Watch Hocus Pocus 2 on Disney+
Written by: Jen D'Angelo (screenplay by), David Kirschner & Blake Harris and Jen D'Angelo (story by), David Kirschner and
Mick Garris (based on characters created by)
Directed by: Anne Fletcher
Starring: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Sam Richardson, Doug Jones, Tony Hale
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
Two young women accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters to modern day Salem and must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world.
Verdict
This movie seems made to attract subscribers through nostalgia. I felt like I should have watched the first movie, and that seems like an effort of Disney to keep me on their service. This is a bit silly. The witches are more comic relief than antagonists. I'm not expecting an outright horror movie, but the musical numbers just seem out of place. While the core story of teen girls working through high school drama is a great foundation and foil in the face of witches, the other story elements seem superfluous. I could write this off as I'm not the audience for this, but there are many children's movies that are creative, clever, and entertaining.
Skip it.
Review
Part of the problem with the movie is that I'm comparing it to a movie I saw nearly thirty years ago. Nostalgia might be causing me to remember the original as better than it was. I recall the Sanderson sisters as being mostly villains, while in this movie they seem to be comic relief. This movie frequently felt too silly.
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| Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy play the Sanderson sisters |
Did the original need a sequel? Only if you want subscribers. I think the plot overall is a solid idea, I just didn't find the movie engaging. The movie gives us a flashback that explains how the Sanderson sisters became witches. That felt unnecessary, though it loosely ties back in towards the end of the movie. It's not enough to make that scene necessary. This movie really focuses on the sisters, and it's a case where side characters work well in small amounts, but they can't quite carry a movie.
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| Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo play Becca, Izzy |
I like the movie more once we're in the present day with Becca and friends. The core problem works well, but then this town has a magic shoppe just for plot exposition. That caused me to wonder if this is the same town as the original movie, and if so why didn't we see a magic shoppe in that movie? Everything related to the magic shoppe seems unnecessary just as a way to introduce more characters as a way to attract a broader audience and as a forced link to the original movie. If the magic shoppe owner had a legitimate role in the movie I wouldn't have an issue, but he doesn't have a real job. He easily could have.
Teens must defeat witches works well enough, but I wish the links to the original movie didn't seem forced.
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