Too Scary; Didn't Watch - HOCUS POCUS

Episode Date: October 31, 2025

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This is Emily, Henley, and Sammy, and you're listening to Too Scary Didn't Watch. Hi, everyone. Welcome to Too Scary Didn't Watch. Bonus episode number two for the month of October. Whoa. Happy Halloween. This episode comes out on Halloween. Oh, my. gosh. I can't believe it. Wowy, wowie. Once again, October, come and gone in a flash. So fast. The leaves on my tree outside are almost all falling off. I feel like I missed the autumnal seat. I feel like I went to sleep and woke up and all the leaves were gone. Like what's happening? I'll tell you, hon, it's going to be 90 degrees in Los Angeles today. So I'm on my way. I'm packing it back. I'm getting photos from Duncan who is in Boston and wow it's just picturesque it's gorgeous but it's so it lasts like

six days you know you blink and you miss it can could he perhaps go to Salem oh um probably not he's working a lot yeah yeah yeah and I don't actually know how close they are but you know closer than here. He does have a car. So he can go anywhere. So he could go anywhere. Freedom. That's what a car gives you. Freedom. Um, my co-worker is going to say, well, so, I should say, so happy Halloween. And obviously, you know it. You picked it. We're going to be talking about Hocus Pocus. I can't believe it's taken us this long. I was going to say, I was like, I, Henley's been pushing for this since we started, I feel like. Yeah. Well, this is exactly Henley's perfect vibe. Um, but I have no memory. I'll just admit this now publicly on the podcast. I have no memory of the movies we've

covered as soon as we cover them. They exit my brain. I literally could not. I'll be like, do we do that one? Like, I'm like, they're all gone for me. And I'm shocked that we haven't already done this. I feel that way. I felt that way when I was doing the haunting. I had to triple check like eight times. I was like, have we really not talked about the haunting before? Like, there's sometimes movies where I'm like convinced that we have. And how I'm convinced we haven't. How How embarrassing would it be if all three of us forgot we'd done an episode and then we did it again, like sincerely and put it out? And it was people who are listening. We're like, you guys did this like four years ago. I mean, that is the thing. Like, thankfully, I do feel like we now have people who are kind and dedicated enough to be that memory for me. That, like, I do feel like I could put it out there and be like, hey, guys, do we do this? And someone would know. This would be a funny one because patrons did pick it. So it would be kind of on them for this for wanting it. But, but. Oh, so it takes place in Salem.

So that was my segue. So it takes place in Salem, which obviously will get to. But one of my coworkers is going to Salem for Halloween. Like, apparently Salem becomes an absolute madhouse around Halloween. I mean, someone commented. One of our, yeah, one of our listeners is either from Salem or lives in Salem. Hello to you. And they said that it is madness there right now, which I bet.

It's like Halloween. I mean, it's Halloween town. Is that where Halloween Town is that? I haven't actually seen Halloween. I don't think I've seen it either. but I wouldn't be surprised. Yeah. But I've seen double double toil and trouble, which maybe that's next year.

I saw a tweet the other day that was like going to America, like, however much you think Americans like Halloween, like times that by 10, just like how intense we are about Halloween, even though it did not originate here. Even though they kind of make it seem like it did in this movie, which is. not true um no how dare they we took something and claimed it as our own but americans we really do love Halloween we really do I mean it's it's just simply so fun I when Joel and I were getting ready for the Halloween show just two full grown adults covered in absurdity I was just like Joel's like pouring iodine on himself our whole house smells like iodine like it's everywhere um I was like this is so fun it's so fun it's so crazy how silly um also joel cut his finger pretty bad he's fine but cut his finger pretty bad at cooking

last night and we were both like well put some iodine on there we are good to go the Halloween's so silly and fun and this is this movie is like this movie is Halloween you know yes yes this is so fun to rewatch when was the last time you guys had watched this I don't know I think it's been a while it's been a while I think I don't think I've seen I don't think I've seen it since like college yeah same been at least yeah like 15 15 to 20 years for me there i think it's been a little more recent than that for me it's been like a decade um but there are some scenes that are just you just never forget them burned into my brain yeah same and then some moments that upon a rewatch really surprised me same really surprised me but that's what 1993 will do to you man

And a family movie from 1993, like, what was happening? It was happening. A lot of the plot, a lot more of the plot driven by not wanting to be called ugly than I remembered. Very key, very key. Very important to stay. Relatable. Yeah. So fun.

Well, I feel like we're going to have so much we're going to want to say about this that we should probably get into it. We should. Let's do it. We shall. I will start us with just a wee bit of. stats Please do Please do

Just a wee bit You know I always Say it that way Um Focus Came out in July Of 1993 Shocked about that decision

They didn't want to compete with The Nightmare for Christmas I think was maybe Yes Oh But it's still like Release the name before Christmas At Christmas

Release this one at Halloween problem solved like what's wrong with you um i just can't fathom watching this movie in july i would not want to watch this movie in july that makes no sense to me it feels wrong it feels wrong to be watching it in july yeah i simply wouldn't i would not i would not watch this movie in july so i mean i guess good for them they pulled it off but i disagree barely um hocus pocus was directed by kenny rotega based on story by David Kirshner and Mick Garris This little screen grab by Grott doesn't say who actually wrote it But maybe it's one of those three people

Neil Cuthbert and Mick Garris Neil Cuthbert and Mick Garris wrote it Thank you Sammy And it is starring Bet Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker Kathy Najimmy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch and Vanessa Shaw Wow

And do you guys remember Kenny Ortega High School Musical of High School Musical? Oh, do I ever? You guys know, I've never seen it. I've seen it like a hundred times because Silas went through that weird phase. It's like a two-year-old who only wanted to watch high school musical. I have seen all of them. No, maybe not all of them.

How many are there? I've seen the Zach Efron ones. Are there more than that? There's also there's like high school musical the musical. There's like all those weird like off shoots. Don't get to start on that. I'm a purist. I think I've only seen the first two.

I've either seen the first two. if there's a third I've maybe seen it but I don't have I don't remember anything but but that would be fun to revisit at some point I think um okay hocus pocus had a budget of 28 million a box office of 53.2 million so people saw it in July fucking freaks it has a 41% on rotten tomatoes a 43 on Metacritic rare that those two scores are so neck and neck so similar and a 6.9 on IMDB. Through the roof on IMDB. Absolutely.

A plus plus. It's so crazy to review this movie as bad. To just like have a skating review of focus. Focus is really weird to me. It is. Yeah. Yeah. What's wrong with you reviewers?

But I will say, you know, there's a lot in it that's pretty bad. Sure. If you're, if you're, if you're, if you're, if you're, if you were to pull things apart, you'd find bad things to say. But as a whole, absolutely perfect. Yeah. Mm-hmm. All of the Sanderson sisters are absolutely incredible in this. I, I, this is. Same. I thought she was, and I mean, she is so hot in this movie. Yeah. I remember her being like the hottest person I'd ever seen Joel too was like I had like a full like Sarah Jessica Parker in this movie was like a big thing for him growing up. She's so hot in it. I just, it's a really fun movie. It's fun. And Kathy Najime is so funny.

She's so funny. Her performance is. Her delivery is so good. Absolutely pitch perfect. And honestly, Thorbertch is really good in this too. She's really good. Perfect. I did see a trivia.

Children should act. They shouldn't. But Katha Njima, which that is how you say her name and I said it wrong before. Hey, I just rolled the dice. So I don't. Oh, I want to. I don't know. I don't know even what I said. But when you said it, I was like, that sounds right. Anyway, I saw a trivia that she went on the Today Show at one point and revealed that she had been nervous to take on this role because she didn't want to offend actual witches.

Good for her. Which, that would be my main critique. Who would be offended by your performance? It's brilliant. That's genuinely my main critique of the movie is that it's given a bad name to witches in a way that they don't deserve. And is propagating the myth that the Salem witch trials were. real and real and legit actually like

for her and then it was good it was good to do it right should have burned those women what a what a what a

yeah follow up to Antichrist that this is the true misogynistic film of the two of them actually

wait that's actually there's actually a lot to support that claim that's that's clickbait and also accurate

it's accurate clickbait and we need to write that article immediately oh boy Okay. Should we start talking about this movie? Yes.

Yes. If you would like to hear the rest of this episode, you are going to want to head over to our Patreon at Patreon.com slash TSDW podcast and join us in Tony fucking Colette's Inner Circle. There you'll gain access to all previous bonus episodes. We do weekly video trailer reactions. You'll get to vote for future episodes. It's a really great place to be. B, you're going to want to check it out, but if not, we will be back next week with a regular episode. Bye. What's going on?

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