“We honored the writing and then we threw the party,” Kenny Ortega told Entertainment Weekly of the cast’s “improvisational geniuses”
Hocus pocus includes a number of iconic scenes and quotes — and some of the most famous were unplanned, according to director Kenny Ortega.
One such moment? When Mary Sanderson (played by Kathy Najimy) insists her sisters Winnie (Bette Midler) and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) “form a circle of calm” before they go hunting for children on Halloween night in Salem, Massachusetts in 1993.
“I AM CALM!” Winnie shouts in response before giving up. The Sanderson sisters then hug and spin in circles while singing, in part, “Think soothing thoughts,” before the bus arrives to pick them up.
“The calming circle, Kathy came up with that,” Ortega, 73, said Entertainment Weeklyadding that Najimy was “pulling [Midler and Parker] in, [saying that] time for a cooldown round” — which led the other two to “[come] in [take] deep breaths” that continued the scene.
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Enter Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker Hocus pocus (1993).
Disney
Kathy Najimy explains why Mary’s crooked smile is back in ‘Hocus Pocus 2’: ‘We can justify it’
According to the director, the iconic walk the sisters do – where they join hands and stride forward, swaying back and forth while grunting at the same time – was also improvised.
“It evolved from [us being] there they needed to move from point A to point B, and it just happened,” Ortega said EW witch walk, which Midler, 77, Parker, 58, and Najimy, 66, repeated in 2022. Hocus pocus 2.
And while they were sticking closely to the script written by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert, Ortega called Hocus pocus to play the “improvisational geniuses” who expanded the duo’s words. “We honored the writing and then we had a party,” he said.
Ortega also said that “there were a few moments like [the walk] throughout the film, where we were just amazed at how the ideas just kept coming.”
“I think [we created] a set that allowed everyone to have a bit of fun and be experimental and non-judgmental and just let things happen,” he added.
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Enter Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker Hocus pocus (1993).
AJ images / Alamy
Hocus pocus The director recalls meeting Leonardo DiCaprio during the filming of Halloween Classic
IN Hocus pocusMidler, Parker and Najimy’s Sanderson sisters are three cursed witches who return to Salem 300 years after death by hanging — thanks to the lighting of a black flame candle by teenager Max (Omri Katz) — in search of some young souls to devour.
The sequel, which premiered last fall, features a new group of teenagers (played by Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, and Lilia Buckingham) who light the candle once more, bringing the witches back for an encore as they go for revenge and power before the sun rises on All Hallows’ Eve.
the third Hocus pocus Disney announced in June that the film was officially in development Hocus pocus 2 broke streaming records when it debuted last September on Disney+.
No other information has been given about the third film, including a release date or cast. But Midler, Parker and Najimy have all said they would be open to making another film.
Hocus pocus and Hocus pocus 2 are broadcast on Disney+.
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Source: HIS Education