Should You See Hocus Pocus 2? We Help You Decide Answering 10 Questions

Greg Ehrhardt, OnScreen Blog Columnist

Hocus Pocus 2 is another entry in a long recent line of legacyquels, with Hocus Pocus 2 taking place 29 years after the original.

Hocus Pocus is a movie that’s pretty hard to hate unless you gave up your soul a long time ago like the Sanderson sisters; its the best kind of camp, with delightfully fun performances from nearly everyone involved.

If you’re a diehard fan, you’re probably seeing this movie regardless of any review you may see. If you’re not particularly attached to the original, you may be more on the fence. Well, I’m here to help your decision, answering 10 spoiler free questions about the original.

Is this movie made solely for the diehard Hocus Pocus fans, or is it a movie anyone can enjoy?

Well, I don’t think a 40 year old man with no kids or grandkids will particularly enjoy this movie, but, there isn’t a real base of franchise knowledge required to enjoy this movie. This movie actually does a better job than most legacyquels at not overstuffing the movie with references and characters from the original that would only matter to the die-hard fans. As long as you know the Sanderson Sisters are a bit goofy and try to live forever, you are in as good a shape as anyone to enjoy Hocus Pocus 2.

I’m nervous that Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker won’t hold up well 29 years later. Do they still have it in this movie?

I don’t have great news on this end. Midler’s voice, just being honest, sounded pretty hoarse, and I don’t blame her given that she’s 76 years old. Parker’s recreation was pretty spot on, and Najimy was as nimble as ever, but couldn’t quite get there with some of her verbal acrobatics. I’m in no position to judge (I would become a Wiccan if I could perform in Disney movies into my 60s), but it was a bit distracting watching all three of them do these roles past their prime. If only they made this movie 10 years ago.

(btw, this is not sexist, as I have not been kind on any of Harrison Ford’s performances the last 10 years)

Is this basically a shot for shot recreation of Hocus Pocus like so many legacyquels these days?

I can happily report no! Are there shared elements? Of course. But the sequel features an entirely new Macguffin and entirely new characters outside of the Sanderson Sisters and Billy Butcherson. Frankly, most of this movie was pretty fresh outside of a few expected callbacks to classic scenes of the first movie.

How are the new characters, particularly the protagonists?

Fine, generally speaking. I particularly liked Whitney Peak as Becca as someone I would be interested to see in future movies. I’m not sure I bought into the friendship and camaraderie she had with Izzy and Cassie, but for this kind of movie I’m going to give them some slack

The promos teased that there would be scenes set in the 17th century showing the origin story of the Sanderson Sisters. Did these scenes deliver?

The 17th century scenes were actually my favorite part of the movie, and I wish the movie spent more time there! The kid actors they got to play the Sandersons were excellent, especially Winnie. I wouldn’t have minded spending the entire movie in the 17th century actually to be honest.

Their marketing department made a big deal out of having another song in the sequel. I loved “I Put a Spell On You” in the original, does this come close to matching it?

I won’t spoil the song choice if you haven’t heard the reveal yet, but, I rolled my eyes when I heard the opening riff of the famous 80s songs the Sandersons were going to cover. It wouldn’t have been in my top 25 choices. Nevertheless, I warmed up a bit when they got into the meet of it and made it their own. It’s not bad, but it’s not “I Put a Spell On You”.

The first one wasn’t scary, is this one scarier?

If you’re trying to watch Hocus Pocus for the scares, there are way better options. This had one mildly scary jump scare, but otherwise, this is not meant to frighten anyone.

Is it funnier than the first one?

I actually think yes? The Sanderson Sisters at one point go into a Walgreens, and the scenes contain a lot of “Fish Out of Water” gags, but they mostly work thanks to Midler/Najimy/Parker’s timing with each other.

Is there anything surprising in this movie that I couldn’t guess was going to happen before watching the movie?

Without getting into spoilers, I didn’t see the end coming. The end had a totally different tone than the rest of the movie, including the first one, that it genuinely took me aback, in a good way. It was good on Disney and the franchise to give the Sanderson sisters some extra depth when you’re least expecting it, I’ll leave it at that

What’s your overall grade of the movie?

A movie like Hocus Pocus 2 is going to be graded on a curve because it’s not trying to win any Oscars or awards of any sort. Its just trying to have fun, and it succeeds at that. While I wrote poorly about how well Midler and Najimy held up 29 years later from a performance POV, their chemistry with Parker is still wicked fun, to the point that you could envision them holding up a 10 episode Disney+ show quite well.

I can’t say the same about the rest of the characters, mainly because they just weren’t that memorable. But it doesn’t really matter because this movie is about the Sanderson Sisters, and it’s not an easy rehash of the first movie like lesser script writers would have made it. Its worth the watch for anyone who wants a fun Halloween romp.

3 out of 4 stars.

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