I like HOCUS POCUS a lot. I was in the second grade when it was released in the theater and I enjoyed watching it on the Disney Channel when it aired there.speedracer5 wrote: ↑March 3rd, 2023, 7:15 pmI agree with you here. Another film that my generation seems to have inexplicable nostalgia for is "Hocus Pocus." I have no idea why. I saw it exactly once, when it came out in 1993 when I was 9 and that was enough. Never once have I felt compelled to re-visit it. Just last year, I had to explain to someone only a year younger than me that "I Put a Spell On You" was not in fact, an original song from "Hocus Pocus." For the record, I prefer the Screamin' Jay Hawkins original, or the CCR cover.CinemaInternational wrote: ↑March 2nd, 2023, 11:05 pm
I feel like you hit on something with generations that came of age in the 80s and beyond, that, maybe in part due to constant replays on videotapes (I can claim to be guilty in some of these cases), many kids films of the period are put on some sort of a golden popularity pedestal (some of which, like Beauty and the Beast, are good films, while others are decidedly not) where they remain the most talked about titles of their era, while some choice titles aimed at adults crying out for more attention slip farther and farther into neglect and oblivion. (It seems from Lawrence's list of most "popular" titles by year on Letterboxd left unseen that that website is awash with lots of 90s kids)
My nostalgia is for things that I actually watched and enjoyed, such as "Batman: The Animated Series," and "Animaniacs." I also have nostalgia for 1985's "Summer Rental" because it is a classic film in my family. We have probably seen it over 100 times (no exaggeration). It's a tradition in my family and we never even owned an official copy. Our copy was a VCR recording off TV. Lol. We have since upgraded to a DVD.
Nowadays, there is inexplicable nostalgia for things that are touted as nostalgic via social media. Having nostalgia for a particular film or television show is a bandwagon fandom that social media devotees can jump on. "Hocus Pocus," "Nightmare Before Christmas," "The Goonies," "Matlida," "The Sandlot," "Casper," "Blank Check," etc. all fall under this category. I'm not saying that someone can't genuinely be nostalgic for a certain film, but when social media makes it seem like it's almost a law that you have to like [such and such] film because you were born at a certain time, I find it absurd. However, I'm definitely an outlier, since most of my childhood television and movie viewing consisted of Nick at Nite and movies and shows that were targeted to adults and not middle school kids. Lol. My nostalgia is rooted in family tradition (e.g. the aforementioned "Summer Rental") or specific memories that the film conjures up (e.g. seeing "Psycho" and "The Birds" for the first time because my dad rented them when my mom was out of town. She thought the films would be too scary for myself and my sister). And that's not to say that "Hocus Pocus" doesn't do these things for people, but I find the nostalgia for it (and other films) very suspect and disingenuous. Though I'm not one to jump on the social media bandwagon, so that's probably why.
Unlike most people of my generation, I don't actively participate in the mainstream social media platforms. I did enjoy MySpace back in the day, but I don't have a Facebook account anymore. I have a Twitter account but don't really post or read tweets.
My love of HOCUS POCUS is all my own, but I know there are people who do jump on fandom bandwagons for movies and shows that are touted on social media.
Like you, a good chunk of my childhood TV favorites were the "old" shows that aired on on Nick At Nite (shows like BEWTCHED and THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW) so my nostalgia is not that of a typical millennial. I also watched shows targeted for adults in addition to things intended for my age group like BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES and SAVED BY THE BELL. My parents also permitted my sister and me to watch movies made for adults (with some restrictions ---- no PULP FICTION for example).
But back to HOCUS POCUS ---
I do genuinely like the movie, and it continues to make me laugh after all these years.
This is probably my favorite part:
"She really hurt my feelings. She doesn't even know me."