The Wonderful World of Disney gets into the spooky spirit with a special airing of Hocus Pocus tonight, October 20

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Join your favorite witches Winifred, Mary and Sarah Sanderson for a Disney family movie night

Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy in Hocus Pocus
(Image credit: Walt Disney Pictures)

Is it really the Halloween season without a festive airing of that beloved witchy classic, Hocus Pocus? Ahead of the spooky holiday, The Wonderful World of Disney will have a special airing of the 1993 fantasy-comedy on ABC tonight, October 20 at 8pm Eastern Time. 

Hocus Pocus centers on a villainous trio of witches, the Sanderson Sisters—iconically played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy—who are resurrected by a teenage boy named Max (Omri Katz) in Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween night. Along with his homeroom crush Allison (Vinessa Shaw), his younger sister Dani (Thora Birch) and a talking black cat named Binx (voiced by Jason Marsden), the teen has to figure out how to defeat the evil coven before the witches achieve immortality. 

Though it was originally released in theaters in, oddly, July 1993, Hocus Pocus has become an enduring rewatch favorite of the fall season thanks to annual airings, like tonight's The Wonderful World of Disney presentation, and has achieved cult-classic status thanks to the hilariously campy performances of Midler, Parker and Najimy. 

Hocus Pocus continues The Wonderful World of Disney's fall lineup of beloved hits and fan-favorite films airing on ABC on Sundays throughout the season. If you can't get enough of the Sandersons, the sequel film Hocus Pocus 2 will be getting its broadcast television debut on ABC next weekend, on Sunday, October 27 at 8pm Eastern Time. Other family-friendly Disney flicks coming up on ABC's schedule include Coco on November 3, Mrs. Doubtfire on November 10, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on November 17 and Moana on November 24. 

Anyone with a traditional pay-TV setup, TV antenna or live TV streaming service that carries ABC (such as Fubo, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV) can watch The Wonderful World of Disney's broadcast of the original Hocus Pocus tonight, October 20 at 8pm ET on the alphabet network. If you're not able to tune into ABC's broadcast of Hocus Pocus, the movie is also available to stream right now on Disney Plus.

Check out the official trailer for Hocus Pocus above before tuning in to The Wonderful World of Disney airing on ABC tonight. 

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Christina Izzo
Christina Izzo

Christina Izzo is the Deputy Editor of My Imperfect Life. More generally, she is a writer-editor covering food and drink, travel, lifestyle and culture in New York City. She was previously the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York. 

When she’s not doing all that, she can probably be found eating cheese somewhere.