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The climax!!!

Bonus:

What a fool to give up thy life for thy sister’s.

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Brrr...

Bette Midler as Winifred “Winnie” Sanderson and Thora Birch as Dani Dennison in Hocus Pocus (1993)

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Some photos from the Movie Stills site

I like the scary photos, so that's what I included here!

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Ha ha ha!!! This is a very cool idea!!! Here's an RPG I came across in another Tumblr post:

And here are some photos from the book I'm reading now, hope to write a separate post about it after I finish (also sorry for the quality):

BTW, as per my last post, Winnie does have some psychic powers!!!

in hocus pocus when the sanderson sisters bust out a flawless rendition of I Put A Spell On You complete with modified lyrics, back-up vocals, AND choreography, in spite of having been dead for 300 years and otherwise having zero knowledge of the modern world and certainly no psychic powers either……………….. can only be rationalized by “they rolled a nat 20 on Performance”

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Interesting, didn't remember it from going through the script, and really explains why he couldn't talk to the people at the party, or warn Max before he lit the candle. I started reading it again now, and Dani understands Binx first when he tries to stop them before they enter the house, then Allison when they are already in, but of course Max doesn't believe them. Pity it was changed!

Another odd thing is how come the witches just happened to have a black flame candle in their house when they were hanged and Winifred cast the spell? Well, in the script, the sign near the candle (which Max reads aloud) states the witches used it to illuminate the pages of the spell book, in addition to it being able to raise the dead!

And another unexplained bit is in the scene where they are in the car, and Winnie asks Max for his driver's permit. Of course she couldn't know about licenses, just hailing from the 17th century (the witches didn't even recognize a modern road). One sensible reason is that the bus driver taught them (they might have met a policeman on the way who asked for his permit). However, in the October 1992 version of the script, it's stated Winnie actually read Max's mind, and that's how she knew!!!

It connects to a cut scene a bit earlier in the script where we see Max can't really drive, and that's why he's afraid an officer would catch him. Personally, I prefer this explanation, just because it makes Winnie scarier! It is also not the first time in the script she does that:

This is a little different than what we see in the film, and I think it's actually better! Pity the whole idea of Winnie having some telepathic powers and seeing into her victims' insecurities has been dropped!!! It could have really been used for more fear factor, but of course "virgin" and "yabbos" jokes are much more important and deserve screen time instead of that plot point (sarcasm)!!!

I also wish I could have the full script of this version, it's much closer to the final film than the one on the Internet, and more interesting for many reasons, but for now there are only very few partial images... :(

one thing i really liked in the original screenplay was the concept that only people who really believe in magic could understand binx when he spoke. honestly makes a lot of sense.

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That's a very interesting idea! Can the book plant suggestions in people's minds??? And it may even especially affect people with witch blood like Allison!

i know it’s been a while since i’ve written anything on here, but i’m wondering on this march morning just how much of max and allison opening the book was their genuine curiosity to find a spell for binx and how much of it was the book manipulating them to bring winifred to them

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But this scene I haven't reblogged.

Max. The book is gone.

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I've reblogged this scene in the past, but this is an expanded post!

“Black Flame Candle. Made from the fat of a hanged man. Legend says that on a full moon it will raise the spirits of the dead when lit by a virgin on Halloween night.”

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I need more concept art!!! And I find it hard to decipher the artist's name to google about him/her and maybe find more drawings...

HOCUS POCUS CONCEPT ART.

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Oh, to be at the mercy of evil and cruel witches...

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This is a good and interesting idea that pity the sequel authors haven't thought about... Another option would be that part of their dust remained around, and someone might have collected it and used it in a ritual to bring them back. I also support the headcanon that was mentioned in another post in the same blog, that Max died early due to the life Winifred succeeded to suck from him. When he started unexpectedly declining, and Allison realized the reason, she tried to use her magic to find a solution and reverse it, but wasn't able to without diving to dark witchery, so had no other choice but to come to terms with it. Contrary to her, Dani didn't. She got depressed, blamed herself, and never was the same again :(...

me @ any potential winifred sanderson blogs : ok but a verse where winnie didn’t completely die because of the bit of life she stole from max and is still around as a vengeful spirit of sorts… trying to regain her full power, bring back her sisters, and get back at max & co.

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I wonder why Winnie's thrall actually didn't work, and Billy wasn't compelled to obey her but just pretended, it was never explained, neither in the movie, nor in the partial script we have...

Unfaithful lover long since dead. Deep asleep in thy wormy bed. Wiggle thy toes, open thine eyes, twist thy fingers toward the sky. Life is sweet, be not too shy. On thy feet. So sayeth I! 

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Not bad! I also want to add this:

Winifred enchants Max and Dani's parents!!! Why was it cut??? And why don't I have the whole script, or at least this section??? :( :( :(

some sanderson sisters being nasty

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Copying from the original post because "Keep reading" blocks become inaccessible once the blog is deleted:

Some things that struck me about Winifred and her relationship to her sisters: there’s this one moment when Winifred throws her arms out like she’s protecting her sisters, but if you look just a little bit closer you can see that she’s actually leaning on them, and there are plenty of other times when she uses them as shields instead of shielding them–there’s only one moment when she actually does look like she intends to protect them, during the calming circle when they’re thinking of their mother and the bus startles them.

And later she says that Max is “a fool to trade [his] life for [his] sister’s” and SHE SAYS IT WITHIN EARSHOT OF HER OWN SISTERS (and before that she calls them her burdens to their faces, like wow, Winnie, bitter much). Still, most of the abuse she doles out is mainly directed at Sarah–likely because of what happened with Billy. But you can see Winnie shoot Sarah a disgusted look as they’re getting off the bus, for commanding the attention of the driver that had previously been flirting with all three of them. It’s not just about Billy. Winnie’s jealous of Sarah’s youth and charm. She hates how easily and obliviously Sarah can take what could have been hers alone.

And there are so many times where she says things like “the lives of all the children in Salem will be mine” or [whatever else]–it’ll be hers. She doesn’t like the thought of “ours”, you can tell by the change in tone and expression when she corrects herself the first time she slips up. It’s a huge part of the reason why she wants to be young again, so she can get a second chance at living her life and this time doing it on her own terms–no sharing the spotlight with her sisters, no chance of her sisters taking any of the glory away from her. You can see, during “I Put A Spell On You” how much she’s loving the attention and admiration from the crowd, the control she has over them, the fact that her sisters have been relegated to backup singers and are completely following her lead, for once.

And my thoughts: Winnie's sisters follow her lead most of the time, even when they get nonsensical, but I agree with most of the points. Winifred is no doubt very selfish. She does show some care and protectiveness towards her sisters, but it's mostly because she needs them around for their unique powers that she doesn't have. I don't think she wants to be young again to get the spotlight only for herself, since if she shares children's lives with her sisters, like she did with Emily's, they get younger, too, but she certainly wants to be immortal in order to attract people.

In any case, and I'm sorry if I repeat myself, but it really annoys me, the original Winnie would never have given the new powers she got at the end of the film sequel for reuniting with her sisters, it's just not her!!! She may have felt some regret in such a situation, but I believe she would have overcome it quickly, and proceed to take over Salem, and then the whole world!!!

//Longish Hocus Pocus meta post under the cut, mostly discussing Winnie/the Sandersons

Keep reading

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Wow, cool new things!!! And there are finally pop figures for Max and Allison! Seriously, even the new characters from the sequel got figures before them!!!

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And this is only one of the hints I talked about in my last post that Allison is a witch - her interest in the spell book! The authors of the sequels just ruined it!!!

allison + not being able to stay out of winifred’s spellbook

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What I think about the new novelization

I really didn't like the whole 4th Sanderson sister idea. The author tried to force her into the plot of the first story by adding things that were absolutely not in the movie, just so the idea could be expanded upon in the "all-new sequel"! For example, when she meets Emily on her way to the witches' house, she tries to warn her, but not to stop her!!! Why??? Doesn't make any sense, and creates a plot hole!!!

I don't know if the author took this idea from the cut material for the film, which mentions Elizabeth Podbury as a good witch the Sandersons murdered (then why is she still alive in the novel when they are hanged, and takes Winnie's book???), or it's just a coincidence they are named the same (could be because this name has quite a few variations, one of them is Isabella).

In any case, it's really a shame both sequels chose to add entirely new characters and give them magical powers, while ignoring the blatant hints scattered throughout the movie that Allison herself has a potential for being a witch, even if you don't take into account the cut material, where it's explicitly stated she's Podbury's descendant! It actually could be a good idea to let non-believer Poppy discover she can do magic, but unfortunately, whenever someone is tasked with writing a sequel to Hocus Pocus, they always go their own direction, instead of using what we already had... :(

Having said that, there were some additions I did like, such as Emily fearing the wrath of her religious mother if she doesn't pray, and the witches using the fact that she never gets compliments (from her mother) because it might "make her vain", to actually "groom" her, and then send her dreams about their house.

Then again, I also liked some of the religious elements in the sequel, and I do think it's important to show that being too "good" and pedantic can eventually lead people to the evil side. This is absolutely a fitting subject for the franchise, but without "retconning" and contradicting the already existing material!!!