Film

Hocus Pocus

Name: Hocus Pocus
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Family
Released: 1993
Cast: Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker

A gleeful slice of '90s Halloween comfort food: three centuries-dead witches — Bette Midler chewing every inch of scenery, with Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as her sisters — get resurrected in Salem and spend one night chasing down some kids and a talking cat before sunrise. It's silly, spooky-lite, endlessly quotable, and built for yearly rewatching rather than surprise: comfort viewing for anyone who wants Halloween without real dread.

TMDb rating

7.0

If you liked this

Beetlejuice1988

Same manic gothic-comic energy, just filtered through Tim Burton's afterlife instead of Salem's graveyard: a live-wire, scenery-devouring lead performance (Michael Keaton) that any Winifred fan will recognize instantly, and practical effects that still hold up.

But Burton's chaos-goth aesthetic is stranger and less cozy; younger kids might find its ghost-world logic more unsettling than a broomstick chase.

The Addams Family1991

Same decade, same gleeful embrace of the macabre as family entertainment, with Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia matching the Sandersons' camp energy scene for scene, one-liner for one-liner.

But Less plot-driven than Hocus Pocus's ticking-clock adventure; it's more a hangout movie built on jokes than a Halloween-night quest.

Practical Magic1998

Swaps kid heroes for grown witch sisters wrestling with a family curse, with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman clearly having a blast being magical outcasts in a small town that fears them.

But Skews older and more romantic-drama than the trio's Salem romp; less broomstick chase, more heartbreak and margaritas.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

I Married a Witch1942

Same premise fifty years earlier: a wronged witch resurrected to torment the present-day descendants of her tormentors, played entirely as comedy rather than horror.

The screwball ancestor Hocus Pocus never namechecks: a witch burned centuries ago returns to modern New England to torment the descendant who wronged her, Veronica Lake playing malice-turned-mischief with real sparkle.

But Black-and-white 1940s pacing and manners will feel slow and formal next to Bette Midler's cackling.

Casper1995no page yet

Same studio-era mix of practical spookiness and warm family comedy, built around a lonely supernatural lead who just wants to belong — the same found-family heart humming under the Sandersons' chaos.

But Lower on jokes-per-minute, higher on melancholy; it's a gentler, sadder film than Hocus Pocus's manic pace.

Matilda1996

Same era of kid-powered magic pitted against gleefully monstrous adults, with Mara Wilson's Matilda every bit as resourceful and quietly furious as Dani facing down Winifred.

But No Halloween setting or witches proper; the magic here is telekinesis, not spellbook sorcery, so the connection is tonal, not literal.

The Witches1990

Roald Dahl's story gives you Anjelica Huston as a Grand High Witch every bit as deliciously evil as the Sandersons, with practical effects that still genuinely unsettle.

But Considerably darker and scarier for small kids, with an ending bleaker than anything Hocus Pocus would ever risk.

The Craft1996

Takes the same 'witches loose in the modern world' premise and pushes it into teen horror, asking what real power might actually cost a group of outsider girls.

But Genuinely dark and R-rated in spirit; none of Hocus Pocus's cartoonish safety net — this one has actual teeth.

Halloweentown1998no page yet

Disney's own witch-family franchise-starter, cozier and more explicitly seasonal — perfect if what you actually wanted was more Halloween atmosphere and less genuine peril.

But Made-for-TV budget and ambition; charm carries it more than craft, and the effects show their seams.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch1996

If you want the witch-comedy feeling stretched across a whole series, Sabrina delivers the same warm sitcom-meets-spellbook tone episode after episode, with a talking cat of its own.

But Laugh-track sitcom rhythm is a completely different animal; less cinematic spectacle, more half-hour comfort food.

Kiki's Delivery Service1989

Both center a witch's identity and belonging, but Kiki flips the register entirely — tenderness and craft instead of camp and menace.

Miyazaki's gentle anime follows a young witch finding her power and her place in the world with none of the camp — the quiet, sincere version of 'what if witches were ordinary and kind.'

But No villains, no chase, barely any plot tension by comparison; viewers expecting spectacle will find it slow and small.

Suspiria1977

Same core myth — an ancient coven holding terrible power over the young — played as pure nightmare instead of Halloween-night comedy.

Dario Argento's fever-dream horror imagines a coven of ancient witches with real, operatic evil — the same 'coven wakes and hunts' bones as Hocus Pocus, stripped of jokes and drenched in color and dread.

But Genuinely frightening and disorienting, with none of the family-friendly safety net; not for anyone wanting cozy Halloween fun.