Hocus Pocus (also known as Abracadabra) has charmed millions of viewers for over 30 years and its fan base only continues to grow, but you might be surprised that it wasn't always the case.
Originally considered a flop, the film has become so popular, that 29 years later we saw the long awaited sequel being released to huge success and the announcement of a third film not too long after it's release.
Let's go way back to the beginning of the Hocus Pocus journey, to where it all began... Hocus Pocus was originally created as a bedtime story by writer, producer and creator David Kirshner. He created the story to tell to his young daughters and many years later he even had the same story published in an issue of Muppet Magazine.
He loved the story so much that over the years he decided to turn it into a film. The first script drafts were written by David and Mick Garris under the name The Halloween House (Neil Cuthbert helped write the later scripts). Originally the story was much darker, with the witches actually eating the children, but once it was pitched to Disney, the script was changed to make it more family friendly. The name was also changed to what we now know to be Hocus Pocus.
When Kirschner pitched the movie in 1984, he wanted the executives to walk into the room and be hit with the smells and sights of Halloween. The room was filled with candy corn, brooms, trick or treat bags and more and it worked! As David was walking back to his car, he was informed that Disney wanted the film and didn't want him to shop it to any other studio.
Originally considered a flop, the film has become so popular, that 29 years later we saw the long awaited sequel being released to huge success and the announcement of a third film not too long after it's release.
Let's go way back to the beginning of the Hocus Pocus journey, to where it all began... Hocus Pocus was originally created as a bedtime story by writer, producer and creator David Kirshner. He created the story to tell to his young daughters and many years later he even had the same story published in an issue of Muppet Magazine.
He loved the story so much that over the years he decided to turn it into a film. The first script drafts were written by David and Mick Garris under the name The Halloween House (Neil Cuthbert helped write the later scripts). Originally the story was much darker, with the witches actually eating the children, but once it was pitched to Disney, the script was changed to make it more family friendly. The name was also changed to what we now know to be Hocus Pocus.
When Kirschner pitched the movie in 1984, he wanted the executives to walk into the room and be hit with the smells and sights of Halloween. The room was filled with candy corn, brooms, trick or treat bags and more and it worked! As David was walking back to his car, he was informed that Disney wanted the film and didn't want him to shop it to any other studio.
Original scripts featuring the previous title of The Halloween House.
It would take 9 long years before Hocus Pocus hit the big screen and the script would go through many changes, the cast too. Rosie O'Donnell was originally lined up to play Mary Sanderson, but she turned down the role as she was concerned that the role would look bad on her image. Leonardo DiCaprio also auditioned to play Max Dennison, but turned it down for What's Eating Gilbert Grape and even the wonderful Bette Midler wasn't the first choice for Winifred. Winifred's role was going to be offered to Cloris Leachman!
Production of Hocus Pocus began on October 12th 1992, with Kenny Ortega directing and it was no easy task, not only did they build a full size house, with working water wheel on set, they also had to create an entire graveyard, be able to make the Sanderon Sisters fly and also animate a talking cat with both practical and digital effects. Tony Gardner helped create a large amount of the practical effects for Binx and the cast, including Doug Jone's Billy Butcherson. The film was filmed on location in Salem Massachusetts and on sound stages in Burbank California. The "Masters" house was shot on location in Los Angeles. The film officially finished filming on February 10th 1993.
James Horner was offered the job of creating the score for the movie, however he turned the job down and offered to write Come Little Children for the movie instead (as an apology to Kirschner). Kirschner then suggested John Debney, but due to his lack of experience with working on a major motion picture, Disney turned him down. It was thanks to David Kirschners persistence that Debney would be the perfect choice for the film, that finally he was given the position. He created and produced the entire score within 2 weeks and later went on to win a New Composer award for it too.
Production of Hocus Pocus began on October 12th 1992, with Kenny Ortega directing and it was no easy task, not only did they build a full size house, with working water wheel on set, they also had to create an entire graveyard, be able to make the Sanderon Sisters fly and also animate a talking cat with both practical and digital effects. Tony Gardner helped create a large amount of the practical effects for Binx and the cast, including Doug Jone's Billy Butcherson. The film was filmed on location in Salem Massachusetts and on sound stages in Burbank California. The "Masters" house was shot on location in Los Angeles. The film officially finished filming on February 10th 1993.
James Horner was offered the job of creating the score for the movie, however he turned the job down and offered to write Come Little Children for the movie instead (as an apology to Kirschner). Kirschner then suggested John Debney, but due to his lack of experience with working on a major motion picture, Disney turned him down. It was thanks to David Kirschners persistence that Debney would be the perfect choice for the film, that finally he was given the position. He created and produced the entire score within 2 weeks and later went on to win a New Composer award for it too.
The film was released on the 16th of July 1993 in the USA and opened against Jurassic Park. Sadly it did not perform well and only made $39 Million at the box office, which was considered a flop. The Nightmare Before Christmas was also due for release in October and at the time Disney didn't want to compete against their own film, which is why Hocus Pocus was released in July. The film released in the UK on the more appropriate date of October 29th of the same year.
Disney quickly moved on from the film and started work on their next projects, however thanks to fans, over the years the film slowly became a cult classic and is now loved by millions of people all around the world.
David Kirschner himself stated that he noticed the film was gaining traction when his daughters friend recited entire scenes in front of him, around five years after the film had been released. Twenty years later Disney would hold a D23 Anniversary event, which was insanely popular and featured exclusive merchandise. Twenty Five Years later would see a huge 25th Anniversary Spelltacular which was broadcast on freeform and 29 years after the film was released, we would finally get Hocus Pocus 2 in 2022, with Hocus Pocus 3 being announced the following year.
Disney quickly moved on from the film and started work on their next projects, however thanks to fans, over the years the film slowly became a cult classic and is now loved by millions of people all around the world.
David Kirschner himself stated that he noticed the film was gaining traction when his daughters friend recited entire scenes in front of him, around five years after the film had been released. Twenty years later Disney would hold a D23 Anniversary event, which was insanely popular and featured exclusive merchandise. Twenty Five Years later would see a huge 25th Anniversary Spelltacular which was broadcast on freeform and 29 years after the film was released, we would finally get Hocus Pocus 2 in 2022, with Hocus Pocus 3 being announced the following year.
