Thackery Binx might be everyone's favorite black cat, and the resident cursed colonial teen of Hocus Pocus fame might even be more well-known than Salem, the cat of one Sabrina the teenage witch. With Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy all saying they'd be on board for the upcoming Hocus Pocus sequel on Disney+, fans might be hoping for a reprise of the beloved feline.
Given his happy ending, which reunited him with his sister, Emily, Binx likely wouldn't be coming back. That could be a good thing, given that there are several things about our beloved Binx that just don't make a lot of sense.
He Acts Like He Doesn't Know How To Behave Around Witches
Thackery Binx lives in 1693. He's also a resident of Salem, Massachusetts. This makes it difficult to believe that he wouldn't understand the perils of approaching a bunch of witches on his own, especially when he makes it clear that he needs the entire village summoned to deal with them when his sister is conjured by Sarah Sanderson.
Thackery is wise enough to ask his friend Elijah to find his father and the elders, but he's unprepared when he attempts to rescue Emily alone. As superstitious as people were in the time period, he had to have known about salt, which would have cost him seconds and helped him rescue Emily.
His Voice Isn't His Own
Fans of Hocus Pocus may already know that Thackery Binx is technically played by two actors. NCIS actor Sean Murray played the teenager at the beginning and ending of the movie, but voice actor Jason Marsden provided the voice for him in both human and cat form.
The film originally filmed Murray's voice but Marsden was substituted in for a more authentic-sounding period accent. This really makes no sense in terms of film development; did they really not think about Binx having a New England accent until after the movie had been made? The other voices are also inconsistent, with some people of the time sounding on the British side (Winnie Sanderson) while others (Mary Sanderson, Elijah, and just about everyone else) do not.
He Looks Like A Puppet Sometimes
There are some clear moments in Hocus Pocus where Binx the cat definitely doesn't look like a cat, but more akin to the animatronic version of Salem the cat in the original Sabrina the Teenage Witch TV series. It's pretty inconsistent in the movie, especially since real cats were also used to portray Binx, which makes the puppet-y moments extra glaring.
Given the strides of modern technology, if Binx or any other kind of creature is featured in the sequel to the film, he'll surely look more polished and integrated with any real creatures, if any, used in the movie.
His Curse Is Broken
After the witches are exposed to morning light and turn to dust, Binx's body lies lifeless as his spirit appears to be reunited with Emily. As touching as this is, why is there still a cat body when his actual body was transformed into the cat? If the curse is lifted, wouldn't his human form lie there instead, or simply disappear?
Speaking of curses broken, it's never explained just why Binx can now be free. His curse called for him to live forever, a terrible punishment for failing to save his sister. There were never any rules stipulated that the curse casters' demise would end it, yet we're left to assume that's how it works.
He Can Jump Through Gates With Close Bars
When Binx passes through gates with tightly packed bars, he certainly doesn't seem like a cat in physical form. His body, though lean and lithe, should not allow him trespass through narrow gates, yet he's able to make it look easy. So how does he do it?
Some fans have speculated that it's because Binx isn't a real cat but a cursed being, so perhaps he can go through objects, but that would not make sense. He's cursed to live forever as a cat, and the only other supernatural ability that he has is the power to speak as a feline. Otherwise, he's a normal cat.
He Can Be Held
Binx certainly isn't a specter, and for further proof, we can witness him being held by Dani in the movie just as clearly and solidly as she holds onto her big brother, Max. This definitely disproves the theory that Binx can move through fences with supernatural finesse, but it also makes us question his willingness to be held.
While Binx has certainly been alone long enough to crave connection, he's got to be a feral cat by now without any human involvement in his life. That long without socialization is bound to make him wary of touch and it would take longer than one night for him to warm up to being held by humans, even if he's actually a human.
He Knows About Winnie's Personal Life
How on Earth would Binx know the personal details about Billy Butcherson's affair with Winnie Sanderson's sister, Sarah, or how she cursed him as a result? When he leads the kids to the cemetery and shares the story, he could almost be an expert recounting the story in the museum made from the witches' cottage, but this seems like the kind of story most people wouldn't know about.
Perhaps it's written in the cottage, but then Alison, an expert who says she knows all about them, should know the story, too. It could have been a local legend when Thackery was growing up, but we never find out how he knows.
His Original Scary Features Were Toned Down
The original cat version of Binx was intended to be a scary feline, but he was toned down for the movie. The visual effects company that created the character, Rhythm and Hues, originally gave him sharp fangs and a much spookier look that would fit in well with a Halloween movie.
The producers thought the results were just too scary for kids, so they toned them down to make him appear to be a sweeter-looking cat. Given how many people own a cat with fangs, it probably wasn't as necessary as they imagined, especially since Binx doesn't do anything scary on film anyway.
His Speech Is Inconsistent
The number one complaint fans have about Binx is that he can suddenly warn virgins to abstain from lighting the Black Flame Candle, but cat had his tongue back in the 1600s when he desperately needed to speak to his family about his predicament. Why not just tell his father what happened to him as his dad yells, "Away, beast!" at him?
It might be because the family is superstitious of black cats already, and Thackery now fears his own relatives and what they might do to him, even knowing he's cursed. The movie never explains why he can't talk to his family, though.
It Took 9 Cats To Play Him
As much puppetry and animation were used in the movie, one might think that a cat was only used for a few shots here and there. It seems ridiculously excessive to use a total of nine cats to play the single character, but that's exactly what happened.
Each cat had its own duty in the movie, performing a single task or movement needed for the scene. That's why if you look closely, you can definitely see different cat faces featured throughout the film, giving it an even more inconsistent look. In contrast, only four trained cats played Salem throughout the entire sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch.