Bette Midler Just Rewatched ‘Hocus Pocus’ for the First Time in 20 Years
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Hocus Pocus, and although we’ve watched it more times than we count in the two-and-a-half decades since its release, Bette Midler — who played Winifred Sanderson in the 1993 flick — hadn’t seen it “in at least 20 years” when she rewatched it recently.
“I do not watch it regularly. In fact, I had not seen it in at least 20 years,” Midler told People magazine during the New York Restoration Project’s annual Hulaween party on Monday, October 29. “I watched it the other night, the night before the anniversary, because I said, ‘You know what, I better look at this again.'”
So, what did she think about the film after watching it again after two decades? “I watched it, and I loved it! I loved it!” she said. “I thought it was so funny!”
The actress told the mag that watching the movie — in which she, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy star as a trio of ancient witches — was a different experience this time around. “The first time I watched it, I was only watching myself. But this time I saw everybody,” she explained. “And I tell ya, those girls in the back — they were going full blast! They were giving me a run for my money. The kids were great, everybody was great!”
Midler also talked about what initially attracted her to the creepy role, telling People the film “intrigued” her because “it was an opportunity to do things that [she] really loved to do, which is play physical comedy and be more than a little broad.”
Parker also spoke about the beloved 1993 movie recently, at Freeform’s Hocus Pocus 25th anniversary celebration. Reflecting on her character, who targets children in her quest to become immortal, Parker admitted, “I guess what I remember most is how awful we were as characters. I was surprised that the goal was to get a child and basically destroy them, but because it was done in a really heightened, ridiculous way, it was a lot of fun.”
How many times have you seen Hocus Pocus? Let us know @BritandCo!
(photos via Buena Vista Pictures/Andrew Cooper + Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Michael Kors)
