Fans have waited decades for a Hocus Pocus sequel to finally get off the ground. Now that it’s finally happened, many are taking the opportunity to look back at the original. The first Hocus Pocus film, released in 1993, has gone from cult classic to mainstream holiday tradition over the years. This is due in part to the terrific performances given by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson Sisters. Now a throwback to a 1993 interview reveals that Kathy Najimy didn’t want to stereotype real witches for her performance in Hocus Pocus.
The clip from the 1993 interview, shared by The Today Show on TikTok, featured Najimy stating she’s “supportive of all groups.” This includes “women’s groups or gay groups or racial groups.” And, furthermore, she insists that this includes “groups of witches” as well. So, while she didn’t personally know any real witches, she wanted to make sure Hocus Pocus didn’t stereotype them for the classic film.
As stated:
“I mean, at the risk of having America roll its eyes, I just feel supportive of all groups—whether they’re women’s groups or gay groups or racial groups. And I know that there are groups of witches out there—I mean, I’m not a witch, I don’t know any personally, but when I read the script, I thought, ‘This is really perpetuating a stereotype about an evil, ugly witch.’ I know that there are groups of really strong women who sort of bond together and are very spiritual and powerful, and I didn’t want to, you know, be perpetuating that myth,” Najimy stated.
Here’s the clip:
@todayshow In this 1993 clip from the #todayshow, Kathy Najimy explains what she learned from #gloriasteinem about the history behind certain witch stereotypes and her concerns with offending real witches while filming #hocuspocus. ✨🔮 #todayshow #kathynajimy ♬ original sound – TODAY Show
It wasn’t until she spoke with feminist Gloria Steinem that Kathy Najimy felt comfortable with taking on the Hocus Pocus role.
“So I talked to a lot of people about it. I talked to Kenny Ortega, the director, and he was great; I wrote letters to the producers just letting them know how I felt,” she began. “I talked to Gloria Steinem about it…because she’s the goddess of the world and knows everything, and she said that the interesting thing was that originally some of the women who were said to be witches were healthcare workers and midwives.”
She elaborated how this influenced the fictionalized lore of witches:
“So that’s where the notion of baby eating came [from], because they would perform abortions sometimes. The women would go in pregnant and come out not, and thus the gossip about baby eating—which is of course untrue, these were just like healthcare workers.”
Meanwhile, fans can currently watch the long-awaited sequel to Hocus Pocus on Disney Plus, titled Hocus Pocus 2.
Anne Fletcher directed Hocus Pocus 2 from a screenplay written by Jen D’Angelo.
The cast for the film stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as the original Sanderson Sisters. The cast also includes Whitney Peak as Becca, Lilia Buckingham as Cassie, and Belissa Escobedo as Izzy. Sam Richardson also stars along with Tony Hale, Hannah Waddingham, Froy Gutierrez, Juju Brener, Taylor Paige Henderson, and Nina Kitchen. Doug Jones returns as Billy Butcherson.
The new film Hocus Pocus 2 is currently available to stream via Disney Plus. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for additional updates as we have them.