Hocus Pocus 2 review: The not-so-bewitching Disney+ film clarifies misunderstood legends and lore

Hocus Pocus 2 is Anne Fletcher's sequel to the 1993 film of the same name. It marks the return of the Sanderson sisters, who were unknowingly resurrected by teenagers. The movie is set against the background of the Salem witch hunts of 1693. However, unlike the prequel, Hocus Pocus 2 presented a background to witches, both literally and metaphorically.

Fletcher’s Hocus Pocus 2 rendered a fresh and progressive perspective on the lore of witches backed by sensible yet sporadic statements. But Fletcher ensured that the sequel did not stray from the essence of the 1993 film.

Despite the injection of a new narrative, Hocus Pocus 2 looks more like a moral science lesson packed in an almost 2-hour long film that wanted to jump onto the bandwagon of other timely films that have come to be branded progressive.

Featuring actors Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, who reprised their roles as the Salem Witches, namely Winifred “Winnie” Sanderson, Sarah Sanderson, and Mary Sanderson respectively, Hocus Pocus 2 premiered on Disney+ on Friday, September 30, 2022.

Continue reading for a detailed review of Hocus Pocus 2.

Hocus Pocus 2 review: The not-so-bewitching film just clarifies misunderstood legends and lore

Hocus Pocus 2 began with Salem in 1653, 16-year-old Winnie was banished from the village for declining to marry a man chosen by the Reverend. When Winnie called out the guy that was chosen as her match for berating her and calling her ugly, she was shut up. The Reverend said,

“Oh, it is true, he is quite odd. But how dare thou sayeth so?”

As another woman noted,

“She cannot speak that way to a man.”

Birthday girl Winnie was further humiliated after she revealed that she had shared a kiss with Billy Butcherson in the graveyard. Calling her naivete petulance, the Reverend banished Winnie from the village, and ordered that her sisters be taken in by another family that would set them “right.”

The first few minutes of the film are the only ones that add value to the content. The historical and systemic oppression of women (and later other genders) in the name of preventing “witchcraft” was the string that the Hocus Pocus franchise needed to connect itself with the audience and the world at large.

A woman who spoke her mind or was considered promiscuous was branded a witch. But a man’s similar actions were just reflections of his gender’s traits.

While berating a woman has always been considered normal, a similar treatment to a man is considered blasphemous. But one never asked what sentiments could erupt in a regular self-conscious 16-year-old teenager who is constantly called ugly to her face, and is pressured to get married because she is getting old.

Instead, Hocus Pocus 2 shifted to present-day Salem, where Becca was to celebrate her birthday with her friend Izzy. While the shift from a predominantly white lead cast to black and Latino actors being centripetal to the story might be seen as progressive, the motive is as hollow as a walnut.

Why Becca, Izzy, and Cassie? This question was never answered in the film. Becca, who seemed to be the primary character among the teens, hardly has any connection with Winnie, historically or spiritually. Even if there is one, it is not shown in the latest film.

The ire that a woman could develop for being berated for her looks and for having an opinion can destroy an entire village. Only someone who has undergone similar experiences can empathize with Winnie.

Hocus Pocus 2 compensated for the shallow 1993 prequel by inducting the history behind witches, and why only women can claim the infamous title, but left it there. Even though Gilbert (played by Sam Richardson) brought it up once when he said that the Sanderson sisters were misunderstood, Fletcher’s direction did not try to let him expand on it.

The sisters came across Mother Witch (essayed by Hannah Waddingham) in the forbidden forest who gave Winnie the one-eyed spellbook as a birthday present. Both films have proved Winnie’s reliance on the book, which apparently has more conscience than Winnie herself.

The film turned out to be self-contradictory after it pitted Becca and her friends against Winnie and her sisters. Becca and Winnie were hardly given any space to bond. It ended up being what it was not supposed to be about: good versus evil, pragmatism versus stupidity.

The only silver lining in Hocus Pocus 2 is the tiny scope of humanization that Winnie got towards the end.

A still from 'Hocus Pocus 2' (Image via IMDb)

There are a couple of surprises and hilarious moments in the film, but they all cater to the “happy-ending” narrative, or the need to stick to the genre of the original. This mentality could have sprouted from a space where such films are categorized as kids’ films, and thus, need to be served with as much morality and obscurity as possible.

Questions like why witches are said to eat children should have been answered in this film. Instead, it chose to stay close to the original, which is understandable, but not forgivable.

Is it only a coincidence that the hairdo of the three younger characters were in line with the three elder witches? Does it have to do anything with Izzy (Belissa Ecobedo) and Cassie’s (Lilia Buckingham) future dependence on Becca (Whitney Peak), or the three coming together?

These are some of the questions that Hocus Pocus 2 ended with. It is unclear if these qualify as cliff-hangers, but could make for potential sequels in the future.

Hocus Pocus 2 was a good opportunity lost by director Anne Fletcher and writer Jen D’Angelo.

The eldest cast shines in an otherwise lackluster film

Bette Midler’s performance as Winnie Sanderson is noteworthy. Midler was in her 40s when the first film was released. She is currently 76, and yet the transition from the prequel to the sequel is seamless. Taylor Paige Henderson, who essayed the younger Winnie, was equally marvelous and absorbed Midler's persona just as smoothly.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, as Sarah and Mary Sanderson respectively, were also splendid in assisting their elder sister. After a point when Sarah and Mary became independent of Winnie, it could have been interesting to see how things could have transpired between the sisters.