FIVE MINUTES OF HOCUS-POCUS WITH BETTE MIDLER
Twenty-nine years ago Disney’s ‘Hocus Pocus’ became a cult-favourite, family friendly Halloween staple. Now, veteran actress Bette Midler has put her cloak back on, dusted off her broomstick and reunited with co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy for the return of Salem’s notorious witchy Sanderson sisters in ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ , just in time for the spooky season.
Did you ever think a sequel would see the light of day?
I didn’t until the day finally came. Then I realised, oh, we’re really gonna do this. This was kind of a dream come true, it really was. I’ve been, I don’t want to say agitating, but after I realised it was actually a phenomenon, I started asking people around my age, don’t you think they would be interested in a sequel? This was a long time ago. This was like 15 years ago. So here we are.
Do you think the bond between the Sanderson sisters and their story is still relevant regarding attitudes to women?
We talked a lot about sisterhood and we talked a lot about leaning on each other and counting on each other and loyalty to each other. I think in this world there’s so much going on that we never really realised until maybe the last 25, 30 years, maybe 50 years, that things have changed for women, but things have not changed fast enough. And I think these three characters are, in a strange way, quite positive for women. First, they’re very funny, which women are not allowed to be, are not supposed to be. And they’re intensely loyal to each other. So in any situation where women are together, a bond of friendship and sisterhood is really important, and this movie shores that up.
Could you see a franchise of ‘Hocus Pocus’ films coming out of the sequel?
I do love a franchise ... I think I’m a little elderly for a franchise at this point, but I’ll take what I can get.