MOVIE TALK
Love Hocus Pocus? Then Check Out Ernest Scared Stupid
10 Reasons why without Ernest Scared Stupid, Hocus Pocus might not even exist.
Let me prepare my Bette Midler impression… Ahem…
“Oh, look, another glorious morning… where Ernest Scared Stupid, the forgotten Halloween masterpiece, is overlooked… Makes me sick!”
That’s the quote, right?
The evil Sanderson sisters have firmly established their fun, family-friendly film as a spooky-season cult classic. And it all began in 1993…
…Or did it?
When you look at how many massive structural similarities exist between Disney’s Ernest Scared Stupid (1991) and Disney’s Hocus Pocus (1993), it’s hard not to think Hocus Pocus might owe few of their plaudits to an underrated film that wrote the playbook two years prior.
#1 The Opening Prologue: Burying Monsters who Vow to Rise Again and Attack the Children.
Hocus Pocus starts with an ancient history prologue where the town shows up with pitchforks and catches the evil witches.
Yet two years earlier, Ernest Scared Stupid opened in the exact same way. Led by their leader, Phineas Worrell, townspeople gather with pitchforks as they bury Trantor, the evil troll.
Then, Trantor reveals one of Phineas’ descendants will one day release him so he can… you guessed it, attack the children.
“PFF! A lot of movies probably start like that,” you’re thinking? Well, how about the very next scene…
#2 Transition to a School for the Town’s Legacy
In the very next scene, Hocus Pocus transports you to a school where one of their teachers is lecturing about the town's legacy in the present day. It’s a clever way to move the plot forward, give viewers exposition, and establish the town’s troubled past.
So clever, it’s almost like…
Ernest Scared Stupid did the same thing! After the troll is buried, they’re transported to a school where a student reports on the town’s dark legacy in front of her class.
“Pssht! Just because the first scene… and erm, the second scene are the same, that doesn’t mean the entire movie is the same! They’ll deviate eventually, you jerk!”
Name callin’ now, huh? I guess that brings me to…
#3 Confrontation with Bullies
After that, Max has to confront school bullies who destroy his haunted hou-… I mean, steal his shoes. I must’ve gotten that confused, since bullies wreck the kids’ haunted house soon after as well in Ernest Scared Stupid.
“…Why are you doing this?”
Hey, come on. It’s not a competition. Now, if you’ll excuse me…
…I will continue presenting this as if it’s a competition…
#4 Releasing a Contained Monster in a Specific Location Under Highly Unlikely Circumstances
Max, a virgin, goes into the fabled Sandersons’ house. From all the junk lying around inside, he just so happens to find a specific Zippo lighter. Then, he wants to light a very specific Black Flame Candle, which, by coincidence, if a virgin lights on Halloween night, will revive the Sanderson witches.
“Thackery Binx, the 300-year-old black cat, attacks Max, stopping him from lighting the candle, but only for a moment. Max lights it, believing “it’s all a bunch of hocus pocus” (Don Roff).
Good ole fashion 1993 fun! But you know where this is going...
Ernest (in 1991) takes the kids out to a haunted tree. There, if a Worrell (like him), on the night before Halloween (like that night), places his hand on the tree (“like this”), and says, “Yay, I call thee forth, Trantor!” and knocks three times, Trantor will arise…
But what are the chances of that happening?
“Ugh… that is a lot of similarities.”
Now you’re smellin’ what I’m stepping in!
#5 The Monster Attacks
In both films, once the monsters are released, they attack the kids on site, and the kids scatter.
You can call Ernest a kid, right?
“Ah hah! That was a short one. That means all the other points are… well… they’re actually all beat for beat the same. But that one was short! So umm… so there!”
#6 Ticking Clocks Post Monster Release
It’s normal for a film to have time constraints for the protagonist to work against to add suspense. However, “the witches must get the book and cast their spell before sunrise, or they’ll turn to dust forever.”
And they have to find children to live forever.
Trantor needs to catch five children to release his evil troll army and take over the world.
I mean, come on, guys. This is getting ridiculous! Keep in mind, these were both Disney films made only two years apart.
“…”
#7 Ignoring Cries for Help at the Halloween Party
When Max learns of the Sandersons, he runs to a Halloween party where all the adults are dancing in costume. There, he gets everyone’s attention and reveals the truth that the evil Sanderson witches are back.
But to his dismay, everyone laughs at him and doesn’t believe him…
Just like Ernest!
Ernest runs to the school’s Halloween show and yells to all the parents and kids about the troll but is laughed at and ignored.
Are you getting the point here? A LOT of major plot points are, beat for beat, directly patterned after Ernest Scared Stupid.
“Please make it stop.”
No! Ernest must be appreciated!
#8 A Special Book Needed to Push the Plot Forward
In Hocus Pocus, the witches need their magic book to cast their evil spells. In Ernest Scared Stupid, Ernest needs to use the book to discover how to stop the troll.
While “the antagonist uses it in one movie, and the protagonist uses it in another, ultimately, there’s a magic book that has to be used for the next thing to happen” (Geoff Yearwood from Ernest Goes to Comics Read Along Podcast).
“…Seems like you’re getting watered down, huh? Psst. If there was something more specific about the book, maybe I’d….”
The last two are also wildly similar!
“…Oh, sh**.”
#9 The Special Book’s Protection Method Waxes and Wanes
Now, here’s another big one. From the magic book, Max and Alyson learn a circle of salt will protect them from the witches. But from Ernest’s book, he learns that milk will stop the trolls.
They use the salt to good effect. But in the end, it eventually stops working when the witches attack from the air. And while milk was stopping the trolls, in the end, it falters when Trantor grows in power. This forces both movies’ heroes to dig down deep within themselves to defeat the villains.
Just to be sure you got that: Yes, they use the book as a special method to stop the monsters, that, in the end, stops working for dramatic effect…
…in both movies.
“…Yeah, that’s, that’s… ex (cough) tremely similar. You’re right. Hocus Pocus is almost Ernest Scared Stupid with witches. I get it, okay?!”
If you weren’t sold by now, here’s the nail in the coffin…
10# People from Another Time, Held by the Monster’s Spell, are Released for the Story’s Resolution
When the kids in Hocus Pocus stop the witches, Thackery Binx (previously a human trapped in a cat’s body) and his sister are finally released from their torturous spell, and their souls are seen walking off together… now in human (spirit) form.
At the end of Ernest Scared Stupid, kids who had long ago been turned into wooden dolls by Trantor are finally released, and they return to earth as kids once again.
Yup. Both movies have victims of the villain held in some non-human form over generations and being released as the resolution to the story! Even the resolution to the conflict is exactly the same!
“I admit it. That’s wild. From the beginning to the end, Hocus Pocus tracks pretty dang closely with Ernest Scared Stupid… But that doesn’t stop my love for Hocus Pocus!”
Nor should it. It doesn’t mine.
To be clear — this isn’t bashing Hocus Pocus. It’s an awesome flick, and I’ve watched it a bunch of times. I’m also super excited for the 3rd installment coming in 2025.
This also isn’t to argue that the writers from Ernest Scared Stupid didn’t borrow things from movies that came before it. ALL writers borrow structural elements from stories that came before them. Tropes work for a reason — they’re time-tested ways to engage audiences in a story…
…But from top to bottom?
It’s rumored that Disney released Ernest from their contract because Ernest Scared Stupid was too scary for kids. Is it possible they knew they had a banging story on their hands that they wanted to try again? Then two years later, bodda-bing bodda-boom, witches replace trolls? Who knows, but it would explain the similarities between the films.
All that being said, if you love Hocus Pocus, do yourself a favor — go check out Ernest Scared Stupid. It’s truly a fantastic and overlooked Halloween movie. And guess what? It’s okay to love them both!
Either way, just remember, a man much wiser man than myself once said:
“If anyone doesn’t get it yet, Ernest Scared Stupid did this first!”
But then again, if a Sexy Alligator is wiser than me, why the hell are you still reading this?
For the first time in over 25 years, Ernest is back in his very first graphic novel! Just click this link and fill out your email to receive free exclusive downloadable content and updates on the upcoming crowdfunding for the book!
Ernest & the Dream Stone launches Sept. 17 — Oct. 17 exclusively on Kickstarter. Check out the trailer by Ernest Goes to Comics below…
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If this article Trantored you, don’t worry; I was in charge of the troll destruction unit in WWII. And boy, do I have a deal for you! Check out this comprehensive ranking of all the Ernest Movies I wrote. Just Click Here.
