Hocus Pocus 2<\/em>, which uses a totally new creative team, leans hard into the original\u2019s most indulgent instincts by assuming that more goofs are the only<\/em> thing viewers want. The sequel doubles down on throwaway one-liners and songs, makes unfortunate choices for existing characters, and answers questions nobody had. At the same time, Hocus Pocus 2<\/em> ignores its new protagonists so profoundly that you may forget they\u2019re in the movie at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re set up with a flashback to 1600s Salem, where the young orphaned Sanderson Sisters are kicked out of town after Winifred (Taylor Henderson) refuses an arranged marriage set up for her by a stern puritan minister (Tony Hale) on her sixteenth birthday. The girls run away to the woods, where they encounter a witch (Hannah Waddingham) who recognizes Winifred\u2019s inherent powers and gives the teenager her famous sentient spellbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the present, we\u2019re introduced to best friends Becca (Whitney Peak) and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo), who like to hang around a magic shop owned by Sanderson enthusiast Gilbert (Sam Richardson). The girls are planning a ritual for Becca\u2019s sixteenth birthday, but are conflicted about including their friend Cassie (Lilia Buckingham), who they\u2019ve been on the outs with since she started dating jock Mike (Froy Gutierrez), who despite being the school bully, seems pretty nice if a bit dim. When Gilbert sneaks a black flame candle into the girls\u2019 shopping bag, the Sanderson Sisters are summoned, determined to get revenge on the town that shunned them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Anne Fletcher-directed update at least manages to get the cozy fall atmosphere part right\u2014in addition to gloomy historical Salem, the contemporary setting features a fun-looking Halloween carnival. Turning the Sanderson Sisters\u2019 former home into a combination magic shop and shrine is also a clever idea that nods to the original movie\u2019s fandom while also feeling plausible. Midler, Parker, and Najimy\u2019s chemistry remains lively as ever, even if it sometimes feels like they\u2019re repeating old jokes hoping they\u2019ll get the same response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sanderson Sisters only made up around half of the first movie, however. The remaining chunk belonged to its skeptical 90s teen protagonists, who had their own arcs and clearly defined relationships. The trio of friends this time around get no such treatment. Becca and Izzy are whiny and surprisingly clueless about magic and witchcraft for kids who hang out at a magic shop in a town famous for witches. Our only knowledge about their friendship and their lives are what we\u2019re told, rather than seeing those dynamics in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result is a script that feels like the most amateur fan fiction, and a film that\u2019s just barely better in quality than a turn-of-the-millennium Disney Channel Original Movie. Very little care seems to have gone into this sequel, other than a cursory watching of the 1993 movie and a checklist of what the studio thinks the original\u2019s fans liked the most. That money-grubbing cynicism takes what could have been a fun Halloween treat and makes it an empty, soulless trick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Hocus Pocus 2” streams Friday on Disney+<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hocus2-scaled-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nD+<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n