Hocus Pocus 2 fumbles the spell
The haphazard sequel can't seem to capture the magic of the original
Everyone from my generation loves The Incredibles (yes, this is a Hocus Pocus 2 review, but just bear with me). Its iconic characters and compelling narrative dominated our childhoods, and a potential sequel was often pined for, especially given the film’s open-ended conclusion suggesting further adventures with the superpowered Parrs. If social media is anything to go by, it was probably the most-wanted sequel next to Star Wars. By 2015, writer/director Brad Bird and Disney confirmed that the Incredibles would indeed be returning for the long-awaited sequel. Millennials rejoiced - “they’re finally coming back!” My circle of friends at the time could barely wait for this story to finally be continued. But then something strange happened: the sequel came out…and nobody cared. To be sure, people went to see it, grossing over $1 billion worldwide. But…so? Did the long-awaited sequel leave a comparable cultural footprint to the original? Absolutely not. I have a fairly good memory when it comes to this sort of thing, but I could not describe the plot to you even if you had a gun to my head. And those millennials who begged for a sequel? They never bring it up. The stuff of hopes and dreams came and went, fading into obscurity and irrelevance.
I make this observation to you for a few reasons, one of which being that I don’t have much to say about Anne Fletcher’s Hocus Pocus 2, and I gotta write something! But, more importantly, a similar phenomenon has taken place with this Disney+ exclusive sequel. Similar to The Incredibles, Hocus Pocus is fondly remembered by millennials - forever quotable, visually exciting, and enduringly campy, the original film is an October regular for anyone born after 1985. In contrast to The Incredibles, however, it is a cult classic, receiving neither the box office nor the critical response that the existence of its fan base would suggest. But Disney has decided to light the black candle yet again and resurrect this property 29 years later (seriously, they couldn’t wait one year to make it an even 30!?). But Disney has made a huge miscalculation - nostalgia will get people to watch, but not much else. In an era where online discourse is everything, Hocus Pocus 2 won’t inspire the same fervor that its predecessor managed.
The central question here is this: for what reason other than nostalgia is there to make a sequel to the original film? There were no loose ends left unexplored back in 1993, so major retcons are necessary to even make this story possible. If you’re curious as to how the Sanderson sisters could return after their demise, don’t hold your breath - the magic candle necessary for their return has melted, but luckily, a local expert…makes a new one? It’s all a pretty thin excuse to essentially just do the first film…again. A virgin lights the candle, and the Sanderson sisters appear, ready to wreak havoc on and take revenge against Salem. To be fair, the iconic trio is just as good as they were 30 years ago, particularly Bette Midler, as if she’s been practicing for the role all of this time. Their temporal displacement is as funny as always, watching them navigate the modern world, but…didn’t we do this already…and better? The film is overall less funny than the original, which felt like lightning in a bottle, as most cult classics do. Despite everyone’s best efforts, lightning rarely strikes the same place twice. Perhaps a sequel like this would have been more effective decades ago when home media was less accessible, but with the original film RIGHT there, do we really need a poor imitation?
If the film fails in recreating the magic of the original film, then perhaps it can serve as a companion or expansion of the original’s world and characters. Unfortunately, not much new is really done here to make that case. The major development is a bit more pathos for the Sanderson sisters - it turns out, the 17th-century witches were victims of the patriarchy (honestly, who wasn’t back then?), fleeing their village to avoid a forced marriage and discovering witchcraft. But this prologue barely influences the narrative or our understanding of these characters, save for the end when they are made slightly more sympathetic due to their shared bonds. None of these efforts are enough, leaving the new characters with the task of carrying most of the film. These more diverse additions to the roster are certainly interesting and welcome, but they often feel flat, their story feeling directionless. The original film’s main cast were nothing to write home about, but more time was spent developing their relationships and personalities, making revisiting the film every year feel like visiting old friends.
Hocus Pocus 2 is successful neither as replacement nor as a companion to the original film - its only triumph is its existence, as something that fans have blindly asked for and Disney has happily granted. But did we really think that a project like this would be any good? I am always skeptical of such endeavors, which regularly produce dull, lackluster, and uninspired content. The original film put a spell on children everywhere, but its follow-up highlights the curse of mediocrity that needs to be broken.
