BASIC Studios

 

Imagine it—an age before the internet and the constant threat of spoilers! Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Well, it wasn’t so long ago. In the 1990s, household luxury for a millennial child came in the form of cable television, VCRs, and blank tapes. From adults to kids, a person could catch their favorite show of the week, or a television movie that aired a few times a year, and record it on this ancient technology to watch over and over again.

 

To some this may sound unthinkable considering today’s advanced technology, but for those who were there, it was pure magic. Nothing could beat the sensation of running to turn on your favorite show and catch the opening theme song.  Or bounding over the couch for a bathroom break and snack during the commercial break. Then there was the thrill of seeing a commercial for a film that would play at 7 p.m.  in primetime on Saturday night!

 

Not only were the ‘90s incredible for long-lasting hyperfixations, they were chock-full of fantastic television and films about iconic witchy characters that have remained more than relevant for the past thirty years.  

 

Ah, Youth!

 

Witches in the ‘90s didn’t fit a single spectrum (i.e., the sexy spellcaster), nor were they only for adults.  Children’s movies centered on witches were almost a staple. Whether the tales were sweet or scary, there was a witch for everyone.

 

Wholesome and sweet were Disney hallmarks, and the House of Mouse knew how to give an audience a wonderful story about witches and family. The first on our list is Halloweentown.

 

In 1998, Disney and Halloween enthusiasts alike tuned in on October 17 to catch Disney Channel’s latest television film. With a bowl of popcorn and a bottle full of Surge, viewers were ready!  

 

The synopsis, as presented by our resident writer (and my co-conspirator for our autumn witch series), A.M. Sterling, is:

 

While Monster Mama is a huge fan of anything witchy, I somehow missed this Disney film. However, A.M. Sterling had this to say:

 

“I loved it. Magic, monsters, girl power? What’s not to love? The aesthetic of Halloweentown is so quirky and fun. It’s a bit cheesy in retrospect—but in a cozy, nostalgic kind of way.”  

 

Halloweentown gave young viewers a new world of witches and magic that was safe and comforting. Marnie taught a generation that magic was wonderful, not scary, and that being different was a blessing, not a curse.    

 

Amok Amok Amok!

 

Disney has had incredible success in film and television, and in 1993 that success continued with the live-action movie, Hocus Pocus. While it does follow the typical trope of evil witches versus innocent do-gooders, it’s easy to fall in love with the Sanderson Sisters and that’s why some of us (me included) still watch it once a year without fail.

 

The movie begins in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1693, where Winifred Sandersen, played by the incredible Bette Midler, along with her sisters Mary (Kathy Najimy) and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) is caught luring children to their cabin in order to steal their life force and remain young and beautiful forever. Angry at the sisters, the town condemns them to hang in the square, but not before Winnie conjures a curse that will see them reborn when a virgin lights the Black Flame Candle.  Three centuries later, the sisters return on All Hallow’s Eve to finish what they started. They battle modern transportation and technology on their quest for eternal life. However, the fools who woke them are victorious and send them back to their master in Hell.

 

For all intents and purposes, this movie is filled with heavy themes and goodbyes that leave a serious mark each time viewers watch. Granted, all millennials know that Disney has perfected the pain that comes with character death, and yet we still keep coming back for more. Despite that, Disney knows how to weave trauma with just the right amount of comedy to turn its films into comfort movies people continue watching year after year. While the Sanderson Sisters are “evil” and don’t do good things, we still love and celebrate them.

 

Teenage Witches

 

Children weren’t the only audience for witchy media, and thankfully the ‘90s didn’t disappoint our hormone-filled adolescents of the day!  Once more, there was a little something for everyone. Whether you liked wholesome coming-of-age tales or disturbing coming-of-age tales, the decade had everyone covered.  

 

Sabrina the Teenage Witch premiered in 1996 on ABC’s T.G.I.F. lineup.  

 

For those who do not know, T.G.I.F., or “Thank God It’s Friday,” was a two-hour block of television shows primarily geared toward a teenage audience. Every Friday night during the school year, teens could hog the television from their parents and tune in to shows that were made for their interests.

 

Now, back to Sabrina. A classic coming-of-age tale set in the modern day, Sabrina Spellman was your average high schooler, navigating friendship, high school, family and of course, magic. Alright, so maybe she wasn’t your average high schooler. She lived with her aunts, Hilda and Zelda along with a talking cat—but you get the picture. The point is, Ms. Spellman was new and fresh, providing an enjoyable twist to a feel-good show that helped raise a generation.  Sabrina showed the world that witches had a place in modern storytelling as positive role models.

 

Then there was The Craft.  Another story of teenage life in high school centered on powerful magic, this film, however, was not so warm and fuzzy.

 

The four witches, Nancy, Sarah, Bonnie and Rochelle, battled through a violent high school environment  filled with bullies that would not let them live in peace. The young women themselves had their own battles, and through magic, they were saved until they weren’t.  

 

As everyone knows, all good things come to an end, and with teenage girls suffering from personal trauma and a cruel peer group, not even magic could save them.  In case my little monsters haven’t seen it, I won’t go too far into detail, but those who have can agree that it’s aged well. Magic wasn’t the enemy; it was society, poverty, and loss. This is a story about those who lose their way, and those who overcome. Today, the film is a cult classic that remains compelling teens and adults alike.

 

Growing Up

 

While I contend that all of the above witchy media were good for all ages and a great way for adults and children to bond, Practical Magic was a perfect ode to womanhood and the trials of love, life, and death.

 

In 1998, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman took the helm of Practical Magic, along with Stockard Channing and Diane Keaton as the strong matriarchs who raised them. Sally (Bullock) wanted love and a normal life, while Gilly (Kidman) struck out for adventure.

 

Bound by sisterhood and the magic of their family line, the two came back together after years apart to find salvation hand in hand. This wasn’t a love story gone wrong, or gone right; it was about two women finding and accepting themselves while navigating adulthood, parenthood, and sisterhood.  

 

Magic wasn’t evil, even if it could do evil things.  Witches weren’t the enemy; it was the townsfolk who feared what they didn’t know. In the end, everyone learned how to come together for a cause and found that there was “a little bit of witch in all of us.” Thanks, Aunt Jet.

More to Come

 

The ‘90s produced numerous popular shows, and perhaps we can consider the decade a catalyst for the closing of the gap between movie stars and television stars. With popular franchises taking over the small screen and launching fandom into everyday conversation, I’d like to think that popular witchy media was a cornerstone of those discussions.

 

Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer both started in the late ‘90s and continued through the early 2000s, and both are still watched, revered, and talked about in today’s social circles. The ‘90s witch was a symbol of fierce femininity and unapologetic matriarchal power. Maybe their magic spurred a systemic change that none of us saw coming.

 

If not, then those witches certainly helped instill an importance of women in society and for the unique, innate power that women possess the world needs.

Thank you for joining your Monster Mama on this little journey through the witchy media of the ‘90s. As always, my little monsters:

 

Question everything!  Leave no stone unturned in your quest for knowledge.  

 

P.S. I promise I will discuss Charmed and Buffy in my next media post about 2000s witches. I haven’t forgotten them!

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Sources:

1. Practical Magic. Directed by Griffin Dunne, performances by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, Warner Bros., 1998.

2. Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Created by Nell Scovell, ABC / The WB, 1996–2003 
3. The Craft. Directed by Andrew Fleming, performances by Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, and Rachel True, Columbia Pictures, 1996. 
4. Hocus Pocus. Directed by Kenny Ortega, performances by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, Walt Disney Pictures, 1993. 
5. Halloweentown. Directed by Duwayne Dunham, performances by Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly J. Brown, and Judith Hoag, Disney Channel, 1998. 
6. “Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996 TV series).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Aug. 2026, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabrina_the_Teenage_Witch_(1996_TV_series). 
7. “Hocus Pocus (1993 film).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Aug. 2026, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(1993_film).
8. “Halloweentown (film).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Aug. 2026, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloweentown_(film). 
9. “The Craft (film).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Aug. 2026, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Craft_(film). 
10. “Practical Magic.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Aug. 2026, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practical_Magic.