Bette Midler is staying quiet about the plot of the anticipated "Hocus Pocus" virtual reunion special on Friday, but she can guarantee two things.
"I'm not gonna give anything away, but there will definitely be music in it. Definitely," Midler told Jenna Bush Hager on TODAY Wednesday. "And they'll be dancing, too."
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Midler spoke with Jenna about reuniting with Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy to cast a spell on "Hocus Pocus" fans a day before Halloween, nearly 30 years after the 1993 cult favorite was released.
The virtual special, which is priced at $10, is called "In Search of the Sanderson Sisters: A Hocus Pocus Hulaween Takeover" and will benefit Midler’s nonprofit, the New York Restoration Project, which helps preserve open green spaces in New York City.
The three stars will reprise their roles as three witches accidentally resurrected after 300 years. The film was not a hit at the box office but developed into a cult favorite over the years, and Disney+ last year said it will develop a sequel.
They have been teasing the special with photos on Instagram of them back in character.
"We're thrilled to death," Midler said. "It was a lot of fun making it. And when it first came out it wasn't as big of a hit as we were hoping for, but as the years have gone by, it's gotten more and more embedded in the culture, and people love it, and they say, 'Oh, I brought my kids up on that, and I saw it when I was a kid and it's great.'"
Becoming the Sanderson sisters again didn't take long for Midler, Parker and Najimy.
"We saw each other for the first time as those characters in 27 years and it was like it was yesterday," Midler said. "Right back to our same relationships, our same way of improvising, our same way of mugging (for the camera)."
Midler is hoping the reunion can also bring awareness to the New York Restoration Project, which she started in 1995 to save parks and community gardens in underserved neighborhoods in New York City.
"When I came to the city, it really was back on its heels," Midler said. "It was really filthy, it was scary and it was just awful. You couldn't go to the park because the parks were considered too dangerous. So I thought, I gotta fix this. I bought 52 community gardens with the Trust for Public Land in 1999, so we have a lot of gardens."
The pandemic has spotlighted the importance of the gardens to give people a place outdoors to safely spend time.
"These gardens that we've had for 25 years have sort of been a place where people can collect themselves," Midler said. "I think to be in nature is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. Really to sit and listen to the leaves of the trees or to feel the breeze on your face, it's so important."
With only a few days before Halloween, the Sanderson sisters are now ready to give everyone a spooky good time.
"The sisters are really, really excited about being back on Halloween night," Midler said as she got into character. "I put a spell on you! And now, you're mine!"