Deep Dive Disney: Wes Looks at Hocus Pocus 2

What? You thought just because the month of October was over that we were done with Halloween! Fools! Halloween ends when I say it ends! And I would not dare end the celebration without covering the newly released follow up to my Halloween Special from last year, Hocus Pocus. That’s right people, The Witches are Back and badder than ever. As my patrons will recall, last year around this time, we covered the original Hocus Pocus from 1993 and I absolutely loved it. It was a blast strolling down memory lane and reliving this ridiculous slice of 90’s nostalgia pie. The movie isn’t any master work of cinema, but it’s fun, silly and charming and a great movie to add to your annual Halloween playlist. And clearly I’m not the only one who thinks so since it is now thirty years later and with nostalgia being in vogue, a sequel was inevitable. Now, decades later sequels like this can often be a gamble, especially if the filmmakers fail to understand what made the original so great to begin with. Fortunately, I am pleased to report that this is not the case with this movie. While I would not go so far as to say it is as good or better than the original, the film is still quite charming and I enjoyed the experience, especially with the original actresses coming back to reprise their roles as the iconic Sanderson Sisters. So, what’s our story this time around? Well, as I said, our story is set thirty years after the original film and centers around a new protagonist, a teenager named Becca who practices Witchcraft as a hobby with her two best friends Izzy and Cassie, though lately Cassie seems to have left their group and become part of the popular crowd. While participating in the annual ritual of lighting a mystic candle in the dark woods every year on Becca’s birthday, Becca and Izzy learn that the owner of the magic shop, which used to be the old Sanderson cottage, gave them a Black Flame Candle in the hopes that they would once again resurrect The Sanderson Sisters (turns out Gilbert the Magic Shop owner is a bit of a fanboy). You all know how this song and dance goes by now, the candle of the black flame is lit, the sisters are resurrected and it’s time for them to run amok amok amok all around Salem. However, this time, The Sisters have something far more dangerous in store than the life draining potion from last time. When Winnie learns that the mayor of Salem is a descendant of one of their old enemies, they plan to use his blood for the Magicae Maxima, a spell that will make the user all powerful. This spell is apparently so dangerous, even Winifred’s spell book is afraid to use it. Becca and Izzy need to outfox the Sanderson sisters and keep the mayor, who also happens to be Cassie’s dad, safe from their wrath. Along the way, Becca learns that she may have some power of her own that she never knew about. It’s a charming bit of Halloween fun and, in my opinion, a worthy followup to the 1993 classic. Let’s take a look at Hocus Pocus 2.

Main Character:

If you were to ask me to choose between Becca and Max from the first movie, I’d probably have to go with Max simply because I found his character to be more fleshed out and more relatable. Having had the experience of being a new kid in school and not really knowing anyone, I found I connected with Max’s story quite a bit. Mind you, I can also relate to Becca’s story of being the odd kid in school and drifting apart from one’s friends, but Max’s story was just given more time and development. That having been said, Becca is by no means a bad character. She’s kind, intelligent, resourceful, quick on the uptake and the fact that she turns out to be a witch herself was an interesting angle to explore. Like I said, Becca doesn’t get a ton of development, but she does get a nice lesson about the importance of friendship. She’s given enough time for us to like her and wish her to succeed, but the film wisely keeps the focus where it belongs. That brings me to…

Villain:

They’re back!!! And honestly, it’s like they never left. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy do such a great job picking up right where they left off in 1993 that one can scarcely believe that it’s been thirty years since they’ve returned to these iconic roles. This movie is far from perfect but it really does understand why the Sanderson sisters were such fun and appealing characters to begin with. One minute they're fumbling around like the gender reversed three stooges and the next, they’re a serious and terrifying threat, hitting that perfect balance between frightening and hilarious. Hell, the first thing they do after their incredibly intense and creepy resurrection scene is break into song even though no one appears to be watching. When Becca asks who they’re performing for, suddenly Sarah is standing right in front of them saying “You!” While they repeat some of the gags from the first movie, they don’t rely too heavily on them and when they do they add a new spin on it. For example, they repeat the gag of the witches using more modern cleaning implements in place of broomsticks and Mary has to skate through the air on a pair of Roombas. The best part, the Roombas gain sentience and act as Mary’s minions. That’s surprisingly clever. I do wish that Sarah got to be a bit more manic in this one, but Sarah Jessica Parker still nails it like a pro. This film also goes into the origin of the Sanderson sisters and their sisterly bond, making them somewhat sympathetic while still never venturing into Maleficent territory and taking away their villainous edge. Beyond that, I don’t have too much else to say that I didn’t say in the last Hocus Pocus Article. It’s just nice to have these iconic villains back in action.

Side Characters:

I don’t have a ton to say about Izzy, one of Becca’s two best friends. Honestly, I found her personality to be too similar to Becca’s to be all that distinct. Cassie fairs a little better, being given the arc of dating the popular athlete and drifting apart from her friends, only for us to later learn that it was all a big misunderstanding due to a lack of communication from both sides. Cassie’s boyfriend Mike doesn’t get a ton of screen time, but he gets a few laughs for being a dumb and oblivious asshole, so that’s cool.

Tony Hale plays Mayor Traske, Cassie’s dad and the current mayor of Salem. Earlier in the film, Hale plays the Mayor’s ancestor, a religious zealot who threatens to have Winifred’s sisters taken away if sixteen-year-old Winifred doesn’t agree to wed a man she doesn’t love. One would think that given that setup, the mayor, who shares his name with an a freaking X-Men villain, would end up being a bad guy, but surprisingly no, he’s actually portrayed as the nicest guy in town. He's a bit of a dork and plays the overprotective dad when he needs to, but it seems that the apple has fallen far from the ancestral tree in his case. Nice subversion.

The film adds a new character referred to only as The Witch Mother, a powerful witch who lives in the forbidden woods and preys on children. She’s the one who recognizes the Sanderson's power, gives Winnie her spell book and warns them of the dangers of the Magicae Maxima. I wish there was more of this character, but I also think that keeping her exposure to a minimum gave her an aura of mystery which works for a character like this. Gilbert, the owner of the magic shop that used to be the old Sanderson cottage is a fun character who gets a lot of laughs. As a kid, he witnessed the Sanderson Sisters last stand in the graveyard back in 1993. He believes that The Sanderson sisters were misunderstood in their time and now that they’re a local folk legend, he wants to resurrect them to show them how much people love them now. He didn’t count on them actually being as evil as the legends say and by that point, he’s already been conscripted into their service and is desperately trying to find a way to save his skin.

This brings us to the only other returning character in this film, Billy the Zombie. I’m glad Billy is back. Doug Jones is one of the most genuinely cool human beings working in Hollywood today and any time he pops up in a film, I’m happy to see him. Billy gets a bit more to do in this film and I’m here for it. Apparently, after the events of the first film, the spell that reanimated him never wore off, so he’s just been sitting in his grave trying to sleep for the past thirty years. He has this pretty entertaining subplot where he hangs out with Gilbert and despite Gilbert trying to use him to complete the spell (one of the ingredients for the Magicae Maxima is the head of a lover) they form this really sweet friendship that I really wish we got to see more of. We also learn that Billy was never Winnie’s lover. He kissed her once and instantly regretted it and Winnie blew the whole thing out of proportion, Winnie’s version of events being was what was recorded by history. I do appreciate that Gilbert promises to make sure the world knows Billy’s side of the story before he fades away. It’s a nice way for this character to meet his end.

Songs:

Sadly, none of the songs from the last movie make a comeback this time around. I wouldn’t have minded a reprise of I’ll Put a Spell on You and I definitely missed hearing Come Little Children this time around, but I also appreciate that the movie doesn’t repeat itself too much.

In terms of new stuff, the sisters give us a great rendition of Blondie’s One Way or Another at a Halloween carnival that leads to one of the coolest moments in the entire film, more on that in a second. We also get this wonderful scene when the witches are first resurrected when they suddenly and without warning break into a slightly altered version of Elton John’s The Bitch is Back called The Witches are Back and it is amazing. What’s especially awesome is that we get a reprise during the credits as we see the Sanderson Sisters performing it in a recording studio. Now, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that the Witches are dead by the end of the movie so… is this meant to be Hell? Is Hell a recording studio? Is Hell run by Suge Knight? Is Suge Knight The Devil, because that makes way too much sense.

Memorable Scenes:

I really like the scene at the beginning where the sisters come upon the Witch Mother in the woods. Everything about this character is incredibly cool and I love how she makes her entrance and instead of eating these three children, she instead recognizes their potential and passes on her spell book. I really do wish we got to learn about this character and what her deal was. It’s hinted that she’s still hanging around at the end of the film and a post credits scene teases a possible Hocus Pocus 3, so learning more about this character isn’t completely off the table yet.

After the Witches are resurrected, the children try to stall for time by convincing them that the souls of children can now be bought at a store, leading them to the biggest concentration of evil on the planet, Walgreens! As a former Walgreens employee, I find the implication that they bottle the souls of children and sell them for profit both amusing and sadly believable.

As I said, the One Way or Another scene leads to one of the coolest moments in the film. Like last time, The Sisters use the song to place the town under their spell and Winnie demands that they lead her to the mayor. What follows is truly awesome scene as an army of brainwashed zombie slaves dance through the streets of Salem as the sisters fly overhead. It’s honestly one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen and I loved every minute of it.

And finally, there’s the moment at the end where Winifred finally completes the Magicae Maxima and becomes the most powerful witch who ever lived. However, Winnie is the sort who agrees to the terms and conditions without reading them. See, in order to complete the spell, one must sacrifice what they love most and in the case of Winifred, that would be her sisters. Winnie is now all powerful, but Sarah and Mary fade away as a result, and, for the first time in her wicked life, Winifred shows her humanity. What good is power if it costs her the only two people her black heart has ever loved. And so, instead of laying waste to Salem, Winifred pleads with Becca, who has now fully come into her witch powers at this point, to reunite her with her sisters. And so, Becca reads the reunion spell which sends Winnie to the afterlife, a fate she accepts with dignity and grace. It’s a surprisingly powerful and emotional scene and Bette Midler handles it beautifully.

Story:

There seems to be a running theme of the importance of sisterhood, be those sisters by blood or by bond. The Witch Mother spared the lives of the Sanderson Sisters because she recognized shades of her lost coven in them. Becca and Cassie eventually learn the importance of their own bond, and even a monster like Winifred cannot bare to go on living, even as the most powerful witch on earth, without her sisters at her side. There also seems to be a healthy dose of the old careful what you wish for chestnut. Winifred wanted to be all powerful, but in the end, that cost her what she held most dear. It’s not the strongest of metaphors, but it's pretty good nonetheless.

The Dark Disney Factor:

Honestly, beyond the fact that these witches want to eat children and murder everyone in Salem, this isn’t an especially dark movie, or at least none of the dark moments exceed anything we saw in the last film. I will say the scene where the sisters are first summoned is pretty creepy. We hear a few bars of come little children in the background as the earth shakes, the ground splits open and the sisters emerge from the shadows. It’s great.

Final Thoughts:

Was this movie as good as the original 1993 classic? No, but I believe it understands what made the original so great in the first place and builds on that as best it can. Give it a watch if anything I've said has appealed to you. In any case, that does it for our Halloween celebration. I hope you all enjoyed. Hopefully in November we'll be getting back to business as usual, but keep an eye out, we'll also be celebrating a milestone anniversary for a Disney classic sometime this month. Until then.