Hocus Pocus' Vinessa Shaw Almost Had A Much Harder Time Filming Thanks To The Original Costuming Plan

Vinessa Shaw came into fame after her role in the 1993 movie "Hocus Pocus" as Allison Watts, a teenage girl who befriends a new boy in her class, Max Dennison (Omri Katz), and his younger sister, Dani (Thora Birch), on Halloween. The three children accidentally awaken the evil Sanderson sisters (Bette Middler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimi), witches who were executed in their town centuries ago. Together, they overcome the challenge of sending the witches back to the grave before the night is over. 

The movie's plot takes place over the course of 24 hours: Halloween day, evening, and the following morning. Because of this, there are not many costume changes throughout the film. In most scenes, most characters are either wearing everyday clothes or a typical Halloween costume. Because the characters would not constantly change outfits throughout a 24-hour period in real life, the actors had to wear the same costumes over and over again during filming. This would not necessarily be a problem, unless the costumes in question are hot, itchy, uncomfortable, or take forever to change in and out of. 

Luckily, in the final version of "Hocus Pocus," Shaw ended up wearing everyday clothes for most of the movie, and an old ball gown as a Halloween costume during some scenes. This arrangement was much more convenient than what the filmmakers had originally planned. 

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Vinessa Shaw shared that originally, Allison was supposed to wear the old ball gown for the entire "Hocus Pocus" movie, with no scenes in everyday clothes or other outfits. However, when reviewing all the activities the characters would be doing (running through graveyards, etc), the filmmakers reconsidered. This resulted in an alteration being made to the film. Rather than leaving her parents' party in the ball gown, Allison changes into jeans and a sweater before going out with Max and Dani. 

The ball gown that Allison wears in "Hocus Pocus" is actually the same ball gown worn by Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1988 movie "Dangerous Liaisons." Shaw added that she idolizes Pfeiffer, and "maybe she rubbed off on me somehow." 

Shaw regrets not keeping some of the clothes from "Hocus Pocus," such as the "iconic" sweater she wore throughout much of the movie. However, she says, "I still do have the memories in my heart."

Hopefully, none of the characters in "Hocus Pocus 2" have to wear a ball gown throughout the entire movie.