As the latest straight-to-streaming movie for Disney+, Hocus Pocus 2 has no reason for its existence other than to keep people on the platform after their annual viewing of Hocus Pocus (1993). A by-the-numbers rehash powered by commendable enthusiasm from its main cast, it’s just good enough to satisfy fans, but won’t earn the Sanderson Sisters any new admirers.
The original cult film found the coven of Winifred, Sarah, and Mary (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, respectively) whisked from 1600s Salem to the modern day, where their desire to feast on children’s souls was thwarted by a couple tykes on Halloween night. Nearly 30 years later, the film resurrects the sisters once again after a duplicitous magic shop owner tricks a few teenagers into lighting a black candle during their Halloween spell-casting.
The film is basically 90 minutes of fish-out-of-water gags — the sisters are vexed by automatic doors, delighted by Roombas and oddly unmoved by cellphone cameras — reheated re-enactments of gags from the first film, and copious banter from its three leads. There’s also some typical Disney messaging about friendship between three modern-day aspiring witches (Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, and Lilia Buckingham), and much mugging for the camera from Sam Richardson (Detroiters) and Tony Hale (Veep).
It’s here that I have to break critic code and insert myself in the review because I must confess I’ve never quite understood the appeal of Hocus Pocus. It came along at a time when I was a bit too old for Disney shenanigans, and while I appreciate its place as a Halloween staple, I’ve never quite warmed to the humor of Midler, Najimy, and Parker. Their campiness and broadness bounces right off me, and what delights others leaves me staring at the screen dumbfounded.
That doesn’t change much in Hocus Pocus 2, as the trio returns to play the hits. Winifred’s pride and Mary’s chumminess never much entertained me, although Sarah managed to wrest a few slight chuckles with her mix of lusty but brain-dead evil. But fans of the original should be pleased with the characters’ return. Whether the performances worked for me or not, the three are energetic and seem to be having a good time returning to their iconic roles, even if the film could have done without them singing “The Witches Are Back,” which of course, is set to Elton John’s “The Bitch is Back” (a number set to Blondie’s “One Way or Another” fares slightly better).
(From left) Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler, and Sarah Jessica Parker in “Hocus Pocus 2.” © Walt Disney Pictures. CREDIT: MATT KENNEDY/DISNEY+
Like many streaming movies, Hocus Pocus 2 seems to be designed to allow users to peek at their phones during any non-Sanderson screen time. Its plot is a limp retread of the first movie and the story between the film’s three teenage protagonists never much capitalizes on the idea that the girls are drawn together by their love of witchery, which might have helped it rise above the Disney Channel-esque treacle the “with a little help from my friends” theme is saddled with. Hale and Richardson are both funny actors, but largely left to do nothing more than act clueless and try to class-up otherwise empty subplots (at least Richardson gets to perform most of his scenes opposite a wiseass zombie played by Doug Jones; Hale spends most of the movie looking for caramel apples).
And yet, the film has an energy that keeps it from dragging. Many recent Disney sequels are saddled with an unearned self-importance, constantly reaching for grand emotional statements or laying bread crumbs for a mythology that can feed future franchises. Hocus Pocus 2 is happy to be just a lark, even if a post-credit scene teases that there may be more to come. Director Anne Fletcher has long been a dance movie/rom-com veteran, and she keeps things moving at a brisk clip, with the requisite Halloween tone.
The original Hocus Pocus was never loved for its plot, acting or depth. It was a movie that was played while families carved jack-o-lanterns or served as background noise and imagery during Halloween parties. For its fans, Hocus Pocus 2 should serve the same task just fine. For those who never much cared for the franchise, The Nightmare Before Christmas is also just a click away.
