Hi, everyone.
This year is the 25th anniversary of "Hocus Pocus.”
And I have invited some friends over to celebrate.
Here's Kenny Ortega, the director of "Hocus Pocus.”
Hey, everybody!
And we're also here with this spooky black cat,
an adorable embodiment of Halloween and a self-professed
"Hocus Pocus" super fan.
Hello, cat.
Hey, cat.
Kenny, cat, will you watch "Hocus Pocus" with me?
We will.
[CAT MEOWS]
All right then.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Kenny, I am so excited to watch this movie with you.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time.
Mine too!
So right now, we're on the Walt Disney Studios lot
and we're on the stage that you filmed in.
What is it like coming back here to this very stage?
When I walked in, I knew where I was.
And I thought for a second that you
were going to turn on some lights
and I was going to see the house.
But it all came back.
Do you remember what your very first day on set
was like for this film?
— That was 25 years ago. — Yeah [LAUGHS]
What I really, really remember?
Observing Bette and Kathy and Sarah
finding their characters in the mirror with makeup
and hair and prosthetics,
And just burst out laughing,
looking at one another.
And you saw this chemistry come into play.
And I knew that we were going to have a lot of fun.
We looked at a lot of people for casting
this, when we cast this movie.
Even Leonardo DiCaprio came in to meet with me.
Really?
KENNY ORTEGA: I was just as happy with Omri, I promise.
He's amazing.
I had a crush on him when I was a kid.
- I just saw him. - Really?
Oh! What's he up to?
And he still looks that good!
What is it like seeing this scene
again right now and remembering these three iconic sisters?
Honestly, I'm as enchanted today as I was there
with their wizardry, you know?
They were just so present and so invested in bringing
these girls to life.
I'm still enchanted.
— Toast. - Toast!
- Happy Halloween. - Happy Halloween.
One drop of this and her life will be mine.
And the book is so cool.
It's one of my favorite things.
And we have the actual book here with us today.
It's here from the Walt Disney Archives.
I'm so happy to see that it's still with us.
There was a lot of work, a lot of very creative people
that participated in the skin.
When the eye first came in, it wasn't working.
And I said, why don't we really let it open up
and come to life?
And I remember when that happened, how exciting it was.
This is the first time we see Thackery Binx as a cat.
Oh, look who's back.
Binx deserved an Oscar for this role.
[CAT MEOWS]
Curious ...
Do you ever get mistaken for Binx?
[CAT MEOWS]
Legendary.
That's because thou art perfect.
What was it like between scenes?
Do you have a specific memory?
I remember that in between scenes
that there was a lot of laughter.
They're the funniest and the most fun ladies.
But I also remember it was exhausting for them!
They exhausted me just watching them.
I mean, with the effort that they
put behind these characters, especially when they were
up in the air riding vacuums.
I mean, it's a lot of work to ride a vacuum.
KENNY ORTEGA: They didn't have stunt players, for the most
part, Bette, Sarah, and Kathy.
They were up there doing all of that.
That is so cool.
That makes them even cooler.
I thought they would never come, sisters.
Thora Birch, what was she like working with them?
She must have learned a lot.
They loved her.
I mean, she was just like the creme de la creme.
I mean, Thora Birch was like a child like no other.
She was just tremendous.
Which Sanderson sister are you most like?
My family would answer this, you know, hands down, Winifred.
Because I'm, like, the boss.
I think I am more of a Sarah.
I would say that you might be a combination of all of them.
Ooh! I'd love that.
I do.
I mean, I find you to be the best of all three.
That's the greatest thing anybody could ever say to me.
I think our cat friend is definitely Mary.
What do you think?
That's a Mary cat, right? - Yeah.
It's got a lot of--
Yeah, yeah.
Wherever the cat is, if he decides to show up again.
[MEOW]
Then one day I figured out what
to do with my eternal life.
I'd failed Emily, but I wouldn't fail again.
How did you come up with Thackery
Binx talking, and filming scenes
with him talking to the kids?
We did it in different ways.
We had a real cat.
And then, sometimes, we would have an animatronic.
And sometimes, I think we were even looking at just air.
You know, there was no cat.
So the sisters here are flying.
You mentioned that they did a lot of their own stunts.
How did you accomplish this incredibly--
looks very difficult to film-- scene.
Well, you know, I mean, we had a great crew.
We had a major stage here at Disney that had a huge fly rig.
And when it worked, it was really cool.
And when it didn't, well, they were
hanging up there for a while.
And we'd have to, you know, send up some nourishment and water.
And there were a couple of times where all of a sudden
they were just kind of dangling. [LAUGHS]
Just, like, resting.
[GROWLING]
Let's talk about Billy.
I have Billy Butcherson's finger, which I'm going
to return if I ever see him.
Yeah, you should.
He's probably missing that.
Did you say that he put, like, real moths in his mouth?
Special effects put some kind of a balloon.
And they put living moths in it.
And then he put his head back and they
put it inside of his mouth, and they closed his mouth.
And put the things there.
And then he had to cut them [IMITATES POPPING] and cough.
And the moths flew out.
That was not a visual effect.
Doug Jones, everybody.
Doug Jones! [CLAPPING]
Yeah!
Here's to you, Doug.
And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I may actually
be able to give this back to him,
because the word is that I might be seeing
him for the 25th anniversary.
I have his head.
I'm not giving his head back, but I
will give him his finger back.
OK.
That seems reasonable.
But if we did A "Hocus Pocus 2,” well, then, I guess I would be
obliged to lend the head back.
I smell children, but I-- I don't see children.
This is a really fun scene with the little kids
and the Sanderson sisters.
Was any of this improvised?
Yes. [LAUGHTER]
Her face is so good.
KENNY ORTEGA: Her mouth changing when Bette is slapping her.
You know, I think that we were here
this night longer than we were in any other scene
in the movie.
And, oh, the fabulous Garry Marshall and Penny Marshall.
How cool is that, you know, that I actually-- we
weren't fully cast.
And somebody came up to me and said, what do
you think about Garry Marshall? I was like, right.
They were real open, you know?
Penny's sitting back there with the curlers in her hair
and on the easy chair, you know.
“What do you want?
I can give it to you a couple of different ways.
Just tell me when you think you got what
you want and we'll move on!”
Excuse me.
I still can't believe we're here with the actual book.
Yeah, yeah. Don't open it.
I won't.
Don't touch it.
If I were to open the book and then,
suddenly, the Sanderson sisters would be here--
- Oh, my gosh! - I would like that.
- Yes, yes. - That we would like.
- Yes. - Yeah?
OK.
This is one of my favorite scenes in the movie!
Oh, yes!
Oh, when Bette is crying, and Mary is just
the comforting, loving sister.
And she thinks she's dying.
Winifred thinks she is dying.
Do you think the Sanderson sisters are misunderstood?
Not on your life. They're just bad.
I think that they have some love there.
Winifred loves her book and Sarah loves her spiders
and Mary loves her children, right?
Sarah loves her--
the spider eating.
That just reminded me of the spider eating.
KENNY ORTEGA: Wasn't that fun? - What was that that she ate?
I think that we had, um, real spiders, and then,
like, little sort of the thready spiders,
and some edible spiders.
[COUGH]
Yes, OK.
This scene is so beautiful.
What were the challenges in making this?
KENNY ORTEGA: It was difficult back then, you know?
We were dealing with early effects.
I still was a novice when it came to some of the effects.
And so, I had a lot of guidance, a lot of help.
Knowing that this film has been out for 25 years,
there's a really strong sibling bond message throughout.
What else would you want fans to take away from this film?
I think, for me, it’s about getting
fear out of their space.
I think for "Hocus Pocus" that, you know,
I laid out that kind of environment and everybody
just came at it.
We just wanted to do something that would tickle
your funny bone and that you would want to come
back to again and again.
And we succeeded in that, didn't we?
Absolutely!
It's so inspiring.
Which, by the way, this Halloween
we're doing a 25th anniversary television special celebrating
"Hocus Pocus" on ABC Freeform.
And our cast is going to come back.
And we're going to have a lot of special guests.
And we're going to just have a real fun Halloween night.
Ooh!
I can't wait to watch.
See you again next year.
Yes.
KENNY ORTEGA: Love ya. [CLAPPING]
Yay!
Thank you so much for watching this with me.
My pleasure.
A lot of fun, thank you.
Thank you, cat, for joining us, wherever you are.
Yep.
[ANGRY MEOW]
He's nowhere to be found.
See ya, cat.
What a rude cat.
Thanks, fans!
"Hocus Pocus" is available on digital
Movies Anywhere and Blu-ray.
And you can also watch it two different ways, including
Trivia and Treats mode.
Sounds like the perfect way to celebrate the 25th anniversary
of "Hocus Pocus.”
Bye, everyone!
[VACUUM SOUND]
I hope Kenny isn't allergic to cats.
[MUSIC PLAYING]