Bette's Second Act

After almost 30 years, Bette Midler Returns as the queen of Halloween in Hocus Pocus 2

- H. ALAN SCOTT

MOVIE STUDIOS DON'T MAKE SEQUELS TO PICtures that flop. Which is why Bette Midler thought she'd never return as Winifred Sanderson, the leader of a pack of witches from the 1993 Disney film Hocus Pocus.

Campy and over-the-top, the family-friendly comedy was tailor made for Bette Midler. The Sanderson sisters (Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy) are awoken from a spell cast in the 17th century and proceed to try to steal the youth of the children of modern-day Salem, Massachusetts.

Released in July 1993, though, Hocus Pocus was steamrolled by that summer's blockbusters, among them the first Jurassic Park, Tom Cruise in The Firm and Harrison Ford in The Fugitive. While some devoted Midler fans bought tickets including this writer-the movie stiffed on its opening weekend and was promptly forgotten.

"I was disappointed because we had worked really hard on it," Midler says. "It was fun.

So we had this great experience, and we expected it to be translated into the response. When it wasn't, I do have to say it was a big disappointment." Over the next 20 year years, though, the movie gradually found a dedicated (and vocal) fan base online and via Halloween showings on television. On September 30, Hocus Pocus 2 premieres on Disney+. "I have to say a huge fat thank you and a huge shout out to all the fans that basically made it happen," Midler says. "If it hadn't been for them, we never would have been given the green light to do it." "When I started seeing it online, I was absolutely dumbfounded. I couldn't believe it," she adds. "I tell you, my mouth fell open. I had no idea that this was going on. And the more you dug into the internet, the more you saw that there was this madness of those three characters....We started seeing that something was happening. We couldn't quite figure out why. But it was, there's no denying that there was something going on. And as the years went by, it got crazier and crazier."