Hocus Pocus
25th Anniversary Edition
Blu-ray | DVD
Directed by Kenny Ortega
Starring Bette Midler, Thora Birch, Kathy Najimy, Sarah Jessica Parker, Stephanie Faracy
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Run Time: 96 minutes
Rated PG
Release Date: September 4, 2018

It is the 25th anniversary of this cult favorite and to celebrate, there is a spanking brand new Blu-ray for sale everywhere. Just for fans, you can watch the We Love Hocus Pocus Trivia and Treats Edition of Hocus Pocus, which plays the movie “with fun facts, trivia, concept art, storyboards, behind-the-scenes magic, and more!”

In 1993, Hocus Pocus was written off by critics as a silly Halloween-themed kids movie. While it grossed $39.5 million, it barely cracked the top 40 box office for the year, under such “classics” as The Beverly Hillbillies and Dennis the Menace. However, as often is the case with movies aimed at children, the kids grow up and with them come large pairs of nostalgia goggles that, in this case, have turned Disney’s witch comedy into a cult classic, especially for those now in their mid-30s. Capitalizing on this nostalgia and the fact that most of these 30-somethings have children of their own now, Disney released a new Anniversary Edition of the film on Blu-ray and digital right in time for its 25th birthday and Halloween season.

More below on Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Edition.

It may not look like it at first but Hocus Pocus is part of the Halloween cult classics. Though it may not necessarily be frightful or scary, its quirks and charms and family friendly scares make it an instant favorite. With such a following, one has to wonder why Disney has never bothered following it up with a sequel, especially now that sequels are huge. Well, Disney will be giving fans a brand new Hocus Pocus, just not the ones they are asking for.

Reports confirm that there will be a Hocus Pocus remake, however, it will be a TV movie and without the original cast. So how does a film without those ghoulish witches work? Well apparently, The Disney Channel has that figured out, and they’ve hired The Royals‘ Scarlett Lacey to pen the new screenplay with the film’s original movie producer David Kirschner being brought in to executive produce. More on the story below.

Disney’s Descendants took the tween world by storm last summer, as the newest obsession, not seen since High School Musical. This musical story of redemption of the children of Disney villains was delightful and unique. The talented cast already came with a Disney fan base, not that they needed it, but it helps. Although not scheduled to be released until next summer, Disney gave us a 10-second teaser of Descendants 2… well, to tease us.

Check out the teaser below.

The new Disney Channel phenomenon, Descendants, aired Friday night to become the #1 cable movie of 2015. In fact, preliminary viewer tallies put it at 6.6 million viewers that night alone.

On the heels of this, Disney has released a teaser of a new Descendants animated short series, debuting this September, with… you guessed it… the 4 evil children as the stars. It’s called Descendants: Wicked World. Come on. It’s Disney. They are very good at capitalizing on success.

Check out the success tweet and watch the animated short teaser below.

Descendants
Directed by Kenny Ortega
Written by Josann McGibbon, Sara Parriott
Starring Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart, Sofia Carson, Mitchell Hope, Keegan Connor Tracy, Dan Payne, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Maz Jobrani, Kathy Najimy, Kristin Chenoweth
Disney Channel
Air Date: Friday, July 31st, 2015, 8:00pm

Disney Channel movies, no matter if they are good or bad, tend to be very popular and overwatched, for a few reasons:

1) They star established Disney Channel TV Stars.
2) They have catchy pop tunes, sung by Disney Channel TV Stars.
3) They are re-aired twice a day, every day, for 6 months to a year (or until the sequel and/or next Disney Channel movie).

There is sometimes a 4th and 5th reason. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, you have to just be happy that it did – the movie has a good premise and some good acting (a few famous adult actors don’t hurt either).

Such is the case of Disney’s Descendants.