Hocus Pocus 2: A Revival that Loses the Magic of the Original

In 2022, we find ourselves continually asking the question, “What if this 90’s movie was made today?” As usual, most of the responses are disdainful because it is hard to recapture that ’90s magic. Hocus Pocus 2 tries hard to give us nostalgia with a hint of modernity, but along the way, the movie truly loses sight of what made the original a cult classic.

Hocus Pocus premiered on July 16th, 1933, with mixed to unfavorable reviews. Critics slammed the movie based on the lackluster plot but praised the performance of Midler. Since then, the movie has become a cult classic, helped by DVD and VHS sales. Time has been the main ingredient that helped the movie transform from a movie hated in 1993 to a movie most will watch yearly on Halloween.

The revival, on the other hand, may not be so lucky.

What even is a villain anymore?

Released on September 30th, 2022, Hocus Pocus 2, directed by Anne Fletcher and written by Jen D’Angelo introduces us to best friends Becca (Whitney Peak), Cassie (Lilia Buckingham), and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo). These friends are tricked by a magic shop owner who saw the Sanderson Sisters in 1993 to light the candle and bring them back for another ride in the sky.

The Sanderson Sisters’ backstory is developed more in the sequel. In a Girl Boss-esque way, we are introduced to the real reason why the Sanderson sisters became witches. Patriarchy! The Purantantical laws of the 1600s paved the way for the sisters to become the child-eating bad witches they are. While the backstory added depth to the characters in a way that was notable, it was also very predictable.

The sequel attempts to paint the sisters in a more sympathetic light but does little to hold on to that idea. The sequel prevails in allowing us to see Winnie as a passionate, loving sister who only does what she does because of her sister.

However, does this absolve the sisters? Regardless of their backstory, they did kill children and terrorized families for decades. Fletcher and D’Angelo’s redemption story for the sisters does not hang well. While this is not the best writing, it does offer something for the audience to discuss.

Out with the Old, In with the New

The movie’s first mistake seems to be based on tone.

As the world has, Disney has changed. The original movie seemed to be made for an extended age range. This is why Disney would later shuffle the film to ABC Family when going through their rebranding. The original film had enough content to keep younger viewers interested and hold older viewers’ attention. The atmosphere surrounding the movie, the witty lines, and the imagery that the movie invoked made viewers feel that it was more than a Disney movie.

Hocus Pocus 2 feels like a Disney movie. That’s a problem. For a sequel of a movie that premiered almost thirty years ago to work, you have to keep your original audience in mind while also inviting new audiences in. D’Angelo did the complete opposite. Instead, Disney leans too far into creating a kid’s movie, ignoring the audience that made the movie a cult classic.

The original was cheesy, but there was enough wittiness to overlook those cringe moments. In Hocus Pocus 2, the wittiness is gone, and even Bett Middler’s presence can not do much to bring that magic back. Disney shelves the mature jokes and instead opts for safe humor.

It is not clear whether this was Disney’s intention. The movie is more realistic; the horror aspect of the first film was camp, to say the least, but it was also engaging. In this movie, the Sanderson sisters are taken as a joke and are laughed at more than feared.

Outside of the tone, parts of the movie are worth discussing.

The Few Good Things

Sarah Jessica Parker (Sarah) and Kathy Najimy (Mary) characters are more fleshed out in the sequel. They even go as far as confronting Winnie (Bette Midler’s character) for being rude to them.

Mary gets to fly on Roombas, and Sarah flies a swifter duster, which is ridiculous but good. There is a drag competition where participants dress as the Sanderson sisters (the drag queens win).

It wouldn’t be Hocus Pocus without some singing. The sisters cover Blonde’s 1978 hit One Way or Another, and Elton Jonh’s The Bitch is back substituting, you know, what word for witches.

Two of the three teenage friends are of color, and their acting is not bad at all.

To say the least, Disney completely ignored everything in the sequel that made the original a success in audiences’ eyes. With a higher rotten tomatoes score (63%) than the original (38%), one can’t help to wonder if Disney knowingly sacrificed their loyal fans for a bump up in the critic consensus.

Hocus Pocus 2 is streaming on Disney+ starting on September 30th. For more from Deareyes, check out his work on Abbott Elementary.