When Hocus Pocus was released in theaters in 1993, it barely made an impression, opening in fourth place at the box office and losing money for Disney. It would have been deservedly forgotten, but relentless Halloween-season airings on Disney-owned TV channels and strong home-video sales put it in front of a generation of kids who responded to its hyperactive plotting, loud characters and treacly message of family togetherness. Nearly 30 years later, the debut of Hocus Pocus 2 on Disney+ is a major event, anticipated by its fans with as much fervor as a new Marvel or Star Wars release.
The trouble is that all the nostalgia in the world can't make Hocus Pocus any good, and it can't turn this decades-later sequel into a worthwhile endeavor. Hocus Pocus 2 basically just rehashes the underwhelming plot of the first movie, with slight variations. The Sanderson sisters, evil witches who've returned from the dead after 300 years, are the Hocus Pocus characters who've infiltrated pop culture, but they're not actually the protagonists. In the original movie, the main characters were a trio of kids who had to defeat the Sanderson sisters before they could devour all the children of Salem, Massachusetts. They're not important or memorable enough to be included in the sequel, though, since what's essential is getting Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy to return as the Sanderson sisters.
So there are some new forgettable kids to take on the Sanderson sisters, who are once again summoned from the afterlife after the inadvertent lighting of a magical candle by a virgin. They terrorize Salem (in a family-friendly Disney way) on Halloween night, as teens Becca (Gossip Girl's Whitney Peak), Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) and Cassie (Lilia Buckingham) try to figure out how to stop them. There are more half-hearted lessons, this time about the power of friendship, but the main focus is on Midler, Parker and Najimy shrieking their way through tired jokes and a couple of listless musical numbers. Director Anne Fletcher started her career as a choreographer, but there's no spark to any of her musical staging here.
An extended prologue adds a new nemesis for the Sanderson sisters in Father Traske (Tony Hale), whose descendant (also Hale) is now the mayor of Salem. Since the Sanderson sisters have become so popular, they can't be entirely evil anymore, and screenwriter Jen D'Angelo gives them an unconvincing redemption arc that robs them of their minimal transgressive fun. Mayor Traske isn't a villain either, nor is magic shop owner Gilbert (Sam Richardson), who takes his interest in the history of the Sanderson sisters a little too far. Both Hale and Richardson are talented comedic performers, but they have to settle for slightly off-kilter line deliveries because the screenplay is devoid of clever humor.
Somehow the special effects look worse than the effects did in the 1993 original, and the whole production has a flat, empty made-for-streaming look. There's extensive product placement for Walgreens and a shout-out to fellow Disney property Good Morning America, surely every teen's favorite network news program. Peak, Escobedo and Buckingham are likable enough as the new leads, but they're mostly just killing time in between Sanderson scenes. Fans should be happy to see Midler, Parker and Najimy enthusiastically slip back into their roles, which means they're just as grating and unpleasant as they were the first time around.
It's tough to argue with warm childhood memories, and Hocus Pocus 2 seems designed not to mess with this inexplicably beloved phenomenon. It's garish, hokey and obnoxious — just like it's supposed to be. ♦
Hocus Pocus 2
