Disney's 1993 film Hocus Pocus isn't just a quintessential Halloween film — it's also hiding a Beauty and the Beast Easter egg in plain sight. Hocus Pocus follows the Sanderson sisters, a trio of witches played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, after they are accidentally resurrected on Halloween night. Max and his sister Dani must stop the sisters from stealing the souls of children, racing against the clock to foil their plan before the sun rises.
Disney released the animated film Beauty and the Beast in 1991, two years before Hocus Pocus premiered. Beauty and the Beast is about an arrogant, unnamed prince and his staff, who are turned into a beast and a series of enchanted objects by a scorned witch. To break the curse, the Beast must fall in love with a woman, who must fall in love with him in return. Beauty and the Beast was to widespread acclaim — and its enduring popularity is part of the reason that Hocus Pocus snuck a Beauty and the Beast Easter egg into the film.
In Hocus Pocus, the Sanderson sisters are horrified to discover that Halloween, which used to be their beloved All Hallows Eve, has turned into a children's holiday where they dress in costumes. While pursuing Max and Dani across town to the Halloween party at town hall, they run into a child dressed as Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast. Mrs. Potts was the castle's housekeeper, and she was transformed into an enchanted teapot as part of the curse.
Even though Hocus Pocus is extremely popular now, it was a risk for Disney that failed to pay off when it premiered in 1993. At the time, Beauty and the Beast was one of Disney's most recent blockbusters. While most of the trick-or-treaters in Hocus Pocus are wearing fairly generic costumes — a devil, a witch — the girl dressed as Mrs. Potts is the only recognizable Disney character. It makes perfect sense that Disney would include a nod to one of their most critically acclaimed films in Hocus Pocus, and the Halloween setting creates the perfect opportunity.
Disney has a long history of hiding Easter eggs in their film that connect their movies to each other. Since Beauty and the Beast was such a prominent movie at the time that Hocus Pocus was in production, it makes perfect sense that they would incorporate it in the film. The Beauty and the Beast Easter egg is a great example of Disney's tendency to set their films in the same universe — and that even applies to live-action films such as Hocus Pocus.