Directed By Anne Fletcher

Starring – Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy

The Plot – Three young women accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters (Midler, Parker, Najimy) to modern-day Salem and must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world. The world may have been free of Winifred, Mary, and Sarah and the fear they invoked in us all, but what happens when you mess with magic? It messes back.

Rated PG for action, macabre/suggestive humor and some adult language.

Hocus Pocus 2 | Official Trailer | Disney+ – YouTube

POSITIVES

Thirty years after the Sanderson sisters invaded Salem and put a spell on their adoring audience for a generation, along comes “Hocus Pocus 2”, a more than entertaining successor that might not reach the heights of its iconic predecessor but does more than enough to cement its place and justify its existence among what has now become a franchise of films. For starters, the script is wise to use more of the trio this time around, beginning with an expansive backstory of an introduction that not only further fleshes out the origins of these characters with magic, but also sheds some light on their tumultuous history with Salem that was only exploited through lore or legend during the original installment. From there, the trio of Midler, Parker and Najimy take over the engagement by seamlessly falling back into their respective characters, making a thirty-year gap between films feel like a matter of days with the kind of picture-perfect chemistry and wickedly fun banter between them that easily certifies itself as the pulse for the film’s prominence. Because of such, we’re given comfort in the tonal capacity we’ve come to expect in a film that capably balances camp with creep, but also in the surprising amount of heart beneath the film’s surface, which instills with it some vital lessons among the values of friendships and siblings, leading to a warm, fuzzy finale that might even tug at the tears of pleasantly profound moviegoers everywhere. But beyond the aspects that remain consistent, the new additions are also an endearing quality, especially in Becca, Cassie and Izzy, played by Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham and Belissa Escobedo, respectively, contrasting the sisterly dynamic of the aforementioned returning trio. Their dynamic is just as compelling as that of the Sanderson’s, in that they’re a trio of friends who are crumbling at the seams by life-changing circumstances that obscure their importance towards one another, with only magic holding the capability to bring them back together. They’re a nice addition that add a lot of meaning and humanity to the dimensions of the conflict, in turn setting them on a collision course with the Sanderson’s that serves as the culmination of the lifelong seance that once bonded them but has since ripped them apart with the gravitational pull of high school determining their fates. Beyond this, Fletcher is an equally capable substitute in director for Kenny Ortega once festive ambiance, channeling the same energy, humor, and seasonal identities that made “Hocus Pocus” unmistakably Halloween, with a commitment to nighttime essence and corresponding festivities that inspires audiences into the Halloween mood with excitement and anticipation for the season.

NEGATIVES

Not everything clicks on print, and soon I’m reminded of the diminishing returns that kept the original film from clicking for me in the same manner it did its passionate fanbase. For starters, the imbalance of a supporting subplot receives far too much screen time, amounting to very little relevance to the conflict, while another subplot goes completely unnoticed and abandoned at the altar, after the film’s initial introduction. The former pertains to the return of a familiar character trying to help a newbie outsmart the witches, and as a result only weighs down the film’s pacing, with a repetition in formula and a directionless resolution that seems to only exist to give them something to do. Unfortunately, that same emphasis isn’t used for Hannah Waddingham, the witch mother, who appears and disappears from the scene as fast as a failed joke, with the kind of insignificance that makes you wonder why her character was even included in the finished script to begin with. Aside from this, some of the technical aspects in aesthetics are equally disappointing, within them creating an artificial quality that makes this feel like a Disney channel original, instead of a Disney Plus release. The green-screen backdrops are truly appalling, feeling obvious and haphazard if done in 1993, but here made worse by the advancements and expectations in technology that make us capable of spotting them from a mile away. The studio set designs are equally laughable, with easily identifiable printed skylines and cut out trees establishing a stage-like essence, but for all of the wrong reasons, and in turn feeling all the more compromising considering a majority of the film persists within them. Finally, while music was only a small piece of the puzzle with regards to the original film, here its inclusion feels sparsely unconvincing at best, with the flat tracks not quite attaining the same creative merit that elicited from the first soundtrack. The problem here isn’t so much the performances, as Midler is still a captivating presence with or without a microphone, but rather the hook of the chorus feeling shoehorned without fluidity, in turn directly undercutting the addictive aspect of the music to establish it as an earworm of sorts that makes it a holiday classic staple like “I Put a Spell On You”.

OVERALL
“Hocus Pocus 2” proves there’s still a lot of magic left in a franchise that hasn’t seen the light of day in thirty years. It’s a nostalgic potion that goes down smoothly to longtime fans, while also being the poison that fuels the fires of its questioning haters. Either way, the Sandersons are back for another witching good time, so grab your broom and fly to the brink of your childhoods.

My Grade: 6/10 or C+