Hocus Pocus (1993)

"Very, very funny. A 10!  KCOP-TV, Los Angeles
"Bette's back, doing what she does best!  Sixty Second Preview

Editor's Note The Sanderson Sisters are 17th century witches who were conjured up by unsuspecting pranksters in present-day Salem. The key to their immortality involves three children and a talking cat, who also turn out to be their biggest obstacles.

	Bette Midler
	Kathy Najimy
	Sarah Jessica Parker
	Thora Birch
	Hiro Narita - Cinematographer
	Mary E. Vogt, et al. - Costume Designer
	Kenny Ortega - Director
	Peter E. Berger - Editor
	James Horner - Musical Score
	John Debney - Musical Score
	Bonnie Bruckheimer, et al. - Producer
	William Sandell - Production Designer
	Neil Cuthbert, et al. - Screenplay

In 1693, the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts go into a frenzy when they discover that 3 among them -- Winifred, Sarah and Mary Sanderson -- are witches. Fearing their pagan villainy, the community agrees to hang the old hags. But head sorceress Winifred vows they'll come back to life one day and seek vengeance.| 300 years later, Max, a cynical teenager stuck chaperoning his kid sister as she goes trick-or-treating, is spotted by classmate-dream girl Allison. In order to impress her, Max lures them into the Sanderson sisters' house where they accidentally bring the wretched shrews back to life. The witches now have one night to renew their life force -- or they'll disappear forever. Can the kids stop them from achieving their nasty purposes? Washington Post 7 of 10
Hocus Pocus may not get your hand in a blur but its collection of one-liners and amusing situations could put you in a diverting spell. A studio-generated romp about three 17th-century witches who create havoc in present-day Salem, Mass., it's full of big-crowd laughs (thanks mostly to Midler) and suspense. Omri Katz, a new teenager in Salem, his younger sister Thora Bird and Vinessa Shaw -- the beautiful classmate Katz falls for -- should appeal to their respective age groups... Midler is the best reason to watch Hocus Pocus. As the lead... she's the witchy center of the movie, with her Betty Boop lipstick design and that trademark, vamp-to-the-gallery, eye-batting shtick of hers. She's pantomimically assisted by Najimy (one of Whoopi Goldberg's nun sidekicks in Sister Act), who can smell tasty infants a mile away; and Parker (who was in Honeymoon in Vegas -- the earlier Indecent Proposal) as the squeaky beauty of the bunch. The movie has its amusing moments, as the witches discover modern-day America, from buses to people dressed up for Halloween; they mistake an old fella dressed up as Satan for the real McCoy. There are also some funny-lethal remarks here and there. - Desson Howe