It's Just A Bunch of Hocus Pocus

GT Network Happiest Pod on Earth
#1

Originally published at: https://happy.geektherapy.com/2021/10/08/its-just-a-bunch-of-hocus-pocus/

#23: Hocus Pocus, a film released in 1993, continues to embody the Halloween Spirit and capture the hearts of Disney fans, including those of Stef, Ariel, and Special Guest Travis Hayward. Together they take a personality quiz to learn which character they are, share fun facts from the movie, and what it was like watching it in theatres. The trio continues to embrace the Spooky Season by sharing other haunts and events meant to delight and scare.

Read the blog post for this episode for additional references and resources.

Become a member of Geek Therapy on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/geektherapy

Transcription

Stefanie Bautista 0:10
Hello, everyone, welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth. I’m Stefanie.

Ariel Landrum 0:14
And I’m Ariel.

Travis Hayward 0:15
And I’m Travis.

Ariel Landrum 0:16
And we’re Disney fans. But we’re really so much more than that.

Stefanie Bautista 0:18
Like I’m an educator who uses passions and fandoms to help my students grow and learn about themselves and the world around them.

Ariel Landrum 0:24
And I’m a mental health therapist who uses clients passions and fandoms to help them heal and achieve mental wellness.

Travis Hayward 0:30
And I’m an actor, writer podcaster that explores various passions and fandoms to help inspire fellow artists.

Stefanie Bautista 0:35
Here at Happiest Pod. It’s a place where we dissect Disney mediums with a critical lens.

Ariel Landrum 0:39
Why? Because just like we are more than just Disney fans, we expect more from the mediums we consume.

Stefanie Bautista 0:45
Yes, certainly. And today we are going to delve into a very fun topic because tis the season. So what Disney media or experience are we going to dissect today?

Ariel Landrum 0:57
We’re going to be dissecting Spooky Season and some of the fun things that I have done and that Travis and I have done. Travis is our friend who is a huge pop culture nerd just like us. He has an affinity for Broadway theater and very specifically voice acting. In our group chat that we have with Billy, Travis regularly leaves audio clips impersonating various cartoon characters. And I will say he does the best Sebastian impersonation. And he’s also abilities fellow podcaster on The Movie Grader and Friends. Travis, why don’t you share a little bit more about yourself and then we can dive into some spooky goodness.

Travis Hayward 1:33
Yeah, totally. First of all, thanks for having me. You guys I’m a huge fan of the show. I listen to every episode.

Ariel Landrum 1:41
Yay!

Stefanie Bautista 1:41
Thank you.

Travis Hayward 1:42
I mean I already know you guys but I’m a fan of the show. Yeah so, it’s weah, it’s great. Yeah, but yeah, I I’ve lived here in the LA area for about seven years now. I originally grew up in West Virginia. I’ve performed on stage in various productions. I’ve also gotten to act on screen as well in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Shout out to Kevin Smith. On that note, I’m a massive fanboy for all things Kevin Smith, Marvel, DC, Star Wars, and of course Disney. Prior to the pandemic I was a staff writer for That’s My Entertainment which is an entertainment based website that covers everything in pop culture from movies and TV to various Comic Cons throughout the country. More recently, I joined Billy’s The Movie Grader and Friends podcast. So The Movie Grader and Friends, I’m one of the “and friends.”

Stefanie Bautista 2:32
You are the and friend that what you’re saying ’cause I believe it!

Travis Hayward 2:36
Yes I am. I’m the and friends Yeah. Melissa and I are the and friends. But yes it… Yeah, it’s it’s been a lot of fun and I’m really excited to be here today to talk about spooky season and Hocus Pocus.

Stefanie Bautista 2:54
Awesome and we are so happy to have you Travis I know we always talk offline about plenty of things that have been coming out. I know you and I have been like constantly talking about Star Wars which we’re super excited about. And you and Ariel hung out and did the whole Hocus Pocus thing. And for those listeners out there here in the LA area Freeform the the channel had a really cool pop up right Ariel that you guys got to go to as well but then you also got to watch Hocus Pocus in theaters.

Ariel Landrum 3:26
Oh, so we saw Hocus Pocus in theaters.

Stefanie Bautista 3:28
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 3:28
And then I went to Freeform without Travis haha.

Stefanie Bautista 3:33
Boo. Just kidding.

Travis Hayward 3:33
Boo indeed. I agree. Nah I’m just kidding.

Ariel Landrum 3:40
But yeah, we did go to the theaters and saw Hocus Pocus in theaters despite it being a movie that’s been out since 1993. There is a seasonal yearly annual event at El Capitan, which we talked about in a previous episode. The theater that’s owned by Disney and they regularly play Hocus Pocus and Nightmare Before Christmas. But before we get started on that Stef had something special she wanted us to do on the podcast today something different

Stefanie Bautista 4:13
Yes, definitely. It’s something that I’ve heard on a podcast that I’ve been listening to lately, and I thought it’d be a fun thing to do because the podcast I listened to is about best friends. And because I am on a podcast with my best friend and also friends that are best in my life. I decided that we could do a cool character quiz one of those, “Who Are You Quizzes?” And I know that they have really cool ones on BuzzFeed. But they do also have ones on OhMyDisney.com which is more targeted towards fans and so we are going to together but separately do a, “Which Hocus Pocus Character Are You?” quiz! ding ding ding. So what’s going to happen is that we are going to go through this quiz and we’re going to see who we get personality wise. I’m going to read off the questions and they’re all going to take a couple seconds to answer. So what I can do is, are you guys queued up to the quiz on your screen?

Ariel Landrum 5:14
Yes I am.

Travis Hayward 5:15
Yes.

Stefanie Bautista 5:17
And I can go ahead and describe the little description that they have on here. And it says, “What is it about Hocus Pocus that has cemented it as an icon of Halloween time pop culture for all of these years? Is it the wardrobe, excellent soundtrack hoppin script clever. It’s all that and so much more friends. Now the Hocus Pocus is available on digital blu ray and movies anywhere and a special 25th anniversary edition…” I don’t know when this was published, but I’m sure it’s still available. “It’s time for you to pause that marathon to discover which character truly represents you. Find out if you’re more of a Sanderson, sr, immortal cat or slightly goofy, but cute, high school student.”

Ariel Landrum 5:57
I hope I’m a cat.

Stefanie Bautista 6:00
I, I I’m probably gonna be a high school student, but we’ll see.

Travis Hayward 6:04
I’m gonna be the Sanderson sister babys.

Stefanie Bautista 6:07
We’ll see. We’ll see. All right, so there’s 10 questions. Let’s start. Number one. “I believe in Salem’s legend of the Sanderson sisters. True or false?” music notes

Ariel Landrum 6:20
If we did the Jeopardy theme song is that proprietary?

Stefanie Bautista 6:25
Yeah, I think so. All right. Next question. “This Halloween, I’m going to be 80s Madonna, Dracula, a witch or a zombie?” Enter your answer.

Ariel Landrum 6:38
Okay.

Stefanie Bautista 6:40
This one’s hard for me. Okay, whatever. I’ll stick one.

Third question. “My best quality is my sense of smell. My big heart. My wisdom beyond my years, or my happy go lucky attitude.”

Ariel Landrum 6:58
Ohhh…

Stefanie Bautista 7:00
All right, next question. “If I were a witch, my favorite type of spell would be anything that looks like green lightning, cheating death, speaking another language, or creating a cool outfit.”

Ariel Landrum 7:14
I think I know which one you’re gonna pick Stef.

Stefanie Bautista 7:17
I don’t need magic to create a cool outfit. I can just use my skills.

Travis Hayward 7:25
Right?

Stefanie Bautista 7:25
Next question. “When I hear the song, I put a spell on you. I sing along heartily dance like no one’s looking, roll my eyes, or grab the mic and steal the show.”

Ariel Landrum 7:39
All of the above.

Travis Hayward 7:41
Exactly.

Stefanie Bautista 7:42
Like you can grab the mic and steal the show and sing along heartily…

Ariel Landrum 7:45
While you’re dancing like no one is watching.

Stefanie Bautista 7:46
Dance like no one is awtching. And roll your eyes at people who don’t care what you’re doing. I want to drag my mouse and then just like highlight all of them. Okay, next question. “My relationship with books is totally normal or a bit obsessive.” That’s a good question whether or not you watch Hocus Pocus.

Ariel Landrum 8:12
Yeah, the interesting thing about these is I’ve taken the quizzes where it’s always like, always, 4 answers are always yes or no. So this one’s kind of mixing it up. I like that.

Stefanie Bautista 8:21
Yeah. This is like the type of quiz I do at school. You got to shake it up. Okay, next question. Question seven. “My older brother is…” Okay. I don’t have an older brother.

Travis Hayward 8:35
I don’t either.

Stefanie Bautista 8:38
But I can, I guess we can associate with like an older, older cousin or something? That’s what I’m gonna do. “Alright, my older brother is a doofus. Pretty cool, over protective or imaginary? I should have read these through.

Ariel Landrum 8:56
I do have an older brother. And I have to answer.

Stefanie Bautista 9:00
Question eight. The best Halloween treat to cook from scratch is caramel apples. Pumpkin chili. edible eyeballs, or worms and dirt.

Travis Hayward 9:11
Pumpkin chili?

I’ve never had pumpkin chili. But also our edible eyeballs. Like it’s like eggs.

Ariel Landrum 9:21
Yeah, Deviled eggs?

Travis Hayward 9:23
Oh…

Stefanie Bautista 9:23
Deviled eggs with umm?

Ariel Landrum 9:24
Or I was thinking chocolate.

Travis Hayward 9:26
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Yeah. Yeah, like those like those little chocolate candies that like in the shape of an eyeball?

Ariel Landrum 9:33
Yeah.

Travis Hayward 9:33
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 9:34
But it said from scratch.

Stefanie Bautista 9:36
Yeah, I know. Like, am I am I the chocolatier? Question nine. “My favorite mode of transportation is broom, vacuum bus or foot.”

Ariel Landrum 9:54
That’s a pointed question.

Stefanie Bautista 9:58
Alright guys, ready for the last question?

Ariel Landrum 10:00
Mmm-hmm.

Stefanie Bautista 10:00
Alright. I’m a cat person or a dog person.

Ariel Landrum 10:05
Yes.

Stefanie Bautista 10:07
Yes.

Ariel Landrum 10:12
I don’t know why I couldn’t have all of it but… Oh, I got an answer.

Stefanie Bautista 10:17
Okay, I got an answer too.

Travis Hayward 10:20
I got one, too.

Ariel Landrum 10:21
All right, Travis, you go first cause you’re our guest.

Travis Hayward 10:23
Oh, okay. I’m very excited to say I’m Winifred Sanderson.

Stefanie Bautista 10:30
Yeah!!

Ariel Landrum 10:30
Yeah!!

Stefanie Bautista 10:30
You called it? You were gonna be a Sanderson sister. Awesome.

Travis Hayward 10:33
My favorite one too.

Ariel Landrum 10:35
What does it say? What’s a little blurb?

Travis Hayward 10:37
Oh, |It says you’re a natural leader with a chillingly good singing voice and a penchant for making the impossible possible. Sure your family might get on your get on your nerves every once in a while, but they’ve got your back.”

Stefanie Bautista 10:48
I love that.

Ariel Landrum 10:49
And you do have a good singing voice.

Stefanie Bautista 10:50
You do? Just a good speaking anything voice in general.

Travis Hayward 10:54
Oh, thank you.

Stefanie Bautista 10:56
Alright. Ariel what did you get?

Ariel Landrum 10:59
I’m Zachary Binx!

Stefanie Bautista 11:02
You called this too!

Ariel Landrum 11:04
“Wise beyond your years protective of those you love and as sarcastic as possible for a cat. You’re the glue that holds your group of friends together.”

Stefanie Bautista 11:13
Awesome. All right. I got Sarah Sanderson.

Ariel Landrum 11:19
Oh, so you weren’t a high schooler?

Travis Hayward 11:21
Yeah!

Stefanie Bautista 11:22
No, I’m not a high schooler. But I like Sarah because she’s like, kind of dumb. She reminds me of what’s her name from Mean Girls. Like “There’s a 30% chance it’s already raining.” Oh my god, I totally forgot her name. But um, but yeah, I…

Ariel Landrum 11:43
It’s not Gretchen Wieners.

Stefanie Bautista 11:44
No, it’s not Gretchen… It’s anyway, but I liked her and me and girls and I feel like Sarah is a lot like her. She’s kind of like the dumb one. But it says, “Your hunting voice could lure a child out of their bed and to any concert venue. You value your appearance and are filled with wide eyed wonder and longed to be taken seriously by your superiors. Just don’t run amok. amok, amok, amok.”

Ariel Landrum 12:06
Nice, you do have a hauntingly beautiful voice as well.

Stefanie Bautista 12:10
Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Ariel Landrum 12:14
Yeah! That was fun.

Travis Hayward 12:16
That was a lot of fun.

Stefanie Bautista 12:17
That was fun. Thanks for taking this quiz with me.

Travis Hayward 12:20
Thanks for presenting it to us.

Stefanie Bautista 12:22
Personality quizzes are fun. I used to do them in my class. Also, it was really cool to do them collectively with my class. But also if the kids were, you know, in front of a laptop, it was really fun to see like, who they would get. We would do it with literary characters after we read a book. And it’s really fun for them to associate with a certain character and kind of see themselves reflected in it. So I thought it would be really fun to do it here. And also, ever since I heard it on a podcast, I was like, “Hey, I could do it on here.”

Ariel Landrum 12:50
Yeah, and I would like to talk about some movie tidbits on about Hocus Pocus.

Stefanie Bautista 12:58
Oh, yeah, sure.

Ariel Landrum 12:59
Okay. Okay. So, first, did you know that you can actually visit some of the filming locations from Hocus Pocus because it was actually filmed in Salem, Massachusetts?

Stefanie Bautista 13:11
What?!

Ariel Landrum 13:11
Alright, everybody grab your pen and paper or if you are at a computer type rapidly.

Stefanie Bautista 13:18
Okay.

Ariel Landrum 13:19
Alright. Max, and Danny’s house is 4 Ocean Avenue, Salem, Massachusetts. Allison’s house which is known as “The Ropes Mansion” is 318 Essex Streets, Salem, Massachusetts. The Old Burial Hill Cemetery is 50 Orange Street, Marblehead, Massachusetts. And finally, Binx’s house you could visit Binx’s house…

Stefanie Bautista 13:42
Oh!

Ariel Landrum 13:42
It’s in Pioneer Village at 98 West Avenue Salem, Massachusetts. Now I I share this because I have actually been to Salem, and I did actually go see these locations.

Stefanie Bautista 13:55
Yeah!

Travis Hayward 13:55
Oh that’s amazing!

Stefanie Bautista 13:56
How lucky.

Ariel Landrum 13:58
Alright, next, Doug Jones. He plays Billy Butcherson. Travis, where would we know Doug Jones from? If you didn’t see this movie.

Travis Hayward 14:07
Ah, you would know him probably best known for me. You’re probably best known as he’s basically Guillermo del Toro’s go to guy. He plays every monster that is ever in any of his movies like The Shape of Water. He’s the creature. For Pan Pan’s Labyrinth he’s Pan as well actually. Pan’s Labyrinth I think he plays pretty much every one of those…

Stefanie Bautista 14:30
Everybody.

Travis Hayward 14:30
One of all of those creatures is like the guy with the eyes in his hands and like just all the creepy characters. Also for comic book fans, he was an Abe Sapien in the Hellboy movies. So yeah, he’s yeah, he’s very vast career. A lot of time but it’s it’s so weird. Like he has such an amazing, incredible best career that spanned you know, like, decades at this point, but it’s like we never or very seldom do we ever see his real face. It’s usually under a bunch of makeup.

Ariel Landrum 15:03
Yes, yes, he’s a pro with that special effects makeup and like, almost looks nothing like any other creatures.

Travis Hayward 15:11
It’s true.

Stefanie Bautista 15:14
It’s kind of like what’s his name Andy Serkis before he like decided to play himself in a lot of moies.

Travis Hayward 15:19
Exactly.

Ariel Landrum 15:20
Yes.

Travis Hayward 15:20
We never see Andy Serkis’ face.

Ariel Landrum 15:22
Billy Butcherson ends up being a zombie in the film. Only zombie I’ve seen lose his head and still live. But there is a scene where he cuts his mouth open because Winifred who caught him cheating with her sister Sarah cursed him to not tell his secrets even in death. Which I feel like they said that she was a jealous woman nobody commented on the fact that he was a cheater and that his sister was cheating. Was all about that Winifred was like a crazy ex but whatever you know, it was them times. So takes takes a pocket knife breaks these stitches on his lips to call her one of the best. I don’t like..

Stefanie Bautista 16:05
A clap back.

Travis Hayward 16:08
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 16:09
Yes, it was one of the best clap backs there you go. Um, and he wrote it himself. Cause apparently they were he was originally just supposed to say bitch.

Stefanie Bautista 16:18
Oh, dang. Oh, okay.

Travis Hayward 16:19
Oh, wow.

Ariel Landrum 16:20
Which I didn’t know that that they could say that in Disney movies. And he was like, “I don’t think I should say this.” So he wrote his own thing. Now, because his mouth has been sewn shut and he’s dead, dust and moths fly out of his mouth. Now here’s the thing is CGI wasn’t that good back in 1993. So they relied on special effects and Stef and I did talk about old school special effects in the Wandavision Style episode. That was Episode 16. So in that scene, those are real moths.

Stefanie Bautista 16:53
Ew.

Ariel Landrum 16:54
Flying out of his mouth.

Stefanie Bautista 16:56
Ew.

Travis Hayward 16:56
Wow that’s…

Ariel Landrum 16:58
They had a retainer with a latex sheath…

Stefanie Bautista 17:01
Ahh.

Ariel Landrum 17:02
That protected him from the items going in his mouth.

Travis Hayward 17:06
Wow.

Ariel Landrum 17:07
He said he could feel the moths fluttering.

Travis Hayward 17:09
Oh my gosh.

Stefanie Bautista 17:10
So he was wearing a condom with moths.

Ariel Landrum 17:12
He’s wearing a condom in his mouth.

Travis Hayward 17:13
In his mouth.

Ariel Landrum 17:15
Yes. And and they had to do it in two takes because the first take apparently the lights burnt out.

Travis Hayward 17:22
Oh no.

Stefanie Bautista 17:24
Of all the things.

Travis Hayward 17:26
That’s crazy. That actually makes me think of a different movie but Candyman Tony Todd actually had bees in his mouth. Yeah, yeah.

Ariel Landrum 17:37
So he probably had that protein or sheath thing as well.

Stefanie Bautista 17:40
Ick. Yeah.

Travis Hayward 17:41
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 17:41
And so if you watch the movie, and you see that scene, have more respect for that actor.

Stefanie Bautista 17:47
And that wasn’t a stunt. It was him.

Ariel Landrum 17:48
It was not a stunt. It was him with moths in his mouth.

Stefanie Bautista 17:51
Gross.

Ariel Landrum 17:52
And dust. They put dust in there to all purge noise out.

Stefanie Bautista 17:56
Gotta love it. All for the craft. I love it.

Travis Hayward 18:00
That’s crazy.

Ariel Landrum 18:01
Alright, final. Interesting facts. NCIS star Sean Murray played the humanversion of Binx.

Stefanie Bautista 18:10
I always thought that was so funny.

Ariel Landrum 18:11
Ahh and actor, Jason Marsden. He was actually the voice of both human and feline Binx. He actually in 2017 told Daily Beast that the producers used his voice because they thought Murray’s was too contemporary. And they wanted Binx to sound like he was from the time period of the witches and I guess Marsden’s voice sounded affected accent. I don’t know what an affected accent sounds like but apparently it sounds period piece.

Travis Hayward 18:42
So they thought that they thought that Max Goof is better then Sean Murry.

Ariel Landrum 18:50
Exactly.

Stefanie Bautista 18:55
Oh my gosh.

Ariel Landrum 18:56
Max from the Goofy Movie.

Travis Hayward 18:57
Yeah

Ariel Landrum 18:57
You you have an ancient 300 year old accent.

Stefanie Bautista 19:02
I guess it checks out.

Ariel Landrum 19:05
Finally, the costume designer Mary Vaught said that Bette Midler inspired her own costume. She wanted color she wanted sparkle she did not want to wear all black. Whereas the outfit for Sarah was inspired by Sleeping Beauty and the outfit for Mary was inspired by a baker’s uniform. So they’re your fun, fun facts.

Stefanie Bautista 19:25
Cool. That’s awesome. Now I’m really really trying to think I’m like “Oh, she does kind of look like Sleeping Beauty. She does kind of look like a baker.” She also looks like the Mayor from night before Christmas.

Ariel Landrum 19:37
She do though.

Travis Hayward 19:37
Yup.

Stefanie Bautista 19:42
But how was I mean how was watching Hocus Pocus now in the time of your lives. Because I know we rewatch this movie every so often but I feel like so many things have changed in the past year. Like did it have like a different effect on you? Was it like comforting like nostalgia? Was it… Did you see things in a different light? Like was there any differences in seeing it, obviously because you’re in a movie theater now… But yeah did you guys feel anything different watching it?

Ariel Landrum 20:09
Yeah I think for me I always get the sense of nostalgia and they’re the scenes where like I will in theater didn’t say it out loud I just mouthed it but there were like certain lines that I always my go to lines. They aren’t even the common ones that everybody says but they’re just the ones that I enjoy. I think for me it definitely I saw it with some new lens and some new eyes simply because the California references for a Max… Calling him Hollywood, and the fact that like he says, “I’m from Los Angeles,” and they like do a question mark and so he says “LA” and then that somehow made them understand the bullies

Stefanie Bautista 20:48
I remember that. I remember that.

Ariel Landrum 20:52
And like the the dude’s I know we say do it a lot. But like, I don’t think we emphasize it was such a elongated end. Duuuuddddeeeeeee.

Stefanie Bautista 21:03
That’s such a 90s thing. Totally.

Ariel Landrum 21:06
And the tie dye the funny thing about him wearing tie dye and then calling out to it and essentially the first scene is that I was just wearing tie dye the other day and I don’t consider it a like California thing. I think everybody wears tie dye. Like I bought my tie dye at Walmart… So I don’t know dated references…

Stefanie Bautista 21:29
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 21:29
It’s I think I didn’t have the same feelings when I wasn’t living in Los Angeles.

Travis Hayward 21:34
Yeah. I mean I always definitely get the sense of nostalgia and it’s it’s very present I think in the wealth in the dialogue as well as the performances like you know, it is very hammy and campy. Really definitely it’s definitely set in the 90s. But uh… But uh as far as seeing it differently now of like since the pandemic not. I can’t really think of anything specifically that I would say I viewed differently. Just I did notice like while we were watching it though, like certain moments since you were just talking about the bully sece that made me think of it again. How they in the in that scene, they end up taking your shoes and Ice ends up wearing them for the rest of the movie. And I was like the first thing that went through my mind. I’m like, “I wouldn’t want to wear somebody else’s shoes.” I’m not trying to get athlete’s foot, you know.

Stefanie Bautista 22:29
That’s true.

Ariel Landrum 22:30
No disgusting.

Stefanie Bautista 22:32
Totally.

Ariel Landrum 22:33
And then he steals them back and I’m like, “Bro, someone else was wearing your shoes. First of all, that’s disgusting that he was willing to wear them but now you’re gonna wear them after he wore them after you wore them.”

Travis Hayward 22:44
Exactly. I was just like, ew.

Stefanie Bautista 22:49
Every time I watch Hocus Pocus, I just I just can’t get over the fact that you know Bette Midler Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker become such like, I mean, they’re already like me, Bette Midler like already legendary. And I think as like I started watching it again growing up, I’m like, “This lady’s like, an icon and look at her doing her witch thing.” And cause I used to watch it on Disney channels. So I in my head, it was never like a theatrical release. Because I don’t like remember that. I just remember it always just being on Disney Channel all the time. And then, like, making those connections, and then you know, seeing Sarah Jessica Parker and like, Sex in the City. And then, you know, Kathy Najimy doing like 100 million rolls and like, everything she’s been in, and I adore her in Sister Act. So I was just like, “Wait, wait, that’s Sister, what’s her name? Like she’s in that.” So those are the things that I always go to. And I think that’s comforting for me, because I pull all of these different pop culture references, and I go, “Oh, my gosh, they all came together for this Disney movie.” That, you know, it’s just so campy, and like weird. And, like, it could totally be a Disney Channel movie if it wanted to be because I feel like Halloweentown and a lot of those other movies pulled so much from Hocus Pocus. And maybe it was just that 90s magic that made them all kind of have that, you know, let’s make fun of this big city guy. And, you know, like there, it was always just kind of fish out of water situations that were very, were very funny and very 90s to me, so…

Ariel Landrum 24:22
Yeah, and I think I when we’re talking about the three sisters in there in therapy, you learn about what they call family constellations. So those tropes of like the eldest child, the middle child, and the youngest child, and these characters are written in those archetypes so well. Like Winifred is certainly leader. She certainly has to keep her siblings in line. She has to be bossy. She’s the one who’s got to have like planning ahead and thinking ahead. And then you have Mary who’s the peacekeeper who’s the middle child who doesn’t get the special things. Seems to have to try make herself known or present. And then you have Sarah who is the youngest child so she’s got the most freedom she’s somewhat of an airhead isn’t reliable, and can easily be essentially bossed around or told what to do because she’s not paying attention. Like those tropes are so well written with these three sisters. If you just cut out the scenes with everybody else and just like watch them, it would be like the the best way to educate students on family constellation amp up. Obviously very campy.

Stefanie Bautista 25:34
Yeah, absolutely. Maybe. Maybe one of these days I’ll pull it out and be like, “Alright, guy, this is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna watch Hocus Pocus we’re gonna dissect it.”

Ariel Landrum 25:44
But uh Travis tell. Tell stuff about our experience at El Capitan Theatre.

Stefanie Bautista 25:49
Yeah!

Travis Hayward 25:49
Oh yeah!

Stefanie Bautista 25:50
How was that? I know. I mean, I love watching theater. I mean any sort of movie then I haven’t been back since. So please, how was it?

Travis Hayward 25:58
Oh, it was excellent. That this was actually my first time back to the El Cap since since the pandemic started which funnily enough, the last movie that I saw in the theater period, before the pandemic started was at the El Cap. I saw Mary Poppins there back in last year 2020 Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 26:17
Oh.

Stefanie Bautista 26:17
Oh.

Travis Hayward 26:17
Yeah, so it was it was a cool little moment like, “Yeah we’re back.”

Stefanie Bautista 26:21
Yeah!

Travis Hayward 26:22
Yeah, but But yeah, it was it was really neat. This has actually become an annual Halloween tradition for me I’ve been going since 2017. This is my fourth time seeing it at the El Cap overall.

Stefanie Bautista 26:37
Cool.

Travis Hayward 26:37
Yaah. And usually they so basically with every movie at the El Cap they’ll have like different props or costumes or something on display with the movie uh, you know, cause Disney can just pull that from the archive. And usually for October since because they always play Nightmare Before Christmas at the end of the month as well. They usually like combine the two for the display so like they’ll have like a whole section devoted to Nightmare Before Christmas and then the other section be devoted completely to Hocus Pocus. And in previous years, the Hocus Pocus section was always seemed kind of like off to the side a bit like it was just like its own little thing and then Nightmare Before Christmas pretty much took up the rest of the hallway. But this year it was different. This year actually that was they had the display upstairs as opposed to downstairs. And that and they did have some Nightmare things on display this year, including like some of the Jack Skellington heads that different artists have made other really impressive. We got some pictures of those. They also had in addition to that, for the for the Hocus Pocus side they ended up having this year which I didn’t notice before but they had Sarah’s double broom.

Stefanie Bautista 26:38
Oh cool.

Ariel Landrum 26:51
Yeah.

Travis Hayward 27:00
The two sections. Yeah it was behind glass so you couldn’t touch it but they had on display. They also also behind glass they had, “Boook!”

Ariel Landrum 28:11
“Booooook!”

Stefanie Bautista 28:11
“Book!”

Ariel Landrum 28:11
“Come to mommy.”

Travis Hayward 28:13
That’s always my favorite thing to see every time they have on display I’m like. The only thing I’m just like I wish like the I actually moved like that would be so cool.

Stefanie Bautista 28:26
That would be so cool.

Ariel Landrum 28:27
Yeah.

Stefanie Bautista 28:27
Disney are hearing this? Make it happen.

Travis Hayward 28:31
Yes. Come on Disney you have the money. But also they had a in addition to that they also have the the this is probably my favorite piece and it was what it was really cool about getting to see it this time is it actually was not behind last this time it was like out in all her glory but they have the the statue of Winifred Sanderson from the end of the film when her character turns to stone. Because she’s she steps on hallowed ground and turns to stone so they have that actual statue and like on display there in the lobby and it’s like it was so cool to be able to see it up that close because previously I’d only ever really seen it behind glass.

Stefanie Bautista 29:12
Yeah. Mmhmm.

Travis Hayward 29:12
So that was that that was amazing this time and they also in addition to that like they also had a photo op setup which they haven’t had in previous years but um they had a photo op set up in the front with Sarah’s map that she flies on at the end of the movie so so you could like so you can hop on that and basically get your picture taken riding the mop.

Stefanie Bautista 29:37
That’s cool.

Ariel Landrum 29:38
Which I did.

Travis Hayward 29:39
Yeah yeah, Ariel did. I was like, “Nah I’m not doing that.” But she did. But it was it was really cool and then inside the auditorium even this time they which they haven’t had in previous years this time they had a big projection on the curtains that actually had the movies logo Hocus Pocus at the, At the El Capitan Theatre, so, you know, like it felt like a really special exclusive thing. And the boxes of the theater had off to the sides left and right, they had a bunch of Halloween decor and jack o’ lanterns. And the lighting inside the auditorium was really impressive, too. It was like a mixture of like, like a pink and an orange purple like it was it just like good felt very Halloween. So it was, yeah, it was really it was really neat to see and really cool to see that like this movie is actually getting loved this year. But then I stopped to think about it and I was like, you know, it’s probably and they even mentioned this before the movie came on when they were introducing the movie that Hocus Pocus 2 is currently in production. So I think they’re, you know, they’re really trying to show their love for the movie and kind of get people excited about the sequel coming.

Stefanie Bautista 30:51
Yeah, yep. And that’s sequel was supposed to come out, I think next year, is that right?

Travis Hayward 30:55
Yeah. This time next year, it’s gonna debut. This is the part that kind of sadden me, it’s gonna be exclusively on Disney+. I really, I really would prefer to see it in the theater though. Because like, I mean, I mean, I understand, you know, the first one didn’t do well, 20 or so years ago. But I mean, this movie has enough staying power that I really think it could be a success at the box office if they did release it theatrically. But you know, I mean…

Ariel Landrum 31:22
Well, with Disney being the corporate conglomerate, they make more money from subscriptions then one ticket sale.

Travis Hayward 31:28
Yes, that’s true.

Ariel Landrum 31:29
I understand that push.

Stefanie Bautista 31:31
And you know what, what’s probably going to happen is that because it has such a great cult following, and because they’ve made so much off of the merch, I mean, last time I was at Downtown Disney, they had a whole section for new Hocus Pocus merch. I’ve never seen that before. And like normally, it’s just Haunted Mansion, obviously Nightmare Before Christmas. But lo and behold, in the middle, there were t shirts, they were Halloween decorations. They were mugs, buttons, pins, all of these things just dedicated to Hocus Pocus. And I’m like, “This is rad.” Like, I think they’re really begging on the fact that yes, there’s going to be a Disney+ movie, but I’m pretty sure that that thing’s going to end up in theaters for like a special like theatrical release of an event probably at the El Capitan. Or maybe even like a screening somewhere and then they’re, they’re gonna, you know, make it a special thing that people have to buy tickets to. And what will people do? Buy tickets to it?

Travis Hayward 32:26
For sure. I really yeah, I do. I do think that’ll probably for us lucky Angelenos, we’ll probably get to see it at the El Cap or somewhere, you know, like, or maybe even that Disneyland or something, you know, maybe somewhere. Somewhere will do it. But, you know, sadly, for everyone else in America, though, they’re gonna have to just watch it on their TV, but.

Ariel Landrum 32:44
But, uh, seeing the movie at the El Capitan, the ticket came with popcorn.

Stefanie Bautista 32:50
Nice.

Ariel Landrum 32:50
Which I didn’t know any of us. I went to actually buy popcorn. And they’re like, “No, it’s included.” And so we went to an early morning 10 o’clock showing in the morning, not 10 pm. Am

Travis Hayward 33:07
Ariel made me get up for this, y’all.

Ariel Landrum 33:08
Yes, I made me get up early and meet me at El Capitan that early because I had to take care of the dog and the cat. And my dog who has high anxiety cannot be left alone for too long, or she will destroy things. So this was that was the compromise for me being able to leave the house.

Stefanie Bautista 33:26
I mean, I’m sure that is an experience in itself. The only time I was ever near the El Capitan. Really, that early was for a pin drop at the soda fountain.

Travis Hayward 33:37
Ooo.

Stefanie Bautista 33:37
That is the whole experience that I can go into another time. But I’m like Hollywood Boulevard is so interesting. In the daytime, it’s so much more fantastical at night. It’s kind of like Las Vegas in the daytime. You just kind of like. “Oh okay, there it is.”

Ariel Landrum 33:52
Well, so so we had an experience, which I’ll go into in just a second. But…

Stefanie Bautista 33:56
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 33:57
We did get to see one of the organ players. This player was Dean Mora. It was not. I think his name is Robert Richardson, the guy who’s on One Day at Disney. Nevertheless, Dean Mora is still a very cool organ player. He actually plays at the Cicada Restaurant and Lounge which is an art deco nightclub built in 1928.

Stefanie Bautista 34:17
I might have seen the guy.

Ariel Landrum 34:19
Yeah!

Stefanie Bautista 34:20
I might have seen that guy there.

Ariel Landrum 34:22
It’s located in the Oviatt Building in downtown LA.

Stefanie Bautista 34:25
Oviatt Building.

Ariel Landrum 34:25
Oviatt. Okay, there we go. Yeah. And then he also plays us for Silent Cinema Society, which is dedicated in preserving the art and technology of silent cinema. So during the summer, they will play sets around LA, and he and his band will play the live music as the film is playing.

Stefanie Bautista 34:45
Awesome yeah, the I’ve been to the Cicada Club for my birthday, like a couple years ago. And yeah, they always have like a piano player and organ player before the big band comes up. So he might have been the guy and it and I I suggest if you love anything swing dancing or 40s and you get a reservation at the Cicada Club it is beautiful and you really get transported like back into time.

Ariel Landrum 35:10
Yes. And they do Halloween things.

Stefanie Bautista 35:12
They do do Halloween things and I think I mean speaking of spooky season I think there’s so many things happening now in LA that I just can’t keep track.

Ariel Landrum 35:19
Nope.

Stefanie Bautista 35:20
I think Halloween has like people want to celebrate it like ASAP I…

Ariel Landrum 35:27
Oh it starts in August.

Stefanie Bautista 35:28
Yeah, I mean I know it always did but it feels even more intense now because we need to make up for last year and the lack of tricker-or-treating and the lack of like, use of decorations and costumes like people are just dying to celebrate Spooky Season and I think it’s really cool.

Ariel Landrum 35:44
Okay, so back to the the tales of Hollywood and Highland during the day. So Travis and I are watching the film and then the film ends and we’re just sitting for the semi after scene credit which isn’t really after scene credit the two guys in the cages singing Row row row your boat. And then theater guy comes out.

Travis Hayward 36:08
He says, “There’s been there have been some police activity in the neighborhood we’re not going to be able to allow you to exit through the front door we’ll have we will have cast members escort you out the back.” You know, “If you are parked at Hollywood and Highland across the street,” which Ariel and I both were, “You may not be able to get to your vehicle for for some time we don’t know exactly when. That’s the moment where we just freak out like, “What?” And…

Stefanie Bautista 36:36

JustLAThings because that happens every day.

Ariel Landrum 36:40
So we’re like looking at each other and we’re like okay, we didn’t get a picture with the props so I guess we’ll just stay here to take some pictures with the props and use the bathroom. By the time we did all that eventually the I guess activity had died down that we could get to our vehicles and exit but I was sweating bullets because as I mentioned I had to get to my dog.

Stefanie Bautista 37:03
wWell I’m glad you guys are safe and that you know it didn’t totally be a spooky spooky situation where you couldn’t get out but I mean what a cool place to kind of be locked down in El Capitan. Right?

Travis Hayward 37:15
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 37:16
Yeah it was very lovely.

Stefanie Bautista 37:18
You’re in good oh were there a lot of people in the theater like what was the capacity or you know attendance?

Ariel Landrum 37:25
Maybe there is 12 people.

Travis Hayward 37:28
Something like that yeah those are those early shows really don’t attract a lot of people but I did notice like most of most of the people attending though were like people with kids families you know like young children so you know so I guess you know, they get up early on a Saturday morning but.

Stefanie Bautista 37:45
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 37:46
Yeah not a bunch of two old adults like us.

Stefanie Bautista 37:51
I mean you guys, clearly expressed the ways you were dragged out of the house at that ungodly hour on the weekend. But shout out to the El Capitan for taking security measures and keeping you all safe.

Ariel Landrum 38:06
Yes.

Stefanie Bautista 38:06
Even though you know it, it could have been worse in that wouldn’t might have been considered a minor thing. They did take those precautions to you know, keep their patrons safe and I think that’s something noteworthy.

Travis Hayward 38:18
Totally.

Stefanie Bautista 38:19
That’s nice.

Travis Hayward 38:19
Also also I’d like to shout out the El Cap for making sure Ariel got a parking validation ticket because we were worried about that as well because that they had blocked off the whole area and that was pretty sad, but they ended up getting a her ticket for that so that was amazing.

Ariel Landrum 38:38
Again, being someone that lives in LA and deals with a lot of parking structures. When I parked at Hollywood and Highland I got out of my car and I checked my purse to make sure I brought my parking ticket with me because I knew I wanted to get validated and I saw a parking card in my purse. Turns out it was not the one for that building it was one from another building the day before. So after some some maneuvering around in the back I guess they have these special cards that allow you to get reimbursed for your parking that you can scan as well. I not just having your original ticket. So that was pretty cool cause otherwise that would have sucked.

Stefanie Bautista 39:24
I’m really glad that you guys got to celebrate spooky season so early. I think the only thing that I’ve done so far is that last time I was at Downtown Disney I was able to all the Halloween merch just came out that weekend. And so World of Disney was like decked out with just like a bunch of Haunted Mansion things and a bunch of Nightmare Before Christmas and it was the first day of Oogie Boogie even though I sadly did not get tickets to Oogie Boogie. Those things went on sale and they went fast. I think they went in like the first couple days but because we ended up eating at not Tangaroa Terrace but uh, the Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar next to the Disneyland hotel. We got to see the fireworks and got to see the Oogie Boogie like show from the garden of the Disneyland hotel. Even though we couldn’t be in there they play the soundtrack for the fireworks while you can see it past the trees. So that was definitely like cool and it made me feel like I was included being on the property but not being at Oogie Boogie Bash, but I saw some pretty cool costumes. I saw somebody who like super onpoint dressed up like Zenon.

Ariel Landrum 40:37
Oh, nice. Zetus Lapetus.

Stefanie Bautista 40:39
Yes, Zetus Lapetus. Totally.

Travis Hayward 40:42
That is a that is that is a deep cut.

Stefanie Bautista 40:45
Deep cut. They were totally in their 30s like us. I could just tell just because I knew that like they had to get these costumes down so right and only somebody who was born like in our time would want to do that. Because it’s it’s it resonates so deep in my heart. But yeah, her and her best friend were or were dressed up as Zenon. And yeah, and that was already like end of September. So that was like the only Halloween thing that I’ve done so far but I think I think definitely for me we’re we’re gonna try to go trick or treating for the first time with my son which is really exciting. He doesn’t eat candy but I do.

Travis Hayward 41:28
There you go.

Ariel Landrum 41:30
Do you have a costume idea for him? Because I think last year was The Mandalorian?

Stefanie Bautista 41:35
Yes, yeah, last year was The Mandalorian he was only like six months at the time so I got him a Baby Yoda or Grogu costume. Actually at the time I don’t even think Grogu was…

Ariel Landrum 41:46
He didn’t have a name yet.

Stefanie Bautista 41:48
We didn’t know his name. No he didn’t. He was still Baby Yoda.

Ariel Landrum 41:50
He was still the child.

Stefanie Bautista 41:51
Yes still The Child so I bought that off of Shop Disney it was like a little onesy with with a hat. And the hat was his face and I was Cara Dune and my husband was the Mandalorian and he basically spent all the money on the helmet and got our kind of crapply printed sweater that was supposed to be like armor. But I’m like you know what we’re not even trick or treating this year like everybody’s in lockdown so all I need to do is make the Instagram picture look okay.

Travis Hayward 42:23
And it looked good.

Stefanie Bautista 42:24
And it looked good. Yeah, so this year my son’s gonna be Pikachu and both of us are going to be Team Rocket grunts so..

Travis Hayward 42:32
Oh that’s amazing.

Stefanie Bautista 42:33
Yeah that’s going to be our comstume this year.

Ariel Landrum 42:36
Very cool. Very cool.

Travis Hayward 42:38
Prepare for trouble make a double.

Stefanie Bautista 42:40
Make a double.

Ariel Landrum 42:41
Yes.

Stefanie Bautista 42:41
But it can’t be Jesse her hair is way too hard to do like…

Travis Hayward 42:44
Oh gawd yeah.

Stefanie Bautista 42:45
I would have to get like wiring and like a harness to like keep her hair up like no.

Ariel Landrum 42:50
Or just a cardboard flat cut out.

Stefanie Bautista 42:54
I’ve seen that. I’m gonna get knocked over by some kid for sure.

Ariel Landrum 42:58
Yeah.

Stefanie Bautista 43:00
But yeah How about you guys? What is your What are your plans for spooky season?

Ariel Landrum 43:03
I don’t know what I’m gonna be.

Travis Hayward 43:05
Yeah, you see like I always like every year I always think okay I need to think of a really great costume this year and then I always just end up winding up being Kevin Smith because I have the jerseys. And it’s such an easy costume but.

Stefanie Bautista 43:21
But it works for you on so many levels Travis.

Travis Hayward 43:24
It doesn’t mean like you know I do kind of like resemble like I got you know I’m a bigger guy I got the beard and everything so it works but. I don’t know like I’m just like I need to change it I’m gonna pick us up at one of these days.

Ariel Landrum 43:40
I liked the year Stef when you, Malaysha, and I were all werewolves.

Stefanie Bautista 43:45
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 43:46
We’re a wolf pack.

Stefanie Bautista 43:47
And then we went to a Tiki Bar like werewolves do.

Ariel Landrum 43:50
As we do. Yeah, I don’t know I really I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to like actually go out or because I’m in this will be the first Halloween I have in this neighborhood in this house if I’m going to pass out candy instead or if there’s even candy that’s going to be passed out because of COVID I’m not sure…

Stefanie Bautista 44:10
Yeah, so I’ve kind of been researching a little bit on that and we’ve been going to Spirit Halloween stores here and there on the weekends. Because my husband really loves to decorate the house. We do a theme every year I’ll be it it’s like you know a very small theme but last two years we did pumpkins and we did skeletons. So we had like skeletons outside of the first year we did pumpkins and then we played the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown outside on like on a projector. And this year we want to do like a makeshift Haunted Mansion. Because we saw these tombstones and I saw this DIY project where you could kind of do an outline of the hitchhiking ghosts that I want to do on my garage.

Ariel Landrum 44:50
Oh nice.

Stefanie Bautista 44:51
So we want to do that but when I was at Spirit Halloween, they have the.. Okay, they’re like I don’t know explain it. There are like bags on the end of a long rod and it looks like a hand but the inside is cut out and so it’s a trick or treat bag. So you could safely social distance. People can give you can be yes!

Ariel Landrum 45:13
Yes I know these because these were at the Freeform event!

Stefanie Bautista 45:17
There it is.

Travis Hayward 45:19
Oh segway!

Ariel Landrum 45:20
Segway! Okay. So yeah, like Stef said they’re like monster hands.

Stefanie Bautista 45:25
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 45:25
And then where the palm is, is actually a hole that has a mesh bag that holds the candy and then you and then the arm is just the part that you grab and you like push out and someone takes the candy out of the little, little palm crevice bag. And then you take it. And that’s what they had at the Freeform event.

Stefanie Bautista 45:43
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 45:44
Okay, so as we’ve segwayed I went to the fourth annual Freeform’s 31 Nights and Halloween event. This one’s known as Halloween Road. And they have set displays for Hocus Pocus, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ghostbusters and The Addams Family. And I got to go because it was a birthday present because it is my birthday month! horns It’s also Stef’s birthday month! horns So yeah so it’s it’s outdoors for to accommodate for social distincing. And this wasn’t the first time that I want the first time that I went was the first time they had it and the tickets were free and it was inside so since then, now the tickets are for sale starting at like $37 I don’t know how much my friend paid because she got the drink package.

Stefanie Bautista 46:40
There’s a drink package?

Ariel Landrum 46:41
Yeah! Okay, so I had a VIP beer garden that was like right next to the stage. And I had soda Cause I don’t drink I’m allergic. But everybody else got to have some wine and beer like Stella whole Stella. Wasn’t even like bad drinks. So that was cool. The entrance had giant octopus arms and they definitely look like Ursula’s is octopus arms because they’re black and purple. But there was no Little Mermaid themed stuff so I don’t think that I think it was just a spooky aesthetic. I don’t think they meant Ursula. But I went Ursula in my head.

Stefanie Bautista 47:17
Maybe the kraken.

Ariel Landrum 47:18
Yeah.

Travis Hayward 47:19
Oh there you go. Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 47:22
They were they were giant octopus arms both inflatable and cardboard cutout.

Stefanie Bautista 47:26
Oh okay.

Ariel Landrum 47:27
And right when you walk in after you’ve checked in and you’ve signed a waiver you get to trick or treat. They hand you a canvas bag will spooky canvas bag and it gives you a punch card essentially. And you go to a bunch of trick or treating spots there was like eight and they had those those monster hands and each little booth had a person inside of it and the booth was decorated like a bat or a pumpkin or a scary tree. And the whole time they were playing the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack in like different versions. Ao it was that there was the just the orchestra version and then there was like these were not the original singers so I don’t know if it was like a Disney like acapella type thing.

Stefanie Bautista 48:18
Oh, maybe.

Ariel Landrum 48:19
Disney Jr. type of singing. But it was mixed up like that. And, and there was no jumpscares so this was definitely an event that was that was very kid friendly. More of just like for photo ops. And it was at that heritage square Museum in LA.

Stefanie Bautista 48:36
Oh.

Ariel Landrum 48:37
Yeah.

Stefanie Bautista 48:38
Cool.

Ariel Landrum 48:38
So for people who don’t know it’s a museum that highlights the settlement and development of Southern California during its first 100 years of statehood. So there are buildings there from the Civil War to the early 20th century. Has eight historic structures. And they were all saved from demolition to be turned into a museum. I should also note I didn’t know this event was outside. So you’re gonna guess I probably didn’t wear the most appropriate footwear.

Travis Hayward 49:06
Oh, uhoh.

Stefanie Bautista 49:08
What did you wear?

Ariel Landrum 49:09
High heeled boots!

Stefanie Bautista 49:11
Oh, you didn’t think you were walking?

Ariel Landrum 49:14
No cause I was remembering the first time I went and it was inside a building and it definitely wasn’t like miles long of walking and tricker-or-treating.

Travis Hayward 49:21
Oh man.

Stefanie Bautista 49:23
It did mention a road.

Ariel Landrum 49:24
I didn’t even know that that it was a road. This was all a surprise to me. I found out literally like a couple of days before that she’d gotten these tickets and I had to go. And I just thought “Oh, I’ll wear all black because that’s like classy witchy. That will be fun.” So of the buildings. The Colonial Drugstore building, which has four large columns was turned in town hall from The Nightmare Before Christmas and even had the clock that was spinning counting down to Christmas.

Stefanie Bautista 49:53
Cool.

Travis Hayward 49:53
Oh.

Ariel Landrum 49:53
Another house that had haunted toys from The Nightmare Before Christmas, outside It was at the very end. And there was even a Nightmare Before Christmas themed photo up with a Oggie Boogie and at his station, you could actually try and win prizes. I didn’t win any. But you spin a wheel or you roll dice to get Snake Eyes and they had a Disneyland exclusive there if you rolled snake eyes you would have gotten a Jack Skellington spinner cup.

Stefanie Bautista 50:06
Whoa.

Ariel Landrum 50:10
Yeah, basically it looks like a giant Jack Skellington plushie but when you pull apart the middle, it’s a cup.

Stefanie Bautista 50:30
Oh, wow.

Travis Hayward 50:32
That is so cool.

Ariel Landrum 50:33
My friend Chad. He won and when he spun the wheel he won an actual limited edition Funko of The Mayor.

Stefanie Bautista 50:41
That’s cool.

Travis Hayward 50:42
That’s really cool.

Stefanie Bautista 50:42
That’s super cool.

Ariel Landrum 50:44
And and he’s never seen The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Travis Hayward 50:47
What?!

Stefanie Bautista 50:47
What?!

Ariel Landrum 50:49
And he’s never seen Hocus Pocus he won’t watch any of them with me and he wouldn’t give me the Funko. The turd. Chad I hope you’re listening.

Stefanie Bautista 51:00
Alright Chad.

Travis Hayward 51:00
Not cool Chad. Not cool.

Stefanie Bautista 51:02
Not cool Chad.

Ariel Landrum 51:05
There was also the Town Hall Fountain which has that creature like vomiting green liquid.

Stefanie Bautista 51:11
Yeah!

Ariel Landrum 51:12
That you could take a picture of and you could even take a picture of the bathtub from Lock Shock and Barrel’s clubhouse.

Stefanie Bautista 51:17
Nice.

Ariel Landrum 51:17
You could take a picture inside of it. Another house built in 1887 the James and Bessie Hale House which is designed in the Queen Anne and Eastlake styles. It had the Ghostbusters vehicle outside and a guy and Ghostbusters gear. And the house had a light display attached to the windows that showed Slimer just roaming around making faces at the crowd and like taking selfies or this like in the windows the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man like peeking through and there was a giant inflatable Stay Puft Marshmallow Man that was as tall as the actual building.

Stefanie Bautista 51:52
That’s so cool.

Ariel Landrum 51:53
And all of that take pictures with

Stefanie Bautista 51:55
Wow!

Travis Hayward 51:55
That’s so cool.

Stefanie Bautista 51:57
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 51:57
And then the last house was the Valley Nuts and Garden Residence, which features a Second Empire with a French Mansard style roof. And that was the Addams Family House.

Stefanie Bautista 52:09
Oh cool.

Ariel Landrum 52:09
And both Wednesday and Fester Adams are outside of there. Everybody was taking pictures with Wednesday. Nobody was really taking pictures with Fester so I walked up to him and I asked if you take a selfie with me and he did.

Stefanie Bautista 52:21
Fester didn’t get no love? Poor Fester.

Travis Hayward 52:23
Poor Fester. Fester’s my favorite.

Stefanie Bautista 52:27
He was so endearing to me in the movies.

Ariel Landrum 52:30
So sweet.

Stefanie Bautista 52:31
So sweet. He just he means well he just looks a little strange.

Ariel Landrum 52:36
So the final thing which makes us a semi Disney event, also Disney was one of the sponsors but was all the Hocus Pocus stuff. So you could take a picture outside a replica of the Sanderson sisters house with even like the giant like mill and the window where you can just pop out of the window and talk about how disgustingly glorious the morning is or scream for your book. There’s a photo op with the Sanderson sisters complete with a glowing cauldron. So I took a picture with sister Sarah and there were actual cages that you climb into. And so I had Chad climb in them with me and we played Rock Paper Scissors. That was our photo ID I thought that was clever. And then the best part of the evening, the best best part is that they had an actual stage next to the beer garden that drag performers performed and they were the Sanderson sisters and they performed I Put A Spell On You!

Stefanie Bautista 53:30
Yasss!

Travis Hayward 53:31
That is so cool.

Ariel Landrum 53:32
So there was Miss Lucky 13 played Winifred Sanderson. Jerrica was Mary Sanderson and Camila Angeline Marillo was Sarah Sanderson. I recorded the whole thing for some reason I can’t post it on Instagram so I’m going to post it on our Twitter.

Stefanie Bautista 53:47
Yeah we’re gonna try though. I think I think I know the trick but that is so cool like I think I think Freeform what used to be ABC Family has now cemented itself as like we’re just going to celebrate the holidays and like do it all in one go because they can use all of those properties even though their owned you know by Disney they can still show Ghostbusters they can still show Addams Family and like Night Before Christmas and anything really. And and make these events for people to immerse themselves in and promote their channel so that’s pretty cool.

Ariel Landrum 54:24
Yeah, and I thought what a clever way to show off these historic buildings. Like even the fact that they thought to make what used to be a like a drugstore into the front Town Hall of The Nightmare Before Christmas simply because it had those columns like ingenious.

Stefanie Bautista 54:43
Yeah. And it’s such a good use of that because you normally only see it if you’re ever on the 110 freeway, which like is never actually really like use a lot.

Ariel Landrum 54:53
Is the oldest freeway and a nobody know where it is I nobody go on it.

Stefanie Bautista 54:57
I I also know that many Angelenos are terrified to go on that because that since it is the oldest freeway, the on ramps are like so tiny. And I’ve known so many people who get into accidents on those freeways because you literally need to go zero to like 65 or 70 in like two seconds. And if your car can handle that you’re toast. So. But because there’s so many old buildings and beautiful buildings, there’s buildings that look like Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends in that little like Heritage Square Museum area. It’s such a charming place for people who love spooky architecture, and old Gothic Victorian style era houses. So if you ever want to do a photoshoot there I know some people who have and they make it look really cool because it just has that feel. Well that’s a lot of spooky season even though we’re in the beginning of October. But yeah, I mean, I think if you guys have the chance to go to the Freeform thing 10 out of 10 would recommend right?

Ariel Landrum 56:02
10 out of 10 would recommend it’s done they always do it the first five, five days of October and the tickets sold out in September.

Stefanie Bautista 56:10
Just like Oogie Bogie’s it seems. But if you are going to do spooky season stuff, I suggest going to Downtown Disney. They have free things to do there all the time. You can do a pumpkin hunt. It’s like a scavenger hunt with stickers and then you get to win a tumbler. So that’s always good or you only get to pay or you only have to pay $10 for the card to do it. But there’s something to do that doesn’t require you getting tickets way in advance. But yeah Is there anything else you guys know of around?

Ariel Landrum 56:44
Where. What about that area? Is it Van Nuys?

Stefanie Bautista 56:47
No. Oh, here we go Spooky Hollows!

Ariel Landrum 56:49
Yeah. Spooky Hollows.

Stefanie Bautista 56:50
It is in Van Nuys.

Ariel Landrum 56:51
Van Nuys. There we go.

Stefanie Bautista 56:52
Okay, which is I live in Van Nuys and it’s spooky all year round but if you want to be even more spooked out you could check that out but um yeah. Travis anything to add?

Travis Hayward 57:04
I will just say for spooky season. Los Angeles is like the place to be for spooky season. Like there’s always amazing events going on. Not just Disney related. Also like horror related events Halloween related. I know. Burbank actually there’s like a hole on Magnolia Boulevard there there’s like a whole stretch of and this is actually year round. It’s not just for spooky season. But there’s a whole stretch of like Halloween themed stores like a Halloween Town is a year round costume store. They also they also have not just the costume store, but they also have like a whole other store where it’s just like Halloween and horror memorabilia and action figures, all kinds of cool stuff. And The Bearded Lady Mystic Museum is right across the street from them. That they always have a really cool exhibits around this time of year. So it’s just a really great time to be in Los Angeles is October.

Ariel Landrum 57:56
I wanted to share a little bit of why people are attracted to being scared. We tend to pathologize this interest and it’s actually pretty normal for people in general. We like being scared we find it enjoyable because it evokes the behavioral response of fight flight and freeze. This is the response that we get from our amygdala. It’s our oldest brain is the brain we share with lizards and fish. So if you ever see a gecko and it, like freezes on your scurries away, you share the same brain.

Stefanie Bautista 58:27
Good to know.

Ariel Landrum 58:28
Yup. Pascal, little Pascal.

Stefanie Bautista 58:32
Oh yeah, he’s cute.

Ariel Landrum 58:34
Okay, so the first reason people like to be scared is because of the safety net. When we are playing a scary video game or watching a horror flick our brain immediately knows we are safe and free from risk. And so we get to experience something called a controlled fear. And we have a suspense response within our brain knowing that we aren’t in harm or danger. So essentially we are playing with the feeling of being unsafe when we’re actually safe. So with video games, we know we can pause them with movies at home, we know we can pause them or stop them. We could play or watch these things with the lights on. And jumpscare games are actually really good rapport building activity in therapy first so therapists embrace the spooky season and play some very spooky games with your your youths. Secondly, we get a rush of adrenaline and then endorphins and dopamine which actually feels very pleasurable. These chemicals they flood our system and then they dissipate very fast so we get to have a sense of relief and that sense of relief again reminds us that we are safe and so that makes us want to sort of do the scary thing again. So you ever got like a haunted maze it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve gone you want to go back.

Stefanie Bautista 59:47
Sometimes. Not all the time.

Ariel Landrum 59:49
Or a roller coaster? The Incredicoaster?

Stefanie Bautista 59:51
Well spooky yeah.

Ariel Landrum 59:55
And then for some it’s actually self satisfaction. We want to push the envelope in seeking thrills. And we want to tolerate large amounts of fear so we can get a sense of pride. So for my youth in therapy, sometimes we play video games with jumpscares. And because they weren’t jumping, they didn’t respond, they mastered sort of their fear, they, they actually get a good increase in their self esteem. So if you’re, if you know, some that scary music starts to play, or like, there’s always the scene with the mirror, and then the person goes down to wash their face, and then they look up and there’s like a monster behind them. If you don’t react, and you’re just chill as a cucumber, then yeah, you mastered your fear and you’re going to feel all powerful in that moment.

Stefanie Bautista 1:00:38
Ah. Not relatable.

Ariel Landrum 1:00:44
All right, some of the final reasons. When there are fear inducing activities done in a group, this is actually a bonding experience. Because we all have the same biochemical flooding and overcoming peril. We get to solidify our friendships, through overcoming scary obstacles. It actually makes experience even more enjoyable when you’re sharing it with friends.

Travis Hayward 1:01:06
I haven’t really gone to a haunted maze alone so I’d have to say yes.

Stefanie Bautista 1:01:12
That’s true. It’s very rare that you do those things by yourself. And I mean, even if you’re like an avid goer, just like our friend Tania, who like on her Instagram stories, I think has been to Halloween Horror Nights, like seven times already since it started. She’d be with our homies so.

Ariel Landrum 1:01:27
Well, and she is a scare actor, so she does the spooky-ing.

Stefanie Bautista 1:01:31
Yep, yep, yep, yep.

Ariel Landrum 1:01:32
Alright, so for some of my clients who’ve experienced trauma inducing fear on purpose is a form of controlled processing around trauma and loss. It resonates with them in a way that’s hard to explain. So in session, we explore that. And so this is part of that normalizing being attracted to fear because their experience with it is very different. Having lived a very different experience. We actually highlight how it’s it’s pleasurable and enjoyable for them, and how their level of understanding of fear is vastly different than their friends or family around them who may not have experienced trauma.

Stefanie Bautista 1:02:07
Hmm interesting.

Ariel Landrum 1:02:09
The final one, which I think maybe resonates with, maybe the three of us certainly resonates with me is that of just sheer curiosity. Something we explore a lot in therapy many people are curious about the dark side, or sometimes what we call the shadow self. Our brains are wired to attempt to try and make sense of our world so exploring the unknown or things that are spooky, gives us a closer feeling of understanding and knowledge.

Stefanie Bautista 1:02:35
I can relate to that I think when things spook me or when I’m scared of something like I always am so tempted to figure out what’s gonna to happen next. So that I don’t get jump scared like I’m just like, “Okay, like I want to be ahead of the game, you know what I mean?” So like, whenever I mean I don’t watch spooky movies in theaters because I feel like I’m too alone in my thoughts that like I get like super neurotic and I’m just like, “Oh my god like it’s just gonna it’s like right behind.” It’s too real for me so I can only watch scary movies in daylight in my house.

Ariel Landrum 1:03:10
There you go control.

Stefanie Bautista 1:03:12
Because I control the environment like it’s too much for me and I think I mean going back to Halloween Horror Nights, the one and only time that I went I was like, terrified because I just didn’t know what to expect. Like when I go to a theme park I know what’s going to happen I know these experiences I know what rides I’m going to get but like mazes are like a whole nother thing for me and like your you know back before COVID like you were packed in with so many people and it’s just like it was too much like in your face happenings that it was just like. First of all I guess my personal space just wasn’t like you know accommodating that because you people were getting in your face with a chain saw your face masks.

Ariel Landrum 1:03:54
Or a freakin clown.

Stefanie Bautista 1:03:55
Yeah freakin clowns and like people chase you and I know some people like that but I don’t like being chased. I’m just like, “Leave me alone like what go to that person.” But of course the more you try to evade them the more they go to you so clearly I was like a target and you know, maybe Tania can shed a little light on this but because I couldn’t control the environment. It was just like, “What am I wasting my money on?” However I did like all of the effects and how real everything was from like, you know, a production standpoint. It was very immersive and I thought that was really cool that you couldn’t really like check out and pretend that you’re in these movies and if there was like a burning body on the floor, it smelled like bacon in the room like I thought that was cool. But you know, it was it was not helping my curiosity cause I couldn’t figure it out.

Ariel Landrum 1:04:45
You don’t have enough time to process.

Stefanie Bautista 1:04:47
No no no, not at all.

Travis Hayward 1:04:48
Yeah, for me, I’m I’m a huge horror fan when it comes to the movies. I unlike Stefanie, I do go watch them in the theater.

Stefanie Bautista 1:04:58
You’re a brave man.

Travis Hayward 1:04:59
Yeah cause well to be honest that’s that’s actually the only real way that I can cause I don’t know I think it’s more for me like cause I’ve been like I grew up on a lot of horror movies like I think I saw I think I saw The Exorcist when I was like 10.

Stefanie Bautista 1:05:15
Dang.

Ariel Landrum 1:05:15
Well there you go.

Stefanie Bautista 1:05:17
You they broke you in early.

Travis Hayward 1:05:20
Really. Yeah. So I’ve I’ve had my training with I suppose but yeah so I guess that’s really the only way that I can like really get the kind of thrill that I want from a horror movie like if I just watch it at home I’m not going to get scared at all like it just doesn’t do it for like no matter what happens like we can even have like the Dolby Surround on and it won’t it still won’t faze me but but in the theater like like one one example I can think of sort of recently was the 2017 It. I went to go see that in the theater when that came out and that was like just yeah and that was that was an experience just seeing that you know the clown pop out and just blough

Stefanie Bautista 1:06:03
I heard that caught a lot of people. I heard it got a lot like even people that I don’t like normally they don’t get scared like that it got them good.

Travis Hayward 1:06:13
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 1:06:13
Oh yeah the eyes them crooked eyes you can do naturally that was not CGI. Freaked me the F out.

Travis Hayward 1:06:20
Right? Like, actor Bill Skarsgård. He’s like just, I mean even just just his face like without any of the makeup or just his face. He has one of the just like one of th.

Ariel Landrum 1:06:30
Very pointy.

Stefanie Bautista 1:06:31
Yeah.

Travis Hayward 1:06:32
Yeah, yeah.

Stefanie Bautista 1:06:33
I’m surprised that he isn’t a Bond villain. He could totally be a Bond villain.

Ariel Landrum 1:06:38
He’d be a great Bond villain.

Travis Hayward 1:06:40
Yeah, you’re know yeah, you’re right. I didn’t even think about that.

Stefanie Bautista 1:06:43
Maybe for the next one.

Travis Hayward 1:06:46
Maybe.

Stefanie Bautista 1:06:46
Whoever Bond maybe.

Travis Hayward 1:06:48
Yeah, yeah, cause yeah, this one’s Daniel Craig’s last yeah but yeah, but getting back to that yeah, I mean for me though I guess I’m kind of so the movies don’t necessarily scare me quite as much as as they used to but the mazes and like the horror like haunted houses and stuff that. You know it’s kind of hard for me to say because like I don’t really want to say like I’m scared per se like I mean I know it’s all fake I know it’s all an act but at the same time like just I guess kind of what’s the what’s kind of what you were talking about Stefanie like a you know your personal space is invaded and you’re like. “Woah get away from!” Yeah, like I guess I have kind of that reaction you know like but yeah, it’s but I mean, I do love to be around all this stuff. I love I love the horror I love going to I love going to horror conventions as well like a here in LA we have Monsterpalooza and Midsummer Scream like I go to those every year, which unfortunately they had to cancel this year again because of COVID. Yeah.

Stefanie Bautista 1:07:51
I think it’s great that you know, there’s so many different ways to dissect spooky things and different ways to process it. It’s not just always you know, like I just want to be scared out of my wits for the sheer adrenaline of it. Because that’s that’s not the case for me. And like I think now that there’s so many levels of celebrating spooky season like Disney does it its own way for you know, kids who aren’t like okay with being scared, like in your face with blood and gore. But they do spooky season in a different way. And I think Disney villains per se are very diverse in that way because they scare you in different ways. Psychologically, they scare you in the ways that you don’t feel safe. Not because you know, they’re out to like mangle you up but like I think of Mother Gothel and how you know, she made Rapunzel feel a certain way and didn’t make her feel safe and you know, even though she looked like a witch that’s that’s kind of like her her step mom’s so you know, it didn’t make her feel like she was comforted. And so that’s why she was thought of as a villain in our eyes.

Ariel Landrum 1:09:04
Yeah, it’s interesting now, in watching Hocus Pocus become a phenomenon because when it first was released, it was like technically a flop. Because the Sanderson sisters are supposed to be villains. And villain culture has just been so embraced and they’re almost I mean, I even watch it with the the guise of, “I get it, they eat children, but like they just are too funny for me to think of them as evil.”

Travis Hayward 1:09:31
Yeah.

Stefanie Bautista 1:09:31
It true. It’s just Bette Midler doing her thing Kathy Najimy doing her thing.

Ariel Landrum 1:09:38
There’s a scene where they do a calming circle and I mean that’s just so right and natural. I feel like plenty of people need to do calming circle and admit and be honest when they are upset. Certainly, Bette Miller’s character was freaking upset and she was lying to herself. That to me does not seem like villain behavior. At least not in the classic trope.

Stefanie Bautista 1:10:02
Yeah, definitely not. Oh man well now I gotta go watch it because I haven’t seen it in years so I feel like it’ll be something fun to watch in without commercials because it’s on Disney+, and in preparation for next year’s movie which, who knows how that’s gonna be. I have high hopes for it. I hope it doesn’t disappoint. Because to have all those powerhouse people in there and also like it’s switched hands so many times I hope it doesn’t falter because of that as we’ve seen in other franchises like Star Wars. I just hope for the best because it would be a shame for them to waste one of Bette Miller’s you know, I don’t know what she’d be doing now but it’s probably going to be one of her like final things before you know she just goes, “I’m just gonna chill for the rest of my life.”

Ariel Landrum 1:10:51
Yeah.

Travis Hayward 1:10:51
Yeah.

Stefanie Bautista 1:10:53
Travis anything to add? Are you going to be on The Movie Grader podcast anytime soon?

Travis Hayward 1:10:58
Yeah, we should. We should be here soon. I’m not sure we’ve been it’s just a scheduling issue. We have a big episode planned because we’re a little behind but we got we’re gonna be covering Shang-Chi and Venom. The Many Saints of Newark. A lot of the new releases that have just recently come out and it’s gonna be a really jam packed episode because we’ve missed so much. But yeah, it should be fun.

Stefanie Bautista 1:11:24
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 1:11:24
Thank you for joining us, Travis here on our spooky podcast.

Travis Hayward 1:11:30
Oh yeah, thanks for thanks for having me. This has been a blast. I’ve really really enjoyed getting to talk about this. This is one of my favorite movies and this is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to. So it’s been a real treat to be here. Thank you.

Stefanie Bautista 1:11:41
Yeah, and we can’t wait to have you back to talk about more stuff.

Ariel Landrum 1:11:44
Yes.

Travis Hayward 1:11:44
Absolutely.

Stefanie Bautista 1:11:45
Because you are a trusted friend and we we are always up for your take on consuming all of the things that we consume. There’s so much to talk about so many things so much content. And now the holiday season is upon us around the corner but we all hope that you guys stay safe this Halloween no matter what you do. Make sure to always check your candy. This me as a mom talking and as an educator always check your candy kids. And you know try try not to eat everything in one sitting because us teachers we’re gonna to know that coming Monday after Halloween, how much candy you ate, because we are going to know who’s gonna be in trouble all day for being too hyper. Because that Halloween hangover is a real.

Ariel Landrum 1:12:33
Yes dat sugar crash dou.

Stefanie Bautista 1:12:33
The sugar crash is real. So yup. I hope you guys both have a safe spooky season and Halloween. And we hope that you guys enjoyed this episode of the Happiest Pod On Earth.

Ariel Landrum 1:12:47
Yes, please follow us tweet us your spooky season events that you will be attending. Even if it’s just to curl up with some cocoa and popcorn and watching a scary movie. You can tweet us @happiestpodGT. That is also our Instagram and we have a Facebook that’s been forgotten but will be remembered someday. Travis where can people follow you?

Travis Hayward 1:13:14
Oh I’m on all the socials of Facebook Twitter Instagram you can find me at @trav_adair. That’s both my Twitter and my Instagram so give me a follow there also follow The Movie Grader and Friend’s podcast. Sorry neighbor’s dogs are barking. But but yeah, definitely check us out there as well and definitely give Happiest Pod to follow on social channels as well.

Stefanie Bautista 1:13:42
Alright. Thank you so much, everyone. We’ll see you next time.

Ariel Landrum 1:13:44
Yeah! Have a Happy Halloween!

Stefanie Bautista 1:13:45
Happy Halloween.

Travis Hayward 1:13:47
Bye!

Stefanie Bautista 1:13:48
Bye!

Media/Characters Mentioned
  • Hocus Pocus
  • Winifred Sanderson
  • Bette Midler
  • Mary Sanderson
  • Katy Najimy
  • Sarah Sanderson
  • Sarah Jessica Parker
  • Billy Butcherson
  • Doug Jones
  • Nightmare Before Christmas
  • Ghostbusters
  • Slimer
  • Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
  • Oogie Boogie
  • Lock
  • Schock
  • Barrel
  • Jack Skellington
  • Wednesday Adams
  • Fester Adams
  • Freeform
  • Freeform Road
  • Heritage Square Museum
Topics/Themes Mentioned
  • Fear
  • Curisotiy
  • Sense of control
  • Halloween
  • Spooky season
  • Bonding
  • Special Effects
  • Trick or treating
  • Sugar crash

Questions? Comments? Discuss this episode on the GT Forum.

—

 Website: happy.geektherapy.com
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 | Stef on Twitter: @stefa_kneee | Ariel on Instagram: @airyell3000 |
 | Travis on Twitter: @Trav_Adair | Travis on Instagram: @happiestpodgttravis_adair |

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