Hocus Pocus Movie Review

I’ve said before that I don’t particularly care for horror movies in general. During the Halloween Holiday it can be tricky to find some good “Halloween Movies” that aren’t simply slasher horror flicks. There are a couple of good ones out there that are both fun and family-friendly, like Hocus Pocus for example.

300 years have passes since The Sanderson Sisters were executed in Salem, Massachusetts for practicing witchcraft. Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy), and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) used a spell before being hung to ensure they would return on Halloween to exact revenge upon Salem. The Sanderson Sisters have become a legend in Salem, and their old home a tourist attraction. Newly transplanted from California, Max (Omri Katz) explores the tourist destination, daring the witches to manifest themselves. Disregarding warnings of his sister Dani (Thora Birch) and his new girlfriend Allison (Vinessa Shaw), Max actually causes The Sanderson Sisters to appear to wreak havoc on the town. The kids take off with the witches’ spell book. The witches, who will die by daybreak if they can’t cast the proper spell for immortality, have to get the book back by whatever means they can.

Hocus Pocus is a great family-friendly Halloween film. Witches, magic, black cats, trick-or-treating, and even a zombie all run amuck in this film. And yet, they aren’t depicted in such a way that would induce trauma in the kid viewers. There are a few scenes when the witches are attempting to drain the life force out of small children that might spook some younger viewers. But since the target audience is in fact children, I’d say the movie is probably best for kids age 8 or 10 and up.

The movie has a lot of energy, but has a weak plot and two-dimensional characters. Max is the usual teenage new kid trying to fit in, Dani is the token obnoxious younger sibling, and Allison does very little other than be a girlfriend. I did appreciate the fact that Max and Dani are depicted as being at odds with one another, but still very clearly love each other. I don’t see siblings in movies that openly love and care for each other very often; they usually just fight and argue.

With three big-name actresses playing The Sanderson Sisters, I’d expect a bit more from the dialogue. I’d assume Bette Midler would know good lines when she sees them, but she (and Najimy and Parker) goes into hyper mode and uses loud, boisterous delivery to help hide the fact that the dialogue is silly and simplistic. Nevertheless, The Sanderson Sisters are an amusing set of comical villains. They take on some Three Stooges style physical humor, they speak in Old English, and scenes when they encounter modern technology are usually pretty funny. Winifred, as the main antagonist, is particularly nasty, but the characters aren’t developed enough to really inspire the audience to hate these villains.

Part of what makes Hocus Pocus so appealing to me is having old, magical mythological beings in a modern setting. They are comically out of sorts with the rest of the world. When the Sanderson Sisters misplace their brooms, they need to improvise by raiding a broom closet. They then fly off on a dollar store broom, a mop, and a vacuum cleaner. Max tricks the witches a few times into thinking he has magic powers by using modern technology like overhead fire extinguishers. The magic-meets-modern setting makes for some amusing contrasts and ironic scenes that are just fun. Unrealistic, yes, but fun. It makes me want to see more modern day monster-hunting type of films.

The special effects are actually pretty good for 1993. One of my favorite scenes was when Max and the girls are driving away in an SUV and the witches start flying alongside the car, trying to get the kids inside. We see exterior shots of the witches swooping down upon the vehicle, and interior shots where we see the witches closing in outside the window.

Was Hocus Pocus good? From a film critic’s standpoint, no not really. Was it fun? Absolutely! I like this film a lot. Bette Midler is even quoted saying that "Hocus Pocus was the most fun I'd had in my career up to that point."  It’s a great family Halloween movie. It will appeal more to kid audiences, but it’s also got a nostalgic appeal to adults who enjoyed it as kids back in 1993. Hocus Pocus had a much greater success in sales as a home video, and has gained a cult classic status. I recommend seeing Hocus Pocus. It recently became available on Blu-Ray for the first time on Septermber 4, 2012; and I want a copy. It’s one of the best Halloween movies out there in my opinion.

What is your favorite Halloween movie? Let’s assume you’re probably going to say Hocus Pocus. Apart from Hocus Pocus, what is your favorite Halloween movie? Comment below and tell me what it is!

Cats Don't Dance Movie Review

Back in the day when movies were recorded off of TV with a VCR, I accidentally recorded Cats Don’t Dance (1997).  I had never heard of this Warner Bros. movie before, but I’m glad I got a chance to see it. It seems to be an obscure Warner Bros. title; I don’t ever remember hearing about it in theaters. It’s a charming movie and is the final film which is dedicated to Gene Kelly.

Danny (Scott Bakula) is a cat from Kokomo, Indiana who loves to sing and dance and dreams of life in show business. Danny moves to Hollywood, convinced that he can become a star within a week. Shortly after arriving, he discovers there is a “species barrier” in Tinseltown; studios don’t care for animal actors, even ones with star talent. The best Danny is able to get is a very small role with the adorable child star, Darla Dimple (Ashley Peldon), who turns out to be a nasty, selfish brat and hates animals as soon as the cameras are off. Danny makes acquaintance of several other animal performers stuck in the same bind as himself, including Sawyer (Jasmine Guy), a pretty but cynical cat; Woolie (John Rhys-Davies), a piano-playing elephant; Tillie (Kathy Najimy), a singing hippo; and T.W. (Don Knotts), a nervous superstitious turtle who dreams of being a romantic swashbuckler-type actor. Together, the animals struggle for acceptance and a chance to show the world what they can do.

Part of what makes this movie so charming is it gently parodies Hollywood musicals of the 30’s and 40’s. If you enjoyed classics like Singin’ in the Rain or old Shirley Temple movies, you’ll probably find something to enjoy in Cats Don’t Dance. In fact, caricatured “cameos” appear regularly in the film which includes Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, W.C Fields, and Cary Grant. The villain, Darla Dimple, is obviously a parody of Shirley Temple. Even the choreography for the dance scenes had Gene Kelly as a consultant; it’s the last film he was associated with before he passed away. The songs in the movie were written by Randy Newman and really felt like classic 40’s musical songs. The movie has a lot of old school charm that will keep adult audiences entertained and laughing.

Another great aspect of Cats Don’t Dance is the animation. The lack of shading made the animation look flat, but the detail in the character’s movements was uncanny. It was full of subtle movements that made them seem very vivacious and expressive. They also moved a lot like spastic Saturday morning cartoon characters; full of exaggerated gestures and activity. Each character had unique movements that were brought to life by the voice actors. The casting couldn’t have been better. The animation is simply fun to watch and will keep adults and children engaged.

This short children's movie story is pretty uncomplicated with predictable plot devices. And yet, it isn’t insulting to the viewer’s intelligence. The writers clearly knew that adults would be watching the movie with their kids and added humor that would go right over the heads of younger viewers. It’s just a simple story with some fun characters, some decent songs, and some entertaining animation. There’s not much of a reason to dissect it any further than that.

Scott Bakula, the voice of Danny, is probably best known for playing Dr. Sam Beckett in the TV show Quantum Leap and Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise. He’s also played in Broadway musicals and in other movies. Because of Bakula’s singing background Danny is the only character whose voice actor does both the singing and speaking parts. He’s got a great voice and it makes the character sound more natural. Sawyer, on the other hand, has Jasmine Guy doing the voice and Natalie Cole doing the singing. Each one sounds good, but you can tell it’s not the same vocalist who does the speaking and singing.

Cats Don’t Dance is a cute movie. Most of the appeal is in the classic 1940’s movie references. If you appreciate films from that era, you’ll probably get a kick out of Cats Don’t Dance. Kids will enjoy the artful characters, songs, and amusing animation. It’s a great family film. Cats Don’t Dance was the first non-Disney animated film to have won the Best Animated Feature award in the 1997 Annie Awards. It’s a nice, obscure little gem of a film that is worth seeing if you can find a copy, and possibly buying a copy if you’ve got younger children in the house.

What’s your favorite non-Disney animated musical? Comment below and tell me why!