<Li> Garry Marshall (uncredited) as "The Devil", a man wearing a devil costume whom the Sanderson sisters assume to be their "Master". </Li> <Li> Penny Marshall (uncredited) as the "Devil's" wife, who the sisters assume is Medusa due to her curlers, which resemble snakes . </Li> <P> In the 1994 TV documentary Hocus Pocus: Begin the Magic, and on the film's Blu - ray release, producer David Kirschner said he came up with the idea for the film one night . He and his young daughter were sitting outside and his neighbor's black cat strayed by . Kirschner invented a tale of how the cat was once a boy who was changed into a feline three hundred years ago by three witches . </P> <P> Hocus Pocus started life as a script for a special original film for the Disney Channel, to be produced by one of the smaller studios owned by The Walt Disney Company . The script, however, caught the eye of Walt Disney Studios, who decided that the film was strong enough to carry well - known names and to attract a cinema audience . Leonardo DiCaprio was originally offered the lead role of Max for a large salary, but declined it in order to pursue What's Eating Gilbert Grape . The idea to cast Bette Midler was partly inspired by Midler's Golden Globe - nominated performance in a milestone motion picture for The Walt Disney Company on its Touchstone Pictures line, Down and Out in Beverly Hills . Midler, who plays the central antagonist of the film, is quoted as saying that Hocus Pocus "was the most fun I'd had in my career up to that point". </P>

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