MovieChat Forums > Hocus Pocus (1993) Discussion > Why doesn't the cat just talk so the adu...

Why doesn't the cat just talk so the adults believe them?

posted 11 years ago by X-Hal
19 replies | jump to latest

I realize this is a stupid kids' movie, but crap like that is irritating and stupid no matter what it is. Thora Birch actually goes to her mom and says "This cat can talk" among other things, and her mom (in classic movie-mom fashion) is all, "Ha ha you're drunk on candy." SO WHY DOESN'T THE CAT JUST TALK AND PROVE IT.

It's ridiculous to have a device like that and then pretend it's not there as a device. So ridiculous.

And Max is so gross, I wanna punch him in his stupid face.

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Whether they find life there or not, I think Jupiter should be considered an enemy planet.

[–] DegrassiWizKid 11 years ago

The way I always looked at it was that when he was changed, it was "Witch Hunt" time in history, so he probably thought he would be killed if he said anything (assuming it took him awhile to figure out he was immortal and by then he probably thought it wouldn't matter because the Sisters were dead and they were the only ones to break that curse and bringing them back would not only be dangerous but also practicing black magic...)

OR it's just a plot hole...

"This scar is a fleck on my porcelain skin, tried to reach deep but you couldn't get in..."

[–] prydain17 11 years ago

Um...just think if he HAD. No parent would meet a talking cat and then help their kids fight witches. They'd think they were going crazy, or that the cat was dangerous, and realistically having Binx prove the girl right would have set the movie WAY back with them having to deal with freaked out parents. As a family movie made mostly for kids, it would have been a bad choice to go that direction. I preferred the adults being on their own dancing.

--

"Betty's voice brought darkness to the land." - Amanda Tanen

[–] X-Hal 11 years ago

It's obviously a plot-hole and you can't rationalize a plot-hole by saying, "If he'd talked the parents would be like omg the cat is dangerous!" If the filmmakers had actually thought that, they would've thrown it in. The girl runs around holding UP the cat going, "This cat can talk, help us!" and he says nothing. So afterwards she should have been like, "Why didn't you?" and he would have said, "Oh they'll burn me" or whatever.

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Whether they find life there or not, I think Jupiter should be considered an enemy planet.

[–] The_ApprenticeUK 11 years ago

Ether I have answered this already or its the same question been asked twice.

[–] greenbudgie 10 years ago

I just got the impression that the cat didn't talk because of the following. The cat holds the spirit of a young boy within it. A young boy from 300 years ago when children weren't allowed to talk to adults, except when they were spoken to. The cat is thereby upholding the etiquette and manners of a child from that time.

I thought Max and his girlfriend were a bit tiresome. I just like the weird witches and the weird adults in the film.

[–] reaseltbim 10 years ago

i got the feeling that he probably tried to talk before and the adults tried to hurt him.

I mean, what would you do if an animal starts talking to you? besides he was 300 years old and back then a talking animal would have been seen as a satanic entity.
there is no way a talking cat would have been seen in a good way

[–] Pythe 10 years ago

Perhaps there was some proviso that only the people who lit the candle and resurrected the Sanderson sisters could understand Binx--they became more "connected" to magic in that way.

I'm just guessing, but I always assumed that nobody else could hear/understand him. Like when he meows at his father at the beginning, after the sisters have been hanged, he was probably trying to say, "It's me, Dad! Your son!"

[–] Shimmer_Me_Timbers 10 years ago

I figured either adults couldn't hear him or he didn't talk to people because he didn't want to give any credibility to the legend - because if people knew that they really turned him into a cat some idiot would've lit the candle sooner.

[–] DanTUtilizer 10 years ago

I think its because when the black flame candle was lit and the witches came back and the whole cycle returns again, it gave him the power to be able to talk.

"If our love was tragedy, why are you my remedy?"

[–] Shimmer_Me_Timbers 10 years ago

I like this theory... I shall go with it.

[–] DeceptiveFox 10 years ago

They're all nice theories but none of them work. The OP is right in saying you can't assume how the parents would react, and you can't assume Binx came from a time when children weren't allowed to talk to adults (wtf btw whoever mentioned that one). Face it, it's a plot fail.

The closest solution that people tend to go with is, 'he can only talk when the witches are around', which is fine...but that solution opens two more problems.

1.)Why is it only the talking portion of Winnie's spell that disappears when she does?

2.) If Binx lost the ability to speak when the witches were hung, then how did he NOT know they were still alive when the kids burned them in the school?

"Well...I've seen enough. Come on Charlie, we're going home."