The problems I had with Hocus Pocus 2 (as a die-hard fan of the original)

Hocus pocus has become a must-have during the Halloween season, and now it’s available too Hocus Pocus 2I have a few issues with it as it didn’t live up to the greatness of the first film. In 1993, Kenny Ortega released the fantasy comedy Hocus pocuswho introduced the world to the Sanderson sisters: Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy) and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker). Although it received mixed reviews upon its initial release and did not perform well at the box office, Hocus pocus is now a cult classic thanks to its annual broadcast on Disney Channel.

On October 31, 1693, in Salem, Massachusetts, shortly before she and her sisters were hanged, Winifred cast a curse that would allow them to be resurrected during the full moon on All Saints’ Day if a virgin lit the black flame candle in her hut – and that’s exactly what happens 300 years later when Max Dennison lights the candle. To survive the night, the Sandersons must suck the life out of at least one child, and so it’s up to Max, his sister Dani, and his crush Allison to stop them. Almost 30 years later Hocus Pocus 2 was released, but it wasn’t the sequel I expected.

Hocus Pocus 2 recycled the story of the first film

The story of Hocus Pocus 2 has already been told

Hocus Pocus 2 was released on Disney+ in 2022 and was directed by Anne Fletcher. Hocus Pocus 2 brought audiences back to Salem to meet teenagers Becca (Whitney Peak) and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo). For Becca’s birthday, the friends plan a ritual in the forest and are given a candle by Gilbert (Sam Richardson), the owner of the Olde Salem Magic Shoppe. What Becca and Izzy don’t know is that the candle is the Black Flame candle.

Becca and Izzy accidentally resurrect the Sanderson Sisterswho are even more confused, but also more fascinated by the modern world. This time, instead of trying to suck the life out of the children, the Sandersons are driven by revenge and decide to cast the Magicae Maxima spell to eliminate the descendants of the reverend who tried to separate them when they were young, and to take revenge on everyone in modern Salem – and the spell will also make them the most powerful.

If the story of Hocus Pocus 2 Sounds familiar because it’s pretty much the same as the first film. Hocus Pocus 2 The film relies heavily on nostalgia, and while that doesn’t really bother me, it does if that’s the only thing the film has to offer. Hocus Pocus 2 even recycles some of the comedic Sandersons moments from the first filmsuch as their attempts to understand the modern world – the problem is that these don’t work 29 years later.

Hocus Pocus 2 also doesn’t add much to the stories of the Sandersons and Salem (And that’s an environment with a rich history that can be used in one Hocus pocus film, like the first one did), which leads me to another important thing that was done Hocus Pocus 2 It doesn’t quite work for me, even though it’s entertaining.

Hocus Pocus 2 left me with more questions about the Sanderson Sisters than answers

The Sanderson sisters’ past left many secrets

Hocus pocus did not go into the Sanderson Sisters’ backstory, only showing the moment they were caught after taking Emily Binx’s life force and turning her brother Thackery into a black cat, as well as their execution. Everything before that was a secret until then Hocus Pocus 2 arrived, which showed a very specific part of the Sanderson Sisters’ past. In Salem in 1653, Reverend Traske banished 16-year-old Winifred after she refused to marry John Pritchett, which was seen as a defiance of church authority.

Since that would have meant being separated from her sisters, Winnie, Mary and Sarah fled to a nearby forest where they met Mother Witch. The latter gave Winifred a magic book (her beloved “bookmaker”) for her birthday, but warned her not to cast the spell Magicae Maxima, which makes the user omnipotent. Mother Witch also taught them how to stay young through children’s life force before she disappeared, after which the sisters used their new knowledge to curse Reverend Traske’s house.

That’s all Hocus Pocus 2 I revealed something about the Sandersons, but it only left me with more questions about their past. When I see the sisters all alone, I wonder what happened to their parents and what they did after they cursed Reverend Traske’s house. Also, If Winifred was banished, I wonder how the sisters managed to continue living in Salemin her now famous cottage, for many years to come. Although a third Hocus pocus Although the film is currently in development, it is unknown whether it will be able to answer all of these questions about the Sandersons’ past.

Hocus Pocus 2 is funny, but not scary enough

Hocus Pocus 2 has forgotten its roots

Disney isn’t a name you’d typically associate with scary content, as most of its content is family-friendly although Hocus pocus is also a film for all viewers, it is actually scarier than it seems. Hocus pocus There are moments so dark that if it had been released recently it would have been considered not particularly kid-friendly. However, Hocus pocus knew how to balance its scary elements with humor… but the sequel didn’t manage to do it.

Hocus Pocus 2 has many more comedic moments than Hocus pocus and is much less scary, and It wouldn’t bother me so much if these funny moments were better received. Many of them felt forced, and the performances were a bit over the top at times, and the moments that could have been used for scares were completely wasted – and that complaint leads to another, even bigger complaint I have Hocus Pocus 2.

Hocus Pocus 2 lost one of my favorite parts about the Sanderson Sisters: that they’re evil

The Sanderson sisters were very different and not for the better

In his change of tone towards more comedy, Hocus Pocus 2 took the evil away from the Sanderson sisters. Hocus pocus saw their true evil from the beginning when they lured Emily into their cabin to take away their life force. The Sandersons then turned Thackery into a black cat and continued to tease and taunt the residents of Salem as they awaited her death. After their resurrection, the Sandersons used music to distract the adults and cast a curse that would force them to dance until their death, all so that they could lure all of Salem’s children to their cabin to give them their life force take.

Hocus Pocus 2 has toned down the Sanderson Sisters a lotwhich makes them funnier, but without the evil that made them so entertaining in the first film. Even their plan to cast the Magicae Maxima spell was disappointing and didn’t feel like something the Sanderson Sisters from the first film would have done.

Giving the girls powers made Hocus Pocus 2’s story less special

It turned out that Izzy, Becca and Cassie were a coven of witches

A big difference between Hocus pocus and its sequel consists in the latter giving powers to its main characters – and contrary to what it might seem, which ultimately played against him. A big part of what was done Hocus pocus It was so important to me that Max, Dani and Allison were normal teenagers/kids (although I confess that I support the theory that Allison is a witch) who had to use their creativity and intelligence to find a way to stop the Sanderson Sisters. Hocus Pocus 2However, he skipped all that and took an easier route by making Becca a natural witch.

Towards the end Hocus Pocus 2, Becca, Izzy and Cassie form a circle and successfully cast the reunion spell for Winifred. Although I love films about witches and magic, I was disappointed at the time Hocus Pocus 2 made Becca a witch and also gave her friends powers, simply because it took away the bond that Max, Dani and Allison brought to the first film and showed that anyone could defeat evil if they were creative enough and had the right thing to do Support system had.

I wish the replacements of Max, Dani and Allison had been better

Becca, Izzy and Cassie didn’t do justice to the main characters of Hocus Pocus

This ties directly into the point above. Max, Dani and Allison were completely different (and there was even a significant age difference between Max and Dani), but they complemented each other perfectly, enough to find a way to save Salem’s children from the Sandersons. What ruined Izzy, Becca and Cassie in my opinion was the drama the former two had with the latterwho became estranged when she became popular and started dating a boy. It felt completely unnecessary and Hocus Pocus 2 It could have worked even better without it, since they still had to warn Cassie’s father about the Sandersons’ plans.

As much as Hocus Pocus 2 tried, Izzy, Becca and Cassie didn’t have the same chemistry as Max, Dani and Allisonwhich also made them weak main characters. Certainly this puts much more focus on the Sanderson sisters and they end up being the best characters in the film, albeit with the aforementioned changes that hurt the sisters. Hocus Pocus 2 is entertaining and such a nostalgic feast that it’s fun to watch, but it didn’t live up to my expectations after the first film was so good.

Hocus pocus

Hocus Pocus is a Disney multimedia franchise created by David Kirschner and Mick Garris. The franchise began with the 1993 film Hocus Pocus, which follows the town of Salem, Massachusetts during the resurrection of the Sanderson Sisters, three witches who gain their powers from the souls of children. A sequel followed in 2022 with multiple projects including a theme park attraction, a sequel novel adaptation, and more before ending the nearly twenty-year gap between films.

Created by

David Kirschner, Mick Garris

Pour

Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Jason Marsden, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Lilia Buckingham

Character(s)

Winifred Sanderson, Sarah Sanderson, Mary Sanderson