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The nostalgia for “Hocus Pocus” has always been a mystery to me.
It’s nothing new for kids to love mediocre movies and bring that complex into adulthood, but when “Hocus Pocus” came out in the summer of 1993 (age 9, nearing third grade), I was in the right crowd, remember It’s not bad to live in it.
It doesn’t speak to my taste at the time, when I thought Grease 2 was one of the best movies ever made, but it speaks more of the undeniably average of Mischief. I also don’t think it’s just me. Aside from Sarah Jessica Parker’s “Amok! Amok! Amok!” into our vernacular, this isn’t a movie my peers are dying to watch again. What puzzles me, however, is that “Hocus Pocus” has become a thing over the years. My best guess is some combination of its relentless usability and lack of PG-rated Halloween content. Plus, there’s the camp introduction factor of Parker, Betty Midler, and Kathy Najimi, the singing sisters bent on eating kids to stay young.
Regardless, a direct Disney+ sequel made 30 years later seems like a cynical endeavor at best. Therefore, it was found that “prank 2It’s actually pretty fun. It’s the perfect Disney+ movie set in the valley of stars in Salem – perfect for seasonal entertainment that, for at least one night, can lift a family from endlessly rolling and indecisive rescued from bad luck.
With Jen D’Angelo’s vivid, witty script, “Hocus Pocus 2” finds Sanderson sisters Winifred (Midler), Sarah (Parker) and Mary (Najimi) once again making a splash in their current town . This time some curious teenage girls Becca (Whitney Peak) and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) accidentally resurrect them and then try to outsmart them where possible, leading to a funny sequence at the drugstore in which the always-futile Sandersons Sample the serum in the beauty area.
Midler, Parker and Najimi once again performed spells, songs and dances for audiences (sometimes with no one but themselves). But they’re just one part of this weird and funny brew, with well-rounded teen characters, and very strong comedy supporting casts, including Sam Richardson as the owner of the local mystery shop; Tony Hale as the mayor and the witch Priest in the Age of Judgment; Doug Jones is a “good zombie”. Hannah Waddingham from “Ted Lasso” also has a too-short cameo as another witch.
Of particular note are the three actors who played the younger Sanderson sisters, Taylor Henderson as Winifred and Nina Kitchen as Mary ) and Juju Journey Brener as Sarah, who brilliantly embody their adult counterparts in a brief origin story.
But at the heart of the film are the teenage girls who have their own problems beyond preventing the Sanderson sisters from becoming strong — Becca and Izzy are grappling with their third child, Cassie (Lilia Buckingham) divert their lives away from their amateur witch and her athlete boyfriend. Peak, who plays Idris Elba’s daughter in “Molly’s Game,” is a standout.
“Hocus Pocus 2,” directed by Anne Fletcher, is easy to pull off — though when the whole town dances to “One Way or Another,” you’re probably ready for the movie to go where it’s going. Still, it was a fun enough ride for an autumn evening.
“Hocus Pocus 2,” a Disney+ stream released Friday, was rated PG for “action, certain language, creepy/suggestive humor” by the Motion Picture Association of America. Run time: 104 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
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