Witches Run Amok: The Oral History of Disney's Hocus Pocus
In July 1993, Disney's Hocus Pocus, starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, did not immediately find success with critics or with audiences. Yet somehow the Halloween movie released in the middle of the summer to little fanfare has become an enduring and widely loved classic. Nearly three decades after the film's initial release, it's a yearly holiday viewing tradition in households around the world, a not-so-scary rite of passage for kids and their parents, many of whom grew up watching the film about the resurrected witchy trio with their own parents. It's a movie that has few if any comparisons; it manages to span a generational divide, uniting boomers and zoomers in their nostalgic love for the boundary-pushing supernatural comedy that in some ways seemed a little too risqué for the millennial kids it was originally intended for.
So how did a movie that didn't catch an initial spark end up casting such a spell on mainstream culture? Witches Run Amok: The Oral History of Disney's Hocus Pocus (Hyperion Avenue) will answer that question and more, using interviews from the cast and creative team behind the heartwarming Halloween staple. The book is a love letter to Hocus Pocus's millions of devoted fans and a fascinating read for anyone who wants to understand how the Disney movie became a pop culture phenomenon.
Release date: Aug. 13, 2024
Available for pre-order from:
Disney Books
Bookshop.org
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
In July 1993, Disney's Hocus Pocus, starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, did not immediately find success with critics or with audiences. Yet somehow the Halloween movie released in the middle of the summer to little fanfare has become an enduring and widely loved classic. Nearly three decades after the film's initial release, it's a yearly holiday viewing tradition in households around the world, a not-so-scary rite of passage for kids and their parents, many of whom grew up watching the film about the resurrected witchy trio with their own parents. It's a movie that has few if any comparisons; it manages to span a generational divide, uniting boomers and zoomers in their nostalgic love for the boundary-pushing supernatural comedy that in some ways seemed a little too risqué for the millennial kids it was originally intended for.
So how did a movie that didn't catch an initial spark end up casting such a spell on mainstream culture? Witches Run Amok: The Oral History of Disney's Hocus Pocus (Hyperion Avenue) will answer that question and more, using interviews from the cast and creative team behind the heartwarming Halloween staple. The book is a love letter to Hocus Pocus's millions of devoted fans and a fascinating read for anyone who wants to understand how the Disney movie became a pop culture phenomenon.
Release date: Aug. 13, 2024
Available for pre-order from:
Disney Books
Bookshop.org
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Cover image designed by Stephanie Sumulong
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