Starting our Halloween season off, we are reintroduced to the Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus 2. You can watch the movie now on Disney+. Here’s what to expect when watching the sequel: fun, nostalgic, and predictable. 

The sequel leaves out the original director Kenny Ortega and writers Neil Cuthbert and Mick Garris. Instead, we have Anne Fletcher as director and Jen D’Angelo as the writer. From the original cast returns Bette Midler (Winfred), Kathy Najimy (Mary), Sarah Jessica Parker (Sarah), and Doug Jones (Billy). Everyone else is brand new to the world of Hocus Pocus. 

We start with the Sanderson sisters’ beginning and how they got their powers. It’s cute, but the acting is a bit wonky, and maybe it’s because the young actresses are inexperienced with the combination of the script. Nevertheless, it foreshadows the film’s ending as a bittersweet moment with the Sanderson sisters. 

Fan service must have been the main priority because you will see much of it unfold. A Muck! A Muck! A Muck! Check. Flying on inanimate objects. Check. Singing– lots of singing this time around. Check. A black cat (check, check) which was ultimately useless because it wasn’t talking. The movie is mixed with corny jokes and semi useless plot with the teens. 

Becca (Whitney Peak) and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) are fighting with their best friend, Cassie (Lilia Buckingham), over miscommunication. The whole subplot was just unnecessary, dragging a bit of the overall arc. Cassie’s father, the Mayor (Tony Hale), is played by the same actor who was an enemy to the Sanderson sisters’ in 1653 as the Reverend Traske from the beginning. The Mayor was the ancestor of Traske, and he was the one to banish the Sanderson sisters. They could’ve done so much more with this character! Maybe they could have made the Mayor actually the ancestor who was also partaking in magic secretly. Or perhaps he became possessed by his ancestor. Instead, he’s pretty useless and only there to distract the sisters. 

Now we need to talk about Billy. Do you know why his character worked so well in the first movie? His body was his dialogue. Now it’s his actual voice– and well, it’s not good. At all. I wish they could have just sewed his mouth back together quicker. This is not to say Doug Jones is bad at acting. Look at the list of acting roles. We, as the audience, are so used to seeing Billy not talk that it’s jarring for the viewer to see Billy speak for long periods. 

The overarching plot is the Sanderson’s obsessive fan Gilbert (Sam Richardson) tricks his regular two customers into lighting a black candle in order to summon the sisters awake. Gilbert eventually realizes that the sisters are bad (wow, what a shocker.) You would think, with such an obsession with these sisters, you would know that they are evil and they will eat children for youth!

Now, as I said, there are some fun moments. Midler, Najimy, and Parker bang out fantastic performances, and the overbearing nostalgia reminds us how good the original one was. Not to mention, our teens that are against these witches appear fleshed out, and overall they are written well, minus their conflict. Now the ending of the movie will hurt in the best way. You come to find out these sisters indeed are ride or dies for one another. Even though Winifred isn’t the greatest at showing her love, you can see a vulnerable side to her, and it’s an incredible sight to see. 

The makeup on our ladies looks amazing! You can tell they have gotten older, but hey, it’s nearly thirty years! But overall, the costumes and makeup suited the three ladies in the best way.

The best part by far is the Sanderson sister’s visit a Walgreens. They go through the beauty section hilariously, eating face masks and lotions. Before their second singing performance, we see a lot of drag queens in Sanderson fits, and it’s absolutely worth a replay. You’ll have to watch it yourself to see!

3.7/5

There were some definite misses, but if you’ve watched the original every Halloween, you would understand the blatant nostalgia that will overtake your eyes. These ladies are still iconic as ever. Cooky in all the right ways, and it showed us more about their background. There are some continuity errors, such as how they got the spellbook, but it’s something you can look over. 

I do wish we had a cameo of Max (Omari Katiz), Dani (Thora Birch), Allison (Vinessa Shaw), and Thackery the cat (Sean Murray), but to no avail. The main characters from the original had charm, and maybe it’s the nostalgia speaking, but you miss them when watching the sequel.