Sarah, and Kathy Najimy is marvelous as the funny, perky Mary. What makes the film even better is that there are two stunning musical numbers--Midler's delightful "I Put a Spell on You" and Parker's hypnotic "Come, Little Children." Ignore the critics, "Hocus Pocus" is perfect not only for Halloween, but for any time of the year!

ENJOY!

comedy, supernatural and playfulness. I read that this was originally going to be a TV movie for the Disney channel and not have Sarah, Bette and Kathy in it at all. Boy are we lucky they were. I know that it sounds like I am babbling on a bit and not making much sense but they won't let me post this message if it is less than 10 lines! How ridiculous is that? It would be better if I could just write what I want to say and not have to fill the ten lines with nonsense just so I can post a comment!

for adults, but the older children and tweens seem to love it.It rates an 8.7/10 from...the Fiend :.

plan: to lure the town's children to their witch house and "drink" their life-force away from them.Bette Midler steals the show when the sisters crash a Halloween party, singing "I Put A Spell On You". There are many "time jokes" as well, having the 17th century sisters "confused" when they experience 20th century life: Blinded by a truck's head lights, they are convinced the sun is rising; they frantically avoid stepping on a blacktop driveway when they are told that it is "a black lake of death"; unable to find a broomstick, one of the sisters heads for the sky on a Hoover vacuum cleaner. The jokes are pretty good, and I was entertained throughout the film. I have watched "Hocus Pocus" several times already, and will watch it again and again. This is another example of a movie made for kids, but enjoyed by grown-ups as well. Recommended!

be appropriate for very small children, the movie is lots of fun for the whole family.

Halloween treat HOCUS POCUS 1993 has become a holiday favorite of mine having seen it for the first time marathon-ing a slew of Halloween-themed movies. While it's definitely flawed, it's funnier than 99.9% of the comedies now. Hell, let's just for the even 100! "Hocus Pocus" is the tale of 3 Salem witch siblings who were persecuted in the 17th century, but are revived 300 years later on All Hallows Eve 1993 by the opening of their book of spells by an unwitting teenager named Max skillfully played by Omri Katz of "Dallas" fame; he played the character John Ross Ewing for the longest time frame in the original series . Katz does a commendable job carrying the "kid" portion of the film, but it's the witches themselves who steal the show!The 3 witches are hilariously realized by Bette Midler Winifred , Kathy Najimy Mary , and Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah . Midler, Najimy, and Parker are a laugh riot throughout, with Midler the crafty, witty, wisecracking oldest sister, Najimy the goofy middle sister, and Parker the ditzy youngest sister. I even dare say that as hilarious as Midler and Najimy were, it was Parker who stole the show perfectly playing the brainless blonde bombshell! Parker is so effortlessy ditzy and sexy in this, I'm surprised she never really played another role like this at any other time in her career. She's almost unrecognizable. Also, this is perhaps my favorite of all of Midler's comic performances. She really lets loose here as this is probably her most broad comic role. Midler also makes the best, most funny facial expressions. And Najimy's acting choice of making her character slur her speech totally works and would have sunk in the hands of a lesser comedic talent. And I love the way the 3 actresses show the symbiotic relationship of the witches and do things in sync throughout the fim.The "kid" cast isn't half bad either. The aforementioned Katz is all in and exudes charisma as the put-upon teenage newcomer to Salem, as his family has just moved from LA to put down roots in the infamous, historical town. Katz gets great support from then-child actress and scene-stealer Thora Birch playing Max's precocious younger sister Dani and fashion-model-actress Vinessa Shaw as Max's love interest Allison . Shaw is kind of the weak link among the "kids" as she is obviously more mature than Katz and it's somewhat of a stretch at times she'd be attracted to Max's clutzy, innocent character. Although it's always nice when the nerd gets the girl! Also, there are a few memorable minor characters, most notably the zombified Billy Butcherson played memorably by Doug Jones , and also the 2 teen bullies who harass Max and steal candy from the trick-or-treaters, the bus driver who has the hots for the witches, the "cop" who doesn't believe the kids story about the witches, and none other than Garry and Penny Marshall, who play a rather creepy married couple. Also, there's Thackery the cat! Can't forget his contribution.There are even a couple of musical numbers, as Midler gets to show off her singing prowess with a memorable number "I Put a Spell on You". Also, Parker gets to show off her singing chops with a spellbinding rendition of "Come Little Children" during the film's climax. The movie boasts an upbeat and fast pace, nonstop laughs, and 3 iconic comic performances from Midler, Najimy, and Parker. The actresses comedic chemistry and timing is something to behold. I really enjoyed how Winifred was the brains and her younger sisters Mary and Sarah spent virtually the entire film mimicking her. It was like they were all sharing Winifred's brain! LOL I will say that the kid's storyline kind of lacked the humor when they were on their own and really amped up when they were in the presence of the 3 witches, which makes sense as the 3 actresses were noticeably more adept and skilled at comedy and comic timing than the younger ones. But, trust me, I've seen a lot worse child actors, a LOT worse! This is one of those movies that further supports my theory that film critics know jack squat about entertaining movies. Last time I looked, comedies were supposed to be FUNNY! If they don't pass that test, they fail completely. Thankfully, "Hocus Pocus" succeeds!