It’s been 29 years, not quite down to the day, now the witches are back, and there’ll be hell to pay. If you need to brush up on your original Hocus Pocus knowledge, you’ve found the right spot.
This entire post is dedicated to answering your questions about everyone’s favorite Halloween movie. Well, everyone who counts anyway. If you like Halloweentown better, well you can just go to hell.
Hocus Pocus General Questions
The following sections are dedicated to the many burning questions you have about Hocus Pocus.
You may find them helpful when you are looking up random facts, like “black cat Hocus Pocus” or “was Alison a virgin in Hocus Pocus” when watching the movie or to win a bet.
Here they are in no particular order or rationale.
Who was the black cat in Hocus Pocus?
This answer is two-fold, depending on what you mean. If you want to know the name of the black cat in Hocus Pocus character, it is Thackery Binx. He came by that name in the 1600s when his parents named him that when he was born.
But if you want to know who plays Binx in Hocus Pocus, well the answer is Jason Christopher Marsden plays the black cat in Hocus Pocus. You may know him from various voice roles he has had in television series and video games. You may also know him as the official voice of Max Goof (Goofy’s son) since 1995.
Of course, you likely don’t recognize his name, and that’s OK.
What is the black flame candle in the Hocus Pocus movie?
Good question if you have seriously never actually watched the movie. But my God, if you have seen the movie and don’t know what it is then you seriously weren’t paying any attention.
The black flame candle in the Hocus Pocus movie is a magical candle, somehow formed from the fat of the hangman responsible for killing the Sanderson sisters. How it came to be was never actually explained.
But seriously, did one of the town’s people decide to make the candle once the hang man died? Or maybe Winifred’s book used magic to make it? And did it just appear randomly the year the dude died?
Anyway, according to Winifred Sanderson, when a virgin lights the candle on All Hallows Eve (Halloween) when there is a full moon, they will come back from the dead. The flame will last precisely through the night of Halloween and extinguish at sunrise the next day.
Once the candle goes out or the sunrises, the witches die again unless they suck the soul out of at least one child before the flame goes out.
Interestingly, Hocus Pocus 2 – for what it’s worth – stated that Book knew how to make the black flame candle. So many that’s how the first one came into being?
How many times did they mention virgin in Hocus Pocus?
In any case, the word virgin is said 9 times throughout Hocus Pocus.
Major hint here: this is an answer to my first Hocus Pocus Quiz that you can take here. You’re welcome.
What does the bus driver say?
If your children understood the word virgin, maybe they also understood the very lewd bus driver in Hocus Pocus. For those of you looking for the bus driver’s quote when he meets the Sanderson sisters, here are the lines:
Bus Driver: “Bahbo bahbo, looks like I’m in trouble”
Winifred Sanderson: “Well, tell me friend, what is this contraption?”
Bus Driver: “I call it a bus.”
Winifred Sanderson: “A bus. And its purpose?”
Bus Driver: “To convey gorgeous creatures such as yourselves to your most… (making a phallic shape with his fist and thrusting his arm) forbidden desires.”
Winifred Sanderson: “Well, fancy! We desire children.”
Bus Driver: “Hey, it may take me a couple of tries, but I don’t think there’s gonna be a problem.”
He says other flirty, pervy stuff, but that is the most famous of his lines.
Is Allison from Hocus Pocus a virgin?
There is a lot of speculation, my own site included here, that Allison is not actually a virgin. Here’s the evidence.
When presented with the opportunity to light the black flame candle, she sort of scoffs, looks away, and says “no thanks.” The exchange seems to heavily imply that she, in fact, is not a virgin, which means that if she lit the candle, nothing would have happened.
Is this proven fact? No. But unless someone who worked on the script and editing comes forward to confirm or deny, it seems pretty plausible she’s not a virgin.
Is Allison a witch or belong to a commune of witches?
This is actually an interesting theory. According to Screen Rant, fans of Hocus Pocus speculate that she is a witch or at least connected to witches due to things they observed in the movie, such as her wardrobe, her feeling as though something wasn’t right, her wanting to read the spell book, and how her family ran the Sanderson museum.
Evidence against it points to things like she didn’t cast any spells, she had no idea how to help Binx, she didn’t notice the book glowed, and she could walk in the graveyard (hallowed ground).
My personal addition to the debate is that maybe, like the Wizard of Oz, there are good witches and bad witches in the Hocus Pocus universe. This could indicate that she was a “good” witch, so she could walk through a graveyard.
It just seems more likely to me, though, that maybe her family actually hunted witches or were at least involved in the other Salem trials.
Even more probable, fans have come up with some alternate scenarios because, like me, they get bored and like to speculate a deeper meaning for the plot. Like “ooh she’s a WITCH!” based on little more than speculation.
And this particular theory of Allison being a witch seems shaky at best.
Who is the bus driver from Hocus Pocus?
Don Yesso plays the bus driver in Hocus Pocus. He has appeared in several different movies throughout his career, but he isn’t well known.
In addition to being an overly horny guy trying his luck with three women late at night as he drives a Salem bus, the bus driver doesn’t play much of a role besides delivering some stellar lines (see above).
He also is responsible for running over Binx and taking off the fingers of Billy Butcherson. Neither are really central to the plot, except for proving Thackery can’t die, even when run over.
What age is appropriate for the movie?
Technically, the movie Hocus Pocus is rated PG. This means that parental guidance is suggested when viewing.
For me, Hocus Pocus falls under the same category as so many other movies geared towards children that have adult innuendoes and jokes. Your children, unless you have shared a whole hell of a lot about sex, will not get the humor or the implications. You, as an adult, hopefully will and may find it amusing or offensive.
But little Johnny there will not care about hearing the word “virgin” or the bus driver’s heavily innuendo filled dialogue.
That said, it does show the witches starting to catch fire, so if you or your children find that scary, it may be best to skip it or avert your eyes.
Also, if you find the subject of fictional witchcraft offensive, it is best to skip it… and rethink your life.
But if I had to give an number, I really can’t. All of my children from birth on have watched and really enjoy Hocus Pocus so I’d say, barring being a little bitch (see above), it is OK for nearly all age levels.
Of course, as a B-rate, cult classic movie, Hocus Pocus is technically not recommended for anyone looking for fine cinema. You just have to appreciate it for what it is: a great way to teach your children about virginity and the danger of bringing witches back from the dead associated with it.
Do Allison and Max get together?
Allison and Max develop a romantic connection with each other. Towards the end, when reading the container of salt, Allison says it protects against old boyfriends (so again, likely not a virgin), and Max asks (cornily) “what about new boyfriends?”
At which point they kiss. It is then heavily implied they get together at the end.
But I guess we may never find out if they actually got together. Rumor has it they will not be in Hocus Pocus 2, which seems like a bit of a misstep. I’m not saying they need to be epicenter of the plot, but at least have a cameo or something would be interesting.
Are there four Sanderson sisters?
I’m not sure who is asking this question, but they must either be really not paying attention to the movie, have never seen Hocus Pocus, or are the stupid people who actual ask questions. There are only three (3) Sanderson sisters: Winifred, Mary, and Sarah.
That’s it. If you count a fourth, it’s time to stop drinking, put down the joint, or seek medical attention.
Why is Max Dennison’s number blurred?
If you watch Hocus Pocus on ABC family or other TV stations, you will notice that Max’s number gets blurred. You only see 555-(blur).
Apparently, this is because phone companies started to issue numbers with “555” as the start of the number, and someone actually has or had the number shown. So it is likely the person complained when random people started calling their number over and over again.
Sadly, I can relate to this. In college, my extension started with a local area code and beginning number. Any time someone tried to call off campus and forgot to dial the number to get an outside line, I would get a call.
Being the caring person I am, I took several late night pizza orders for fellow, drunk classmates. I’d then turn the ringer off my phone. I don’t know if they ever got their pizzas, my customer service was not very good.
So I emphasis with you random person with Max’s 555-(blur) number. Hopefully you haven’t seen an influx in calls since Disney+ released Hocus Pocus because they don’t actually blur the number out on the platform.
What is the name of Satan’s dog in Hocus Pocus?
The devil’s dog in Hocus Pocus is named Ralph. I know this because his wife yells “Ralph! Sic ’em!” when the Sanderson sisters refuse to leave. Follow me for more helpful tips on movie dialogue.
When will Hocus Pocus 2 release?
Hocus Pocus 2 releases on Friday, September 30, 2022 exclusively on Disney+, though I’m sure you’ll be able to rent or buy it from other streaming services, like Amazon or Google Play, not long after or find it on Blu-ray or DVD.
Who is Emily Binx?
Emily Binx is Thackery Binx’s little sister and possible love interest. I mean seriously, the guy (cat) seems to really be pining over her for 300 years.
“Take care of Danny, you’ll never know how precious she is, until she is gone.” Thackery to Max. Sounds like some pretty inbred stuff right there.
For those of you who want to know, Amanda Sheperd plays Emily Binx in Hocus Pocus. She’s only in the movie in the opening scene and ending scene when her ghost asks Thackery “what took thee so long?”
Get more in the mood for Hocus Pocus 2
Now that you’re no where near expert level on Hocus Pocus, check out my Hocus Pocus Quiz designed to stump the skeptics. I’ve given you one answer in this post. You’re welcome.
For added fun, you can also make these Spooky Graveyard Brownies for your Hocus Pocus 2 viewing party, since I’m sure you are going to have one. It’s like the event of the 2022 Halloween season after all.
Or, you can read all about how Hocus Pocus is better than Halloweentown here and reasons to stay away from Mickey’s Tale of Two Witches, as if you really need one.
Want more knowledge about Hocus Pocus? This post answers just about every question you may have about Hocus Pocus.