Surprisingly, this is incorporated organically into the story. The movie's theme boils down to one of sibling love. It's not uncommon for the kids in the kids' movies to be punch-worthy. Midler and crew deliver their frequently corny dialogue like pros, never loosing that ridiculous cartoon tone. Them jumping on mops and vacuums are the sorts of goofy, kid's movie jokes you'd hope the movie would avoid. The witches having their brooms snatched by young look-a-likes is amusing. Some of the overly goofy gags prove better then others. The trio constantly being fooled by fire sprinklers or headlights proves less so. The interaction with a horny bus driver or Garry Marshall dressed as the Devil get genuine laughs. Some of this is more entertaining then others. The witches are baffled and occasionally delighted by asphalt, a bus, TV, remotes, and the concept of Halloween. Much of the humor comes from typical "fish out of water" shenanigans. Kathy Najimi is similarly silly, acting like an overgrown dofus. She jumps around, repeats dialogue, and actually conveys a wacky sexiness. Sarah Jackson Parker, before everyone started calling her a horse, brings a manic energy to the part. She plays off the other two sisters nicely. Even her facial expressions and body language are calculated for goofiness. She hoots, hollers, squeals, and delivers every line with comic-stripe panache. Her make-up is cartoonish, including frizzy red hair, perpetually pursed lips, and comically exaggerated buckteeth. Bette Midler goes far over the top as lead witch Winnifred. The cast and characters make the film far more likable then it would have been otherwise. Recently relocated teen Max, dragging his little sister and high school crush with him, lights that candle, revives the witch sisters, and leads to a bunch of wacky antics. Should a virgin ever light the black candle, they will return. Set in Salem, of course, the child-stealing Sarandon sisters were executed but not before doing a few things: Turning a local teen into an immortal black cat, draining his little sister's life force, and, more pressingly, placing a curse on the town. The decent premise is classic horror stuff. Was there any other new information waiting me? The movie actually holds up alright. ![]() Nor did I know that Doug Jones, probably the most famous creature actor today, played the zombie in this. I had no idea that Mick Garris, veteran horror screenwriter, co-wrote this one. Of course, even goofy kid's flicks like this have new information to reveal. Probably more, since my Mom has long been a Bette Midler fan. ![]() "Hocus Pocus" is nowhere near as good as either of those movies but I've seen it a bunch anyway. "Gremlins" probably filled that role for a lot of eighties kids and hopefully "Coraline" is the pick for the modern 6-10 crowd. I think most every generation gets their own kid-friendly horror-lite Halloween movie. If you grew up in the nineties, you've probably seen "Hocus Pocus" a few hundred times.
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