OG “Hocus Pocus” cast reunites to tell best behind-the-scenes stories, from cannabis to a 'wall of cats'

Like a moth caressing an undead loverboy's tonsils, the nostalgic charms of Disney's Hocus Pocus have long fluttered inside the hearts of millennials raised on the tale. But longtime fans aren't the only ones with fond memories of the Halloween staple, which follows a trio of Puritan-era witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy) resurrected by a band of children (Vinessa Shaw, Omri Katz, Thora Birch) in 1993 Salem. As Shaw, Katz, Thackery Binx voice actor Jason Marsden, and (separately) director Kenny Ortega exclusively tell EW, making the movie three decades ago remains a lifetime highlight, and they're ready to conjure up all the magic they felt on set.

Read on for EW's full conversation with Shaw, Katz, Marsden, and Ortega (Birch declined participation), as they "remember, Winnie, remember" their favorite stories behind the scenes of Hocus Pocus, share their thoughts on the recent Hocus Pocus 2 sequel, and thoughts on the planned Hocus Pocus 3.

Everett Collection Vinessa Shaw, Thora Birch, and Omri Katz in 'Hocus Pocus'

Both Katz and Shaw recall auditioning with a script that was far darker in tone than the beloved Halloween classic we know today, while Ortega says he met with Leonardo DiCaprio for the role of Max before the part went to Katz.

KENNY ORTEGA (DIRECTOR): [My casting team] called me up and said, "We're sending someone in, but you can't have him. They said, "We want you to know who he is, we want you to meet him, he's agreed to come in to meet you, but he can't do the role. He's being offered a movie with [Robert] De Niro and What's Eating Gilbert Grape."

VINESSA SHAW (ALLISON): I remember reading an original draft that was much scarier, and that was the draft we auditioned with. When we started shooting, it became a funny version, much lighter. It had the female Three Stooges element in it, and all the choreography that was added lent itself to a much more comedic movie bringing out the strengths of the actresses, and I think that's why the movie is beloved. Obviously, the witches and what they're doing — sucking the lives out of children — is scary, but the fact that it's done in a comedic fashion is palatable.

OMRI KATZ (MAX): I also remember reading a scarier draft… Once they had an idea of who they wanted to cast, I'm sure they had their two cents on it, too, and brought a more comedic, family-friendly, happier, not-so-sinister movie. It was a different approach... I don't remember a lot of those punchlines or one-liners being present.

SHAW: It wasn't them fumbling around and bumping into each other, it was straightforward. It was more like the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz; it had a darker, "I'll get you, my pretty" quality. They're a trifecta and can't do anything without the other, which was stronger in the second draft.

ORTEGA: [DiCaprio] came in, and he was just amazing — so extraordinary and unique — he came and he was stressed. He said, "I feel bad that I'm here because I can't do this, because I'm really focused on these other things," and I said, "Understandably." We shared a sandwich together. He was super cool. When he walked out, I called my casting agents and I said, "You're murdering me, here."

Disney (2) Jason Marsden reveals why Binx doesn't talk to his father in 'Hocus Pocus'

When the witches turn one of the 17-century local boys, Thackery Binx, into an immortal black cat, his parents don't recognize him in his feline form and abandon him. But later, when Thackery joins forces with the teens in the '90s, he's able to speak with them. Which raises the question: Why didn't he just tell his parents who he was 300 years earlier?

KATZ: We were all watching it together last weekend, and I said the exact same thing as soon as he's crawling around his dad's legs, rubbing and meowing. It's like, why is he not saying anything?

JASON MARSDEN (VOICE OF BINX): What a great idea for a prequel this would be, to find out how he does figure all of this out. My guess is: It's a new spell, a new forum. You try being a cat for an hour and learn how to walk, use a tail, and talk! It's probably something that Thackery had to learn or evolve in the hundreds of years that he had to deal with being an immortal cat.

Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Bette Midler zaps Omri Katz in 'Hocus Pocus'

Max (confirmed virgin) lights the Black Flame Candle and brings the Sanderson Sisters back from their 300-year purgatory — but a then-16-year-old Katz was lighting up in a different way.

KATZ: That was at an age where I started experimenting with cannabis. Let's just say some of those scenes, I was having a good old time. I don't exactly remember which scene…

SHAW: I do.

KATZ: I'll tell you what I do remember: I was misperforming and not hitting my keys or marks. Kenny [Ortega, the director] comes up to me and practically grabs me by the shirt, and he was like, "Are you high?" and I was like, "No," and of course I was. We got it done, but that was kind of a wake-up call, like, Omri, you've got to be a little more professional and make sure you hit your cues!

SHAW: It was the scene when she's like, "You. There." You didn't have any lines, so...

KATZ: Yeah, but I didn't look like I was getting zapped, I looked like I was getting high!

Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock Doug Jones and Omri Katz in 'Hocus Pocus'

ORTEGA: I can't count how many times we stopped filming because we were laughing our heads off, all of us, the crew, the witches, whether the fly rigs failed and everybody was stuck up in the air, to just funny, spur-of-the-moment things that happened. Wonderful, magical little things.

KATZ: All of [the cemetery set] was practical; there were no CGI effects. We didn't have to act like something was going on because something was going on. The floorboards were moving, the green light, the smoke, the lights popping, the candles coming on, all of that was practical. Even the Billy Butcherson scene, when he's resurrected, that's all on a soundstage; it's not really nature.

MARSDEN: Doug recalled to us in a panel that the original line [Billy says when coming out of the grave] was, "Bitch!" and he came up with this original monologue and pitched it to Kenny, and he had to do it after multiple takes of [live] moths coming out of his mouth.

SHAW: It's so gross. It's all practical effects, folks. Don't ever do it that way.

KATZ: There were some complications with the moths, according to Doug, even cutting the sutures. The dude's a master, and we all love him.

ORTEGA: The technology then was, really, pulling ropes. Often, during the flying sequences — and with no disrespect to the folks that were in charge of all of that — we had three witches flying on a soundstage, and, on occasion, there would be near-misses. On occasion, there would be electrical failures where they would be left up there, dangling. It was funny until it hurt, right?

Everett Collection Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler, and Sarah Jessica Parker perform 'I Put a Spell On You' in 'Hocus Pocus'

Performing the "I Put a Spell On You" musical sequence was enchanting, the cast says, as Ortega was well-versed in choreography and peppered the scene with high-energy performers — both in the audience and on stage.

SHAW: I don't remember much rehearsal because we were child actors, and we only had a certain number of hours that we were allotted on set. I remember coming in, and everybody was sweaty. It was so hot in there. Everybody was rehearsing the final moments. The energy was so up. Every character and costume was really into it, and it felt alive. The [actors playing] the Supremes, I remember them being really into it. When the song came on, it was explosive.

KATZ: There were a lot of different angles and shots to cover, so by the time Vinessa and I came in, it seemed like everything was organized and rehearsed, even though you'd think it was chaotic.

Disney+ Binx stops Allison (Vinessa Shaw) and Max (Omri Katz) from reading Book in 'Hocus Pocus'

When Allison tries to snoop through Winifred's beloved spell book, Binx prevents her from opening it by promptly pouncing on the cover. The production used multiple cats for the scene, which the cast recalls as a somewhat harrowing experience.

SHAW: I was the only one fascinated. [Omri] and Thora were like, "Ugh" with the cats. Not many people know this, but cats are hard to train. Dogs, you can teach more than one trick. With cats, you can only teach them one, apparently. I learned this while doing Hocus Pocus. There was literally a wall of cats, one cat for each trick. It was a cat to walk with you, a cat to sleep on you, a cat to jump on you, a cat to swipe your face. There was an animal trainer for each of those tricks, and we'd have to have a treat in our pocket to rehearse the scene.

MARSDEN: The wall of cats was on the same set as the cottage.

SHAW: [The book-pouncing scene] was a difficult take. We had to do it over and over again because the cat wasn't landing in the right spot. It had to do two parts to its trick: It had to land and then bat our faces. That was a more complicated cat, so it wasn't landing right, and it batted us improperly. At one point it was batting way too much, and we were going crazy. It was overacting. I remember the off-camera lines were read by Sean Murray because Jason wasn't cast yet, and he'd say, "Nothing good can come from this book" repetitively. I was so overwhelmed the whole day, talking to my mom like, "Nothing good can come from this book!" It was in my head perpetually.

Disney+ Vinessa Shaw surrounds herself with Salt in 'Hocus Pocus'

When the witches trace their way back to the children, Allison uses a canister of salt to build a protective magic barrier between herself and the Sanderson Sisters.

SHAW: Miraculously, it didn't get into my eyes. We only had a certain number of hours that we could be on set, and most of the time, we were imagining them in the sky or running from them, so it was rare that they were in the scene with us because when we were working, they were getting their makeup done, which took hours. When we crossed paths, it had to be for a very important scene. That scene had all three witches and Thora, so I was nervous because this is the one time that I'll have by myself a scene with all of them, and I have to do this salt thing and throw it around. I remember timidly doing one revolution of salt, and Kenny was like, "No, really get into it, spin it around and around! This is your weapon and your protection!" So, I emptied an entire canister of salt doing that.

Disney+ Max (Omri Katz) duels with Winifred Sanderson (Bette Midler) in 'Hocus Pocus'

The final showdown takes place in the Salem cemetery, with Allison and Dani taking on Sarah and Mary while Max winds up in Winifred's clutches high above the ground.

SHAW: I remember Kathy's stunt double. We were holding on to the vacuum cord, and I just remember them being like, "Really pull!" I got blisters from pulling on this crazy vacuum cord. We're really pulling on the stunt double in the harness and letting it go, then really falling on our bums. We did our own stunts, me, Doug, and Thora!

KATZ: We did a couple of different things from Bette's angle, she was up there on something, and I'm hanging by a harness. Harnesses are the least comfortable thing ever. It's like the worst atomic wedgie you've ever had, like, let's just get this over with as soon as possible. Everybody was flying on pullies and ropes, and I recall the discomfort.

Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock 'Hocus Pocus' stars Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler, and Sarah Jessica Parker

While they didn't share many scenes with the leading ladies due to child labor laws limiting their hours on set, Shaw and Katz have fond memories of the time they did spend with Midler, Parker, and Najimy — and Ortega explains that Disney initially didn't like Midler's performance.

SHAW: I remember Sarah Jessica Parker the most. We shared the same makeup trailer with Sarah Jessica, and Kathy. Kathy was nice, funny, and warm with me. Sarah Jessica asked me a lot of questions, like, "Oh, nice to meet you. This is your second movie? Do you want to do this with the rest of your life? That's nice, I started when I was young, I started on Broadway in Annie." I just loved Sarah Jessica Parker; I grew up with her. I remember her talking about her boyfriend, Matthew [Broderick], at the time, and cut to now and they're married! I remember her being a real sweet girly girl with me and always checking in.

KATZ: I remember Bette, in that scenario, was kind of a different person than she was on set. She was extremely professional, she was already rehearsing for Gypsy, a [TV movie based on the stage musical] she was doing right after, and every time I'd walk by her trailer, she was practicing [vocals]. I took that to heart, like, this woman's a hard worker, not like me in my trailer getting stoned!

ORTEGA: When Disney first saw what Bette wanted to do.... They were like, "Uh, we're not quite sure this is the direction we want you to go in," and I think Bette was [like], "Well, this is the direction I want to go in. If you want me to be the actress, you've got to bend here."

Disney+ The Sanderson Sisters return in 'Hocus Pocus 2'

While Birch was initially intended to appear as a grown-up version of Dani in the sequel, the rest of the OG cast wasn't asked to participate. Ortega, who hasn't seen the sequel, also said he wasn't asked back to direct, though he did sign an overall deal with Netflix in 2019.

ORTEGA: No, they did not approach me to direct it, which was disappointing, but, of course, in the end, I was very supportive, wanting for Bette, Kathy, and Sarah to have another crack at it.... You let go of things, you surrender, you move on, you don't hold on, you don't have ownership. I would've loved to have gone back and play again, but that I didn't is okay.

MARSDEN: I thought it was fun, but severe under-use of Hannah Waddingham [as the Sanderson Sisters' coven mother]. She was outstanding; I was hoping to see lots more of her.

SHAW: I saw it, and I felt everyone salivating over those ladies again. It satiated my wanting to see them, and I love the new actors that are involved. I especially thought the backstory girls playing the witches as children were hilarious. I enjoyed it. It was fun.

KATZ: I remember we were at a convention the weekend it came out. As I was going to sleep, I was like, I'll watch it. I think I got about 30 minutes in, and I found some joy in the beginning with the origin part, and then something about it, I just wasn't feeling it. Anyway, I fell asleep, and when I got back to L.A., I watched the rest of it, and then I started to actually enjoy it, and I saw the fun in it. I think it would've been more fun if we were involved, but it was still very enjoyable.

Disney+ 'Hocus Pocus 2' post-credits scene features another Black Flame Candle.

The sequel, which stars a new trio of teens (played by Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Lili Buckingham), ends with a post-credits scene implying the potential for another Sanderson Sisters revival. So, would the original stars return for a third Hocus Pocus film?

MARSDEN: Absolutely.

SHAW: Yeah, it's such a fun story and obviously having us reminisce about this makes it that much more fun, and the fondness keeps growing.

KATZ: I'd be 100 percent down to do it… I haven't read [the book sequel], but who's to say there has to be continuity in terms of the story? You can create any story. If they were to take the book and turn it into a screenplay, it doesn't have to be the witches coming back, they can do whatever they want, and people will be stoked to see it. The witches are 30 years older, so we've got to get this done sooner than later. We can't wait another 30 years. Sorry, it's the truth! I'm sure Bette does not want to be doing this at age 98.

SHAW: She has the best time. I bet she will. The craggier, the better!

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