The cast of Hocus Pocus returned to Salem, Massachusetts for the second annual It’s Just a Buncha Halloween on October 11-13.
Actors Omri Katz (Max), Vinessa Shaw (Allison), Jason Marsden (Binx), Larry Bagby (Ice), and Tobias Jelinek (Jay) helped organize the fan-focused celebration of Disney’s Halloween classic.
Following a Samhain celebration, a meet and greet, a burlesque show, and a trolley tour, the magical weekend concluded with the actors providing live commentary to a screening of the film at The Cabot in nearby Beverly.
Here are 10 things fans learned about Hocus Pocus…
1. The original script was much darker.
The original script that eventually became Hocus Pocus, written by master of horror Mick Garris, was much darker.
“Most people don’t know that this movie was originally written very scary, and then it was later rewritten to be a comedy,” Shaw explained. “I think it’s so much better as a comedy.”
“It finds a nice balance between funny and scary,” Marsden added.
2. Hocus Pocus didn’t have a premiere.
Walt Disney Pictures released Hocus Pocus in theaters on July 16, 1993. Although there was a cast and crew screening, the film did not have a formal premiere.
“When I was at the cast and crew screening — because we didn’t have a premiere; that’s how much Disney loved this movie, I guess — this excited me so much,” said Shaw, referring to the opening title sequence. “I got chills when I first saw it.”
3. Marsden voices Binx in both cat and human forms.
While Sean Murray portrays Thackery Binx in human form, Marsden was hired to voice the cat version and dub over Murray’s human lines in post-production.
“Sean was doing the voice of Thackery, and he’s great, but I think he was using his own voice. He’s kind of Valley, and they wanted an Old World sort of sound,” Marsden explained. “So I auditioned, and I booked it!”
Despite not being involved in the production at the time, Marsden visited the set while filming Boy Meets World on the same sound stage.
4. Max’s drumming was dubbed.
Binx wasn’t the only one dubbed — so too was Katz’s drumming for the brief time he played them on camera.
“I did [play the drums in the scene], and then someone dubbed over me. I must have sucked really bad,” he chuckled.
The drum scene was also “more grisly” in the original script. “Max gets so scared he accidentally stabs Dani with a drumstick, but they cut it,” Marsden revealed.
5. Katz still has his tie-dye shirt.
Katz still has one of the tie-dye shirts his character wears in his early scenes. “I just found it in my dad’s garage. Thanks, pops, for preserving that!” He also took one of the green bikes his character rides.
Shaw regrettably didn’t keep anything from the set. “That red coat I think I was offered later when the movie was over, and I declined it because I’m a weirdo.”
6. Thora Birch was directed to scream like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone.
When Dani yells for her mother after an argument with Max, director Kenny Ortega used Home Alone as a point of reference for directing 11-year-old Thora Birch.
“The direction was for her to do it like Macaulay Culkin a la Home Alone,” Shaw relayed. “She said, ‘I don’t want to do it because I don’t want to imitate him.’ Then [Ortega] said, ‘Do it worse than him.’ And she’s like, ‘Okay!'”
For Max’s taunting welcome to the Sanderson sisters over the high school PA system, Katz was asked to deliver his lines like Christian Slater in Pump Up the Volume.
7. Allison’s gown was worn by Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons.
In an earlier draft of the script, Allison wore her Halloween costume — an 18th century ball gown — throughout the movie.
“I was supposed to run in that dress the entirety of this movie,” Shaw said. “And then they’re like, ‘Let’s have her change and go upstairs.’ Thank God for whoever that person was!”
The dress previously appeared in 1988’s Dangerous Liaisons, which earned an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
“This dress was worn by Michelle Pfeiffer in the movie Dangerous Liaisons. It’s a rental dress from Western Costume. I wish that her sweat stains were on it when I was filming this because I worship her,” Shaw joked.
8. The Friends fountain appears in the film.
While several exterior shots have become tourist destinations in Salem, the majority of production took place on sound stages in Los Angeles. In fact, Sanderson sister actresses Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy were never in Salem for the shoot.
In addition to Walt Disney Studios, some filming was done at Warner Bros. Ranch — including a shot of the kids celebrating that features a soon-to-be-iconic fountain.
“Friends fountain in the back,” Shaw pointed out to audience applause. “We were there first, not Friends!”
9. Binx was the first CG talking animal in film.
The same year that Jurassic Park used pioneering CGI to bring dinosaurs to life, Hocus Pocus had “the first ever CG application to a talking animal,” Mars pointed out.
In addition to CGI and puppetry, several real cats were used to portray the feline friend.
“There are many cats in this movie that all piece together to make Binx,” noted Shaw. “This is not one cat. There’s a cat to walk. There’s a cat to sleep on you. There’s a cat to jump on you. We had to do buzzers and feed the cat every time, because you can only teach a cat one trick.”
10. More fun facts!
- Hocus Pocus was not only Jelinek’s first movie but his first audition.
- Bagby’s brother and producer David Kirschner’s daughter are among the trick or treaters seen in the movie.
- Katz’s personal tie-dye peace sign tapestry was used as set decor in Max’s bedroom.
- First assistant camera Frank Del Boccio appears in a lobster costume at the ball, while unit production manager Whitney Green can be seen giving out candy to trick or treaters.
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