My family and I watch Hocus Pocus almost every October, so we were of course thrilled that a sequel was in the making. Sequels, however, can be pretty hit or miss, so I was anxious to see how the directors could possibly live up to the 1993 original.
After watching the new movie, I’m honestly indecisive. I will always like the original best, but it is exciting to see more of our favorite coven! So, here are my unorganized and scattered thoughts while watching Hocus Pocus 2 for the first time.
If you haven’t watched the movie yet, this is your warning now- spoilers ahead!
- The young girls who played the sisters did amazing- each mimicked their older versions incredibly well! I think the sisters back story was perfect and really felt like you were watching their younger selves.
- I feel like the OG witch was dressed way too modern for old Salem, but was definitely interesting way to explain how the sisters became witches and why Winnifred is their leader (other than her strong personality of course).
- Going into the main story my initial impression was that it lacked color. The whole scene is dull and not at all vibrant and upbeat like the classic.
- I was very shocked by the appearance from Tony Hale (Buster in Arrested Development). As always he offers perfect comedic relief.
- The entrance of the witches was super cool and they each look amazing! Their characters are still very much alive and still hilarious. Who are they performing for you might ask? Themselves, of course.
- What was up with Sarah’s makeup? Her eyebrows and eyeshadow were offensive.
- Forget the Will Smith/Chris Rock slap- Winnifred b**** slaps Sarah. The abuse continues when Winnifred chokes Mary- it shouldn’t be funny but it truly is. Bette Midler is such an incredible actor and absolutely hilarious in her comedic deliverance.
- They did such justice to Billy Butcherson! I’m so glad they made him look exactly the same. I’m a stickler for keeping to the original content.
- At first I did not like the onstage performance but with the whole crowd dancing it actually turned out to be pretty cool and I was slightly less disappointed they didn’t sing “I Put a Spell on You”.
- Major spoilers: I think it was super cheesy that the main character Rebecca was also a witch. I also don’t understand where Sarah and Mary’s power came from with shooting energy out of their fingers (before the Power Spell).
- The tie in the the backstory was honestly awesome, the conflict of the story felt organic and not forced.
- The character development of Winnifred was touching. I think it was a sweet message that those you love matter more than anything else. In the end, Winnifred loved her sisters more than her magic. Yet, I felt that the ending was abrupt.
Overall, it didn’t have a Halloween feel to the story at all. It lacked the ambience and appearance of a Halloween movie. The leaves weren’t even orange and yellow! That’s like an essential part to any fall/Halloween movie. I feel that it was a decent sequel and could have been a lot worse, but it lacked the impact of the original. Of course it would be hard for anything to live up to the 1993 classic. It is still worth the watch and a funny movie with incredible actors.
