Happy Halloween!

 This month’s reading/watching log is going to be super late. Over half the entries aren’t filled in yet, and I got through a lot this month due to some health issues that took a while to recuperate from.

To compensate, here’s a Halloween post based around that seminal cult classic of the season, the one all nineties kids grew up with: Hocus Pocus.

Specifically, three things you may not have known about it. (And if you did, be polite and don't say anything).

1. Binx had a different voice actor in cat form.

Thackeray Binx was played by Sean Murray as a human boy, but once his transformation into a cat takes place, the voice work is taken over by Jason Marsden. Yes, that guy, the voice of Haku in the English dub of Spirited Away, Max in all the Goofy-related films and TV shows, Kovu in The Lion King sequel, and the aye-aye spirit in The Legend of Korra. Basically, you’ve heard of him.

Why’d they change actors halfway through? Apparently the director felt Murray’s voicework was too contemporary-sounding and Marsden was better able to pull off the old-timey accent. But if you’ve ever felt Binx’s voice was a tad different once he became a cat, or familiar in any way, that’s why.

2. Alison’s Halloween dress has been seen on-screen before.

Alison was played by Vinessa Shaw (who still looks amazing, by the way) and wore a distinctive robe à la française to her family’s Halloween party, right before Max convinces her to join him at the Sanderson house.

This costume had actually appeared on-screen prior to this film in another project, worn by none other than Michelle Pfieffer in Dangerous Liaisons.

As an aside, it’s interesting how the dress sits on each woman – I suspect Michelle Pfieffer was given period-appropriate undergarments which give the gown that distinctive shape, while Vinessa Shaw is wearing it as-is.

3. One of the locations should be very familiar to television-watchers.

Take a look at this screencap, which takes place just after the kids have (erroneously) believed they’ve killed the witches at the school, and are doing some celebratory frolicking on the grass.

Take a good look at that fountain and the building behind it. Look familiar? I promise you’ve seen them before in something else.

Yup, it’s the Friends fountain. Originally situated at Warner Bros Ranch in Burbank, California, it’s only been recently been moved (as in 2019) to a location where it’s more easily accessible to visitors touring the lot.