This Oct. 31 will be the 20th Halloween we celebrate with the help of Disney’s classic “Hocus Pocus.” The film was released in July 1993, and has since grown into a Gen Y October go-to, despite it still not being on Netflix instant stream (get on that, someone).
Perhaps in those days, you too saw a resemblance between Bette Midler’s character, Winifred, and a rather grumpy substitute teacher in your elementary school. Or maybe you thought it was pretty neat that the movie was filmed in nearby Salem. You could have even had the hots for Sarah Jessica Parker, even though the future “Sex and the City” star was dressed as a witch (that’s right, I said it).
What you may not know, however, is that Leonardo DiCaprio allegedly turned down the role of Max Dennison. The part instead went to Omri Katz, who you may recognize from the Nickelodeon classic, “Eerie Indiana.” And Sarah Jessica Parker learned that her 10th great grandmother was arrested in 1692, accused of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials. Luckily, Great-Granny was found innocent, and thus not burned at the stake.
“Hocus Pocus” should never fade as a Halloween classic, but one could go further to argue that the film even sparked a greater fascination with witches in ’90s pop culture. Take a look.
| 1. |
“Sabrina the Teenage Witch” |
Melissa Joan Hart starred as “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” on ABC’s “TGIF” lineup. The show ran for seven seasons.
As the Sabrina crowd grew older, “Charmed” became the go-to. The show put good witches on the same channel as “Buffy,” “Dawson’s Creek,” and “Felicity.”
This 1996 flick brought witch culture to the teenage crowd. The film, starring the very-’90s duo of Neve Campbell and Robin Tunney, put a fashionable spin on witchcraft and remains a cult classic.
That year, 1996, was a big one for witch cinema, as Winona Ryder and Daniel Day-Lewis starred in the adaptation of “The Crucible.”
Remember the band B*Witched? LOL.
Nicole Kidman made such a good witch in 1998’s “Practical Magic” that she returned seven years later to play one in “Bewitched,” along Will Ferrell for some reason. What if Nicole Kidman is actually a witch?
| 7. |
“The Blair Witch Project” |
Whether you vomited from motion sickness, peed your pants, or cried the first time you saw “The Blair Witch Project,” chances are you felt uncomfortable in some capacity. Witches seemed really fun-loving and cool until 1999 rolled around.
Witches even hit Broadway by the millenium. “Wicked” has won over 50 awards and is currently in its 10th year in production.
Witches were so cool in the ’90s that by the end of the decade, boys were like, “We want to be witches, too.” But that wasn’t possible, so we got the next closest thing: the mammoth “Harry Potter” book and film series.
