mary's cure for stress, part of her role as the most caring of the witches, at least toward her own family. She is also the one who comforts Winifred when hope runs out.

In Hocus Pocus 2, Mary Sanderson skips the broom and hovers through Salem on a pair of what?

Roombas become Mary's ride in the sequel, one under each foot. The little robots later trundle in at just the right moment to free the trapped sisters.

Which facial quirk does Kathy Najimy give Mary Sanderson throughout the first Hocus Pocus film?

A lopsided mouth, made by biting one side of her lower lip, stays in place for the whole film. In the sequel the bite switches to the other side of her face.

Why is the zombie Billy Butcherson unable to speak for most of Hocus Pocus?

His lips are sewn shut, Winifred's way of making sure he could never spill her secrets. He finally slices the stitches open with Max's knife and uses his first words to insult her.

In Hocus Pocus 2, Billy Butcherson insists his whole romance with Winifred amounted to what?

A single kiss, shared when the two were young, is all Billy admits to. Gilbert promises to set the record straight for him once the night is over.

Which part of the zombie Billy Butcherson keeps getting knocked off during Hocus Pocus?

His head comes off more than once, knocked away first by Max and later by Winifred. Dani leaves her safe hiding place to hand it back to him, which is how the witch manages to grab her.

What nickname do the bullies Jay and Ice pin on Max, the new kid in Salem, in Hocus Pocus?

Hollywood is what both bullies call the newcomer from their very first meeting. Ice, for his part, cannot stand being called by his own real first name.

What do the witches do with the bullies Jay and Ice after being called ugly in Hocus Pocus?

They lock them in cages hung from the ceiling of the witches' home. Max later arrives, takes back what the bullies stole from him and leaves the pair dangling there.

In Hocus Pocus 2, how does magic-shop owner Gilbert come to know the Sanderson sisters are real?

He saw them as a boy on the Halloween night of the first film, then learned from Winifred's book how to make a new candle. That is how he tricks Becca and Izzy into bringing the witches back.

In Hocus Pocus, Winifred Sanderson's signature attack on Max shoots what from her fingertips?

Lightning, bright green and crackling, is Winifred's own special power, and she uses it to fling Max around the room. Her sisters only gain bolts of their own in the sequel.

In Hocus Pocus 2, the teenage Winifred Sanderson is banished from Salem for refusing to do what?

Marry the man chosen for her, John Pritchett, was the reverend's order, and her refusal was judged an act of defiance against the church. She was convinced that Billy Butcherson was her soulmate.

In Hocus Pocus 2, the Mother Witch gives Winifred her book of spells to mark which occasion?

Her sixteenth birthday is the day everything changes: banished that same day, she ends it owning the book she will dote on for centuries. The gift comes with a warning never to cast its most powerful spell.

Which musical did Winifred's actress film for TV in the year of Hocus Pocus, winning a Golden Globe?

Gypsy aired on CBS that December, with Bette Midler as the ferocious stage mother she had always wanted to play. It was later shown in cinemas outside the United States.

Winifred's curse in Hocus Pocus only works when Halloween coincides with which event in the sky?

A full moon on All Hallows' Eve is the condition Winifred builds into her curse, along with a particular kind of person to light the candle. Both line up on the night Max visits the house.

Winifred Sanderson's curled red hairdo in Hocus Pocus is styled to resemble which shape?

A heart is the outline of her towering bouffant, set off by a green velvet robe. Rouged cheeks, buck teeth and claw-like nails complete the look.

At the climax of Hocus Pocus, what happens to Winifred Sanderson when she lands on hallowed ground?

She turns to stone on the consecrated earth of the cemetery, where witches cannot set foot. The statue then bursts apart as the sun comes up.

At what moment does Winifred cast the curse that later brings the Hocus Pocus witches back?

At her own hanging, Winifred casts the curse in front of the townsfolk who condemned the sisters. They had been rallied by a friend of Thackery Binx.

Bette Midler has said that, of all the parts she has played, Winifred Sanderson is what?

Her favorite role, she has said more than once, and she backed it up by dressing as Winifred again for Halloween in 2016.

In Hocus Pocus, which vehicle flattens the cat Thackery Binx moments before he springs back to life?

A city bus does it, with the witches aboard as they hitch a ride through modern Salem. The curse that made Binx a cat also stops him from dying, so he simply reinflates.

In Hocus Pocus, which insult from Thackery Binx convinces Winifred that killing him is too kind?

He calls her a hag, and the vain Winifred decides he deserves something worse than death. The sisters instead condemn him to live on forever with his guilt.

In Hocus Pocus 2, what is the name of Gilbert's pet cat, which the witches mistake for Binx?

Cobweb is a dead ringer for Binx, so the newly returned sisters try to kill him on sight until Gilbert explains he is only a pet. He is last seen in the shop beside a second magic candle.

Jason Marsden, the voice of the cat Binx in Hocus Pocus, also voiced which lion in The Lion King II?

Kovu, the young outsider who falls for Simba's daughter, is among Marsden's best-known voice roles.

Which technique let the cat Thackery Binx appear to talk on screen in Hocus Pocus?

Computer graphics were laid over footage of real cats to make Binx speak. Animatronic stand-ins and puppeteers handled some of the other shots.

After the Hocus Pocus witches transform Thackery Binx, how does his father treat the cat at his feet?

He shoos him away, taking his transformed son for a pestering stray. Unrecognized by his own family, Binx is left to fend for himself.

Once the curse on Thackery Binx is broken in Hocus Pocus, in what form does he say goodbye to Dani?

As a ghost, back in the shape of the boy he once was, Binx thanks the kids for freeing him. His little sister's spirit then arrives to lead him to the afterlife.

In the opening of Hocus Pocus, what does Thackery Binx tip over to interrupt the witches' spell?

Their cauldron goes over when he shoves it at Mary and Sarah, spilling what is left of the potion. It is too late for his sister, who has already drunk some.

By which underground route does Binx lead the kids away from the zombie Billy in Hocus Pocus?

The sewers, reached through an old Salem crypt, carry the kids clear of the graveyard where Billy has just climbed out of the ground.

In Hocus Pocus, why does Binx tell Max that setting fire to Winifred's book of spells is pointless?

Magic protects it, Binx warns, so the flames from Max's lighter cannot hurt it. Max had hoped that destroying the book would break the curse on his new friend.

After the witches are defeated in Hocus Pocus, where does the zombie Billy Butcherson choose to go?

Back to his grave he goes, yawning, after Max thanks him and Dani wishes him a good sleep. The sequel reveals he never did manage to nod off.

Kathy Najimy, Mary Sanderson in Hocus Pocus, played which fairy-tale villain in Disney's Descendants?

The Evil Queen from Snow White was her part, written as a vain mother who is not over her feud with her stepdaughter.