“Take good care of Dani, Max. You'll never know how precious she is, until you lose her...”
―Binx advice to Max
Thackery Binx is one of the tritagonists in Hocus Pocus. He was transformed into an immortal black cat in the beginning of the film. During it, he finds himself growing attached to Dani Dennison.
Thackery was a 17th-century boy living with his parents and his sister, Emily. One day, he followed her into the woods but was unable to rescue her from the three Witches, and after insulting Winifred, he was transformed into an immortal black cat. After the sisters were hanged, he was unrecognized by his family and was abandoned. At some point afterward, he decided to guard the house every Halloween night in order to prevent the sisters from returning.
In 1993, when a teenage boy named Max Dennison accidentally brought them back, he acted as a guide for him, his sister, Dani, and his crush, Allison. During the adventure, he quickly takes a liking to Dani, and bonds with her. When the Sanderson Sisters disappear off the face of the earth at sunrise, his soul is freed. He leaves with Emily when saying goodbye to Max, Dani, and Allison.
Personality[]
Thackery is shown to be a caring, brave, and determined character, as he cares about his family, and also, after he loses Emily, he becomes determined not to fail anymore, no matter what it takes. He has also been shown to be a loving brother to her, as he was determined to save her from the sisters, even though he failed. He is also cautious, as demonstrated when expressing that the spellbook must be kept shut. During his time with the children, he becomes attached to Dani and cares about her.
Physical Appearance[]
Thackery Binx is a short haired black cat with yellow (golden) eyes and black paws (Cat appearance formerly) and a boy of 16 with long brown hair tied back with a blue ribbon, a white shirt and dark brown pants, he has the same appearance in his ghost form as his human boy form.
In 1693, Thackery Binx notices his sister, Emily taken away far from the woods by the Sanderson Sisters in fear. Arriving at the cottage, Thackery plans to rescue her from Winifred Sanderson and her sisters. As Thackery notices the Sandersons preparing a spell, he tips over the cauldron after noticing what the witches are doing. As the witches prepare an immortal spell, Binx is transformed into a black cat much to their devious plans. Afterwards, the Sanderson Sisters notice an angry mob outside the cottage just as Binx's father confronts the witches asking where his son is, unaware that they turned Binx into a black cat. Later as Binx approaches his family, his father doesn't recognize him thinking he is pestering him.
Three centuries later after the Sanderson Sisters are revived due to a Black Flame Candle being accidentally lit by Max Dennison, Binx (in his cat form) approaches Max and escorts him to escape from the Sanderson Sisters to which after the Dennisons escape, Binx explains about what Billy Butcherson's life was before his death. Later as it is found out that the cat talking to the two is revealed to be Thackery Binx, he explains to the Dennisons that he lost his sister Emily under the hands of Winifred, Mary, and Sarah and survived three centuries and was brought back to life, thanks to Max's plan in modern time. Standing by the grave of Emily, Max tries to ignite the spell book in order to break the curse, but Binx warns him that the book is protected by magic, indicating that book is impervious to fire. As soon as the Sanderson Sisters arrive, Binx leads the Dennisons to hide into the old Salem crypt to avoid getting caught by Winifred, her sisters, and the undead zombie Billy Butcherson.
Following Binx out of the crypt and escaping via manhole, Binx is suddenly run over by the bus the Sanderson Sisters boarded, but it is later found out that he is able to be brought back to life due to the immortality the Sanderson Sisters gave him via spell. With the Sanderson Sisters trapped, Binx tells Max about how precious his sister was before her death just as Max tells Binx to be part of the Dennison family to which Binx is welcomed to the family, much to the Dani's father and mother who are busy dancing during a Halloween party. Later while reading the spell book, Binx warns Allison and Max who are reading the book, warning that anyone who opens the book can result in bad things to happen. Furthermore, Binx is caught by the Sanderson Sisters to which Max, with help from Dani, manages to save him and escape from the witches.
Later, the sunrise arrives, Winifred, Sarah, and Mary are destroyed with Binx's soul being released from his cat form after the curse is broken. Binx's ghost briefly talks with Dani just as Thackery happily reunites with Emily together.
Thackery Binx is mentioned in the sequel, which takes place 29 years following the first film. Gilbert, owner of a shop which was formerly the home of the Sanderson Sisters, owns a black cat named Cobweb which has a likeness to Binx from his cat form. When the Sanderson sisters are resurrected for a second time they believe that the cat is Binx and attempt to kill it, however are prevented by Gilbert who points out the animal is his pet.
In 2015, Binx made his Disney Parks debut in the opening of the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular show during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom, in which the Sanderson sisters, newly returned, try to wreak havoc and create a Halloween party potion with assistance from multiple Disney Villains. He does not physically appear, although it can be assumed that his spirit has invisibly returned to give this short dialogue as a voice-over prior to the show:
"Good evening, friends. Tonight on All Hallow's Eve, your world and the magical world collide for but one night: A night filled with a new trick, a little treat, and a bit of... 'hocus pocus.'"
Trivia[]
During the scenes where Binx (in his cat form) speaks, filmmakers shot some scenes with a real cat and then added a computer-animated head on the cat in the scenes where Binx's cat form appears, combining the live-action character with a CGI element.[1]
Additionally, not only did the filmmakers use the CGI head for the scenes where Binx in his cat form talks; however, six animatronic cats were created and used for certain scenes throughout the film.
About eight real-life black cats were used to play Binx as a cat. The names of the cats used for the role of Binx in his cat form were Stimpy, Felix, Mad Cat, Clyde, Killer, Rio, Tom-Cat, and 'Fraidy Cat.[2]
Sean Murray, the actor that played Thackery, is best known for his role of agent Tim McGee on the show NCIS.
During the audition of Hocus Pocus, Jeff Fahey attempted to voice Binx (in cat form), but he was rejected and replaced by Jason Marsden.
Jason Marsden also dubbed Sean Murray's voice as human Binx..
Gallery[]
Thackery as a human
Winnifred curses Thackery
Thackery as a Black Cat
Thackery's final moments before passing away in black cat form
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