Am I crazy to assume that if you saw the original Hocus Pocus in the theater that you will have a story about it? Even if that’s not true, here’s a little detour!
I will admit that I had reservations before I watched Hocus Pocus 2. I was 9 years old when the first film dropped in the summer (WTF?!) of 1993. I remember my brother and I wanted our mom to take us to the movies on the weekend that it came out, but my brother wanted to see Rookie of the Year. At a tender 15 months older than I was, he told me, ‘Hocus Pocus isn’t getting good reviews!’ to which I replied, ‘I want to see it for myself!’ So before Hocus Pocus became a meme and merch factory and before all of those stupid ‘Hocus Pocus is actually horrible’ takes, I was spouting my need to see Bette Midler before the age of 10. Who is talking about Rookie of the Year 29 years later, huh?! No one, Anthony Moser!
With nearly three decades of obsession fueling the release, Hocus Pocus 2 could’ve gotten in its own head or simply repackaged the plot of the first movie. I am thrilled to report that Anne Fletcher’s highly anticipated sequel both lovingly allows the Sanderson Sisters to run amuck while giving enough room to the new characters. Max Dennison should watch his back…this installment might be better than the original.
The Sanderson Sisters’ popularity hasn’t dwindled in Salem since we last saw them. Their house (which used to be a dusty museum devoted to their history) is now Olde Salem Magic Shoppe, owned and operated by Sam Richardson’s Gilbert the Great. The store is frequented by Izzy and Becca (Belissa Escobedo and Whitney Peak), especially as they commiserate over how their friend Cassie (Lilia Buckingham) is spending more time with her dimwitted boyfriend. Every year, these friends meet in their secret sacred spot to celebrate Becca’s birthday, and let’s just say that accidentally conjuring three iconic witches is not what they had in mind for her sweet sixteenth.
Seeing Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy quite literally burst onto the screen to perform “The Witch Is Back” is a devilish delight. As soon as they make their entrance, Hocus Pocus 2 ramps into high gear, because it belongs to the Sanderson Sisters. Instead of repeating how Winifred Sanderson is obsessed with age and being beautiful, Fletcher’s film shifts the focus to enduring power and legacy, but it slowly weaves in the importance of sisterhood. It doesn’t matter if that bond is by blood or by friendship, and that theme makes the script (by Jen D’Angelo) stronger than the one that came before it.
Midler, Parker, and Najimy cast a zany spell yet again, and I could watch them play these parts in fifty other movies. You can tell how much the Divine Miss M loves playing this part, and after so many years of wondering when it was going to happen, she wears that red wig and buck teeth like a second skin. Bow down. I fell in love with Parker when I saw the first Hocus Pocus, and I was impressed by how much she was still willing to throw herself around. Sarah Sanderson gave me permission to be a boy-crazy airhead 29 years ago, and she proves that she knows how to be fetching and hilarious at the same time. Najimy throws herself in every single role she does, and I can’t believe they make Mary ride two wayward Roombas. Escobedo, Buckingham, and Peak hold their own against three legends, and Hannah Waddingham pops up in bewitching witch drag in the opening prologue when we get a glimpse of the Sandersons as children. Every Midler movie needs a Beaches-inspired backstory, thank you very much.
Hocus Pocus 2 was worth the wait.
Hocus Pocus 2 is now streaming on Disney+.