2023 marked the 30th anniversary of Disney’s Hocus Pocus. For over two decades, fans have been watching the Halloween-themed movie repeatedly during the month of October and Disney+ gave fans a sequel in recent years (with a potential third movie on the way). Even the most die-hard fans, however, can miss details in their favorite movies.

Throughout the ninety-minute adventure, Max Dennison, his little sister Dani, and their new friend Allison spend their Halloween night taking on the witches the Sanderson sisters, and stopping them from ruining the lives of children all over Salem, Massachusetts. During all of the action and comedy, there were a lot of details fans could overlook. While some are intentional Easter eggs, others are mistakes, and still others are things fans only catch when they have seen the movie so many times that they know it by heart.

Max’s Note To Allison Changes

There Were Two Different Notes Used During Filming

When the movie kicks off, Max Dennison is busy doubting the truth behind the witchy stories about the Sanderson sisters. His history class gets the tale recounted by their teacher, and when Max balks at the idea of Halloween being a real holiday at all, he gets corrected by Allison about the day's history. Max’s response is to give Allison his phone number. Allison gets one over on him by returning the note to him when they next meet up outside the school.

Eagle-eyed fans will notice that the placement of Max's phone number on the paper as well as aspects of the writing change. There were two different notes used during filming! Of course, modern fans will also notice in TV viewings that Max Dennison's phone number was blurred out. Though 555 numbers are typically used for fictional numbers, telephone companies started issuing those numbers as the number of people with cell phones grew. Someone actually has Max Dennison’s phone number today.

The Fountain From Friends Appears In Hocus Pocus

The Sitcom Was Released A Year Later

While it might not have been noticeable in 1993, many fans might find one particular fountain in the movie familiar in the modern day. When the group thinks (after they break into their school and use the ceramic kiln against the Sanderson sisters) that they defeated the witches, Dani and Allison run around in front of a fountain while Max and Binx talk. That fountain has a place in pop culture history.

Friends didn't premiere until September of 1994, so no original Hocus Pocus viewings would have made this detail one that stuck out in viewers' minds.

It’s become a famous filming location thanks to the opening credits of the sitcom Friends. It’s the same fountain that the main cast of the show splash around in. It’s really located in Cherry Hill, New York. Friends didn't premiere until September of 1994, so no original Hocus Pocus viewings would have made this detail one that stuck out in viewers' minds. With Friends as one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time now, however, modern fans are quick to catch it.

Hocus Pocus Used Real Bugs

Sarah Jessica Parker Ate A Real Spider

There have been a lot of anniversary interviews with of the cast over the years, and one point that often gets brought up is the use of bugs. Sarah Jessica Parker’s Sarah eats a spider at one point in the movie, and Doug Jones’ Billy Butcherson has moths fly out of his mouth.

The 1993 audience might have been surprised to find out that those bugs were all real years later. Yes, Parker ate a real spider and Jones held live moths in his mouth to get the perfect take. For Jones, moths in his mouth weren't that simple though. There was a little more to keeping the moths in place than Jones simply putting them in his mouth. According to Tony Gardner, who worked on the makeup team for the movie, a "latex pocket" had to be created to put in Jones' mouth to keep the moths in place.

Bette Midler’s Music Career Has Nods

Winifred Has A Love For Performing Just Like The Actress Herself

Bette Midler is a legendary entertainer. Though she might be best-known for her contributions to movies, there's a reason so many of her characters have had musical numbers over the last 30 years. She's also an accomplished singer. Because Bette Midler’s Winifred has a love for performing just like the entertainer herself, there are nods to Midler’s music career sprinkled throughout the movie. While one nod occurs before a performance, the other doesn’t.

Mary refers to Winifred as “divine” early in the movie, which is a nod to Midler being known as “the divine Miss M” for her stage presence. Winifred also famously says, “Hello, Salem. My name’s Winifred. What’s yours,” before singing at a Halloween party. That is a play on a similar line from Midler as Madam Rose in the musical Gypsy, which she also appeared in during the 1993 television season.

Someone Is A Fan Of Astrology

The Storybook Version Of Hocus Pocus Has Some Zodiac Signs On The Cover

The movie opens the same way a lot of classic Disney movies do — with a storybook. Many of Disney's early works, especially their animated children's movies, played on the idea of reading the audience a fairy tale from a beautiful book. The cover of the book for Hocus Pocus, however, is an interesting one. It features an artist's depiction of the Sanderson sisters' house, but that's not all.

In the area that would be the night sky there are symbols that will be familiar to those who love astrology. The book that appears to be the storybook version of Hocus Pocus has the zodiac signs Virgo, Leo, Gemini, and Taurus appear in the sky. Those symbols aren't visible from the same place at the same time on Earth, so they either have important meaning to the Sandersons, or the artist responsible for the picture.

Allison Swaps Out Her Pendant

She's Wearing A Different Necklace After Changing Into Normal Clothing

When Max and Dani find themselves at Allison's house on Halloween, Allison is wearing a necklace with her costume. The necklace has a cameo pendant on it and a string of what looks to be pearls. Allison's necklace in Hocus Pocus, however, changes. After she changes from her costume into normal clothing to take Max and Dani to the Sanderson house, she's wearing a different necklace.

The necklace Allison wears during the rest of the movie doesn't have the cameo pendant on it. Instead, it looks more like a metallic locket. What's interesting though is that the pendant is on the same string of pearls, which means Allison either has two very similar necklaces, or she took the time to switch out the pendant for the night.

Of course, the most logical explanation here is that it was a mistake made while filming the movie. It's possible one of the necklaces was misplaced while filming or that the person in charge of Allison's jewelry chose a different necklace to film with for the scene in costume by mistake.

The Witches' Costumes Are Reflected Elsewhere In The Movie

Max's Shirt Has The Colors The Sanderson Sisters Wear

The dresses of Winifred, Mary, and Sarah have become iconic Halloween costumes. The characters are impossible to miss in the movie thanks to their very distinctive garb. Each of the sisters has their own specific color scheme. Sarah wears purple, Mary wears red, and Winifred wears green. Each of the sisters has other colors within their dresses, but those are their primary colors. Their color scheme, and often, those three colors together, is reflected elsewhere in the movie.

Allison is seen wearing a cloak that resembles Mary's at the start of the movie, for example. Likewise, Max's first tee shirt in the movie is a tie-dyed one that combines the colors of all three of the sisters' dresses. While some fans will say this links the magic the sisters have to other characters, it's much more likely that these colors, and especially the bright and jewel-tone versions of them, were used because they pop so well on camera. It makes sense to feature them repeatedly in the movie.

There Are Numerous Wizard Of Oz References

All Because The Wicked Witch Of The West Remains One Of The Most Iconic Witches On Screen

One of the most iconic witches on screen remains the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard Of Oz. She's so iconic that her backstory has been explored in Wicked. Her theme music is even instantly recognizable. In fact, fans might hear riffs of it throughout Hocus Pocus and other movies that give callbacks to the villain.

There's also one thing in the movie that calls back to that same witch. In The Wizard Of Oz, when Dorothy's house lands in Kansas, it lands on top of the Wicked Witch's sister. As Glinda removes her shoes, her striped stockings are visible right before they roll up. Winifred wears a pair of striped stockings through Hocus Pocus as well, and they get plenty of focus when she turns to stone in the graveyard.

Of course, Wizard of Oz references are very common in projects featuring other witches that the writers might hope become just as iconic.

Of course, Wizard of Oz references are very common in projects featuring other witches that the writers might hope become just as iconic. Marvel's Agatha All Along, released in 2024 on Disney+, is also filled with references to Wizard of Oz, right down to Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West and Lilia (Patti Lupone) dressed as Glinda in an episode.

There Are Familiar Costumes

Some Costumed Children Appear Multiple Times

In scenes that involve a lot of extras, it's not uncommon for the same people to appear repeatedly. It's a lot easier for the movie's production team to utilize the same few extras for multiple scenes on the same day or to have the same extras appear in a scene multiple times to make the world appear lived in. If fans are paying attention, they'll notice that happens in Hocus Pocus as well.

Just outside the "master's" house, there are quite a few kids trick-or-treating. At least, the camera wants the audience to think there are quite a few kids. A few of them walk back and forth across the scene multiple times, including a child dressed like a bumblebee and one dressed like a playing card.

Maybe the kids were just trying to get as much candy as possible from the neighborhood. The more obvious costumes, like Mrs. Potts from Beauty And The Beast, don't walk by as often, but they provide nods to a lot of other Disney properties.

The Sanderson Sisters Were Not Witch Trial Victims

The Hocus Pocus Opening Was Set Months After The End Of The Trials

Though Hocus Pocus presents itself as a kid-friendly tale of witches marked by the Salem Witch Trials (if there is such a thing), the Sanderson sisters were not women affected by the trials. The Hocus Pocus opening was set on October 31, 1693, exactly 300 years before Max and Dani’s part in the story.

The Salem Witch Trials began in early 1692. More than 200 people were accused of witchcraft and put on trial (or, more accurately, interrogated and tortured) between February 1692 and May 1693. Salem ended their trials before the Sanderson sisters kidnapped Emily Binx and turned her brother into a cat.

That’s not to say that women couldn’t have been persecuted after May 1693 in the colony. The governor of Salem, however, saw his own wife accused of witchcraft in 1692 and ordered the trials, the tests, and the hangings to stop.