Hocus Pocus in Focus: The Thinking Fan's Guide to Disney's Halloween Classic by Aaron Wallace

Author:Aaron Wallace [Wallace, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: Cinema, Halloween, Non-Fiction, Media Tie-In
ISBN: 9781540360649
Google: WD34MAAACAAJ
Amazon: B01N9EQS6W
Publisher: Pensive Pen Publishing
Published: 2016-09-08T23:00:00+00:00

I can only assume the Sandersons learned about Maleficent while in the underworld (she does summon “all the powers of Hell” in Sleeping Beauty) or perhaps while frolicking in Salem back in ’93. Either way, the reverence they show her here underscores Maleficent’s stature as Disney’s greatest villain. Perhaps Winifred is tacitly conceding that, of all the witches working, she isn’t quite the worst.9

The ghost of Thackery Binx narrates the show, but neither Max nor Dani are anywhere to be found. That doesn’t mean the show is virgin-less, though. The sisters’ final ingredient is “the hair of an innocent,” and they pluck it from one of the show’s backup dancers. It’s a very subtle exchange and almost certainly goes unnoticed by the majority of the audience, but the subtext is significant.

At the very beginning of the show, several dancers enter the stage to a slinking rendition of “Season of the Witch.”10 During that sequence, one of the dancers climbs a stage-left platform and lights successive sets of candles. Later, Sarah sings “Come, Little Children,” and it puts the small squadron of backup singers — none of them children — under her spell. Mary smells the dancers as “children” too, even though they neither dress nor act like kids. Toward the end of the show, when the Sandersons can’t find the hair of an innocent, she specifically turns to one of the dancers, points, and sings her song again. The dancer is entranced, walks toward Sarah, and Winifred plucks the hair from her head. It is the same dancer who lit the candle.11

What kind of “innocent” is this show referring to if not the same kind of “innocent” made so focal in the film? Moreover, if that’s not the intention, why add this ingredient to the show at all? And why pluck that hair from the same character who’s lighting all the candles?

I see you, show writers. Well done.

With the potion complete, the sisters have amassed a “glittering assemblage” of villainy on the stage. But Sarah looks at the audience and asks, “Oh, Winnie… what about them?”

“Leave our ‘Not-So-Scary’ friends to me,” Winifred replies, launching into “I Put a Spell on You” at last. She’s dropping a whammy on her unsuspecting audience all over again, and this time there’s no graveyard battle to break it. The show ends with us “cursed” to party the rest of the night away.12 No longer Mickey’s Not-So-Scary, this is the Hocus Pocus Party, and that’s just what we want it to be. One of Disney’s best movies begets one of the parks’ best shows, and all its themes come full circle with it.

Note: Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular is exclusive to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, a hard-ticketed event not included in regular theme park admission. Tickets can be purchased at Walt Disney World Guest Relations windows and ticket booths or through the resort’s website or telephone service.

The event is available on select nights in September, October, and sometimes early November. Tickets typically become available in the spring and frequently sell out in advance.

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