It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Beautiful colors, leaves on the ground, pumpkins, pumpkin spice lattes, candy, apple picking, haunted houses, hayrides, corn mazes; the list goes on and on. And with this spectacular season comes some equally spectacular movies.
Which leads me to my all-time personal favorite Halloween delight; "Hocus Pocus." This movie is the ultimate Halloween flick for many reasons. So in honor and admiration of the film, I’ve decided to dedicate a whole post to why "Hocus Pocus" is not only the best Halloween movie ever but the best movie of all time!
1. Bette Freaken Middler!
Bette Midler has been quoted as saying that "Hocus Pocus" was “her best performance ever” and we couldn’t agree more! Between the
perfection of her witch accent, the genius design of her hair, makeup, and costume,
to the laughter her character’s dry sarcastic sense of humor brought the
audience. It’s safe to say Midler played one hell of a Winifred Sanderson. She
made everyone want to pick up a broom and fly away into the night sky!
2. Thackery Binx
I blame this cute teenage boy crush turned eternal talking black cat for my obsession and love for cats! Who didn’t want a cat after watching Thackery Binx’s heartwarming performance as a protective, loving big brother/cat, determined to protect others from facing the same fate he and his sister once did 300 years ago. Let’s all just take a moment and remember the heartbreak we all experienced, when we saw the movie for the first time and actually thought Binx was dead after Sarah ran him over with the bus.
3. The creepy but catchy music
Between Sarah Jessica Parker’s “Come little children” and Bette Midler’s “I put a spell on you” you couldn’t help but sing along and get into the spirit; even if the witches were evil and full of bad intention while singing them. Ah-Say-Into-Pie, Oppa-Maybe-Uppen-Die
4. The Facial Expressions
I think it’s safe to say all three of the “Sanderson Sister’s” had some unique and humorous facial expressions which made the movie all that much more enjoyable.
5. Young Thora Birch
I’m an only child and never had a younger sister but
if I ever could, I’d definitely want Dani Dennison for one. She’s cute,
stubborn, outspoken, adventurous, and most importantly loyal. She’s always
there to stand up and help protect her big bro. Plus she’s an animal lover!
6. Relatability
Has anyone in the history of the universe actually gotten
calmer from someone telling them to “stay calm?” I think not.
7. Winnie’s comebacks
.
Winnie Sanderson is one smart, sophisticated, and bad ass witch. There’s not many situations that she can’t handle with a burning comeback along with an evil smile.
8. Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson
The only other dumb blonde role that even rivals SJP’s,
is maybe Alicia Silverstone in "Clueless." Still, I think SJP takes the cake in her
hysterical interpretation of the definition of a dumb blonde.
9. Mary Sanderson’s pure awkwardness and weirdness.
Between Mary’s constant obsession with “smelling children”
and riding on a vacuum for a replacement broom, it’s safe to say it
doesn’t get much weirder or awkward than Mary Sanderson. But it's totally the reason we love her.
10. Everything about the movie gets you into the Halloween spirit
Pretty much everything in this movie gets you in the Halloween spirit. From the location of historic Salem, MA which we all know is infamous for the “Salem Witch Trials”, to Halloween costumes, to the three Sanderson sister witches, Billy as the Zombie, and Thacker Binx as a talking black cat; the entire movie incorporates several different Halloween ideas and themes.
11. Jay and Bernie aka “ICE”
The lovable d-bags. We all know they stole Max’s
shoes and Dani’s candy but we still can’t help to love their introductory scene
and their brutally honest insults to the Sanderson Sisters.
12. Max Denison
Max Dennison was every girl’s dream when this movie
came out. Not only was he cute but he was sensitive, caring, and the protective
older brother we all wanted to have.
The Sanderson Sisters might not always get along, but they always have each others backs when it comes to trying to steal back Winnie's spell book and suck the lives out of all of Salem's little children.
