Does Hocus Pocus in a way, feel like Disney's version of Scooby Doo?
Maybe it's because of the basic premise of a group of inquisitive kids and their talking animal friend (Scooby/Binx) encountering the supernatural. Both Hocus Pocus and Scooby-Doo (at the very least, the 2002 live-action film) you could say, perfectly captures the essence of balancing spooky and silly elements, while combining supernatural mysteries with lighthearted humor and camaraderie.
https://www.ranker.com/list/movies-like-hocus-pocus/jason-bancroft
I also read a theory that the colors that the Sanderson sisters sport is representative of the main characters on Scooby Doo. Like Winifred has red hair like Daphne and wears green like Shaggy. Sarah has blonde hair like Fred and wears purple like Daphne. Mary wears orange like Velma and has dog-like tendencies that are representative of Scooby.
https://www.reddit.com/r/hocuspocus/comments/14k1rmb/this_is_just_me_but_i_noticed_that_the_sanderson/
About six years after Hocus Pocus was released, there was a direct-to-DVD Scooby Doo movie called Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost, which you could argue has a similar basic premise or or concept to Hocus Pocus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooby-Doo!_and_the_Witch%27s_Ghost
https://www.parents.com/fun/entertainment/hocus-pocus-is-a-reminder-of-a-different-childhood-one-i-hope-to-share-with-my-kids/share
It's nostalgia, yes. Hocus Pocus is a movie that captures the zeitgeist of its time—like Goonies or Scooby Doo or Stand By Me or Now and Then. But the film also harkens back to a particular parenting mandate, one that didn't involve traipsing your kids from house to house yourself after working all day, providing three square meals, and planning a party for the neighborhood kids complete with candied apples and a sensory grape-eyeball scare fest. (Not that I've done that or anything.)