Parents' Guide to

Hocus Pocus

By Maria Llull, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Rollicking Halloween fun has scares, gross-out moments.

Movie PG 1993 96 minutes
Hocus Pocus Movie Poster: The three sisters stand together behind a large yellow-orange moon

A Lot or a Little?

What you willā€”and won'tā€”find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 10+

Based on 42 parent reviews

age 13+

Good but...

This is a cute Halloween flick without too much gore. The issue is that the PG rating is too low for what the movie contains. It views more like a PG-13. While the Halloween violence is minimal, there are numerous sexual innuendos in this movie that are shocking for a movie that seems to be aimed for kids. Examples include the 16 year old brother snuggling a pillow and pretending it's his crush and numerous references to him being a "virgin". While a younger audience might not understand the reference, it comes up enough to possibly be asked about it. Also, the boy is only 16, but it is almost implied that it is weird that he is still a virgin. Additionally, when the sisters (witches) get on the bus, the bus driver hits on them and when they say they want children, it is implied that he could get all of them pregnant "after a few tries". There's also lots of cleavage present throughout the movie between one of the witch costumes and the mother's madonna costume. There is also a reference to Allison's (the teenage girl's) cleavage. There is also a mild drug reference between the bullies and the main character. There is just a lot for this to really be viewed much younger than 13. Again, some parents might be good with it where some of the references would go over a younger audience's head.
age 11+

MANY sex related one liners, references to inappropriate sexual ideas

Revisiting this movie, I'm upset that I forgot just how many sexual references are in this that are absolutely not appropriate for a 5 & 7 year old. To list the moments I had to explain, fast forward, or sidestep with the kids: 1. The little sister telling the big brother's crush that she likes her Halloween costume, but she didn't have the "yabos" to wear it like the crush...and that her big brother loves the crush's "yabos". 2. Mention of a "virgin" needed to light the black flame candle, ad nauseam, plus a weird scene where a random adult man takes the teen main character aside to ask him if he's really a virgin. 3. Sarah Jessica Parker sitting on the bus, bouncing on the drivers lap and flirting was a bit much, as was the bus driver flirting back 4. SJPs constant kissing of random men and comments related to boys. 5. SJPs dancing with the "devil" (a random homeowner dressed up for Halloween) and having her shoes taken off and dress hiked up in the 2nd shot of them 6. The focus on Mom's old school Madonna cone breasts were weird for a generation that is both too young to remember or to understand what that symbolized, but made my 7 year old feel uncomfortable that they were focusing attention on a "private" body area like that. 7. The 2 bullies contemplating if they should go look inside girls windows to watch them undress late on Halloween night. There were a few more references not added, because they were hidden in the script and would go over kids' heads (as they should). Bottom line: this movie could've existed without the choices to groom kids throughout portions of the script and in that case, would've become an annual classic in our home. Sadly, we'll be skipping this and the next one

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (42 ):
Kids say (58 ):

This perennial Halloween favorite is full of silly moments. Some of the best scenes in Hocus Pocus involve the Sanderson Sisters -- Winnie, Mary, and Sarah -- walking through Salem on Halloween night, encountering costumed children. They perform "I Put a Spell on You" at a dance and mistake a man dressed as the devil for the real thing and call him their "master." There are definitely plot holes, and a lot of the film is predictable, but it's good Halloween fun nonetheless.

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