Reception
Upon its U.S. release, Hocus Pocus received rather mixed to negative reviews from film critics. The Miami Herald called it "a pretty lackluster affair", adding this comment: "Despite the triple-threat actress combo, Hocus Pocus won't be the Sister Act of 1993. There are a lot of gotta-sees this summer, and this isn't one of them." The New York Times' Janet Maslin wrote that the film "has flashes of visual stylishness but virtually no grip on its story". Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C-, calling it "acceptable scary-silly kid fodder that adults will find only mildly insulting. Unless they're Bette Midler fans. In which case it's depressing as hell"; and stating that while Najimy and Parker "have their moments of ramshackle comic inspiration, and the passable special effects should keep younger campers transfixed the sight of the Divine Miss M. mugging her way through a cheesy supernatural kiddie comedy is, to say the least, dispiriting." On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Hocus Pocus has a "Rotten" score of 30%, based on twenty-three reviews; however, the audience score is 67%, with an average rating of 3.1 stars out of 5.
Read more about this topic: Hocus Pocus (1993 Film)
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