The Hillywood Show's Hocus Pocus Parody

Well, well, well, what do we have here? It's the newest parody by The Hillywood Show. Though their last one was very good, it's been several months now since it was released, enough time to make me want something more. Hilly and Hannah have begun asking for regular fan funding through Patreon, and I think they might have been hoping to have enough funding to start this project sooner. Then YouTube was giving problems with the upload and it didn't come out until Wednesday, though it was supposed to debut last weekend. And I didn't have the chance to watch it until last night (which felt really strange because I can usually watch their videos as soon as they're out).

But if there there delays or complications getting this video made, it's all in the past now: the final product turned out great. The subject is the early '90's movie Hocus Pocus, which I had to watch to prepare for the parody since I'd never seen it before. And the song is a medley from The Nightmare Before Christmas, making this the second time Hillywood has used a song from there (Gagaween a few years ago was the first time). The songs work flawlessly and have a lighthearted, fun tone that helps to portray the comedy side of the movie. The chorus may be about kidnapping children, but it's never sinister or dark--just fun and silly. And the fact that the songs are from a Halloween/Christmas movie is kind of nice now that it's closer to Christmas than to Halloween.

I didn't realize until I watched the Behind the Scenes that this parody involved their first complete 360 degree set. And it really is detailed. The costumes and makeup are also so well done, some of their best work. Overall, very polished and yet also filmed and edited together in such a way as to not detract from the spontaneity of the song and storyline. Maybe less people will happen on this parody because less people are YouTubing Hocus Pocus than than are big movies, but it has good rewatchability, which leads to more views (and happy viewers).