{"id":25440,"date":"2022-09-29T10:12:27","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T17:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=25440"},"modified":"2022-09-29T10:12:27","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T17:12:27","slug":"hocus-pocus-2-conjures-up-a-few-laughs-but-doesnt-cast-the-same-spell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=25440","title":{"rendered":"HOCUS POCUS 2 Conjures Up a Few Laughs, But Doesn\u2019t Cast the Same Spell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 103 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This original movie will premiere September 30th<\/sup>\nexclusively on Disney+. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was 29 years ago that the original Disney chiller Hocus\nPocus<\/em> arrived at theaters. Frankly, it didn\u2019t make a big impression\ninitially, underperforming at the box office and drawing the ire of many\ncritics. However, the movie eventually found a devoted following through VHS\nrentals and numerous television airings. And it\u2019s easy to see why the film did\nbecome popular. The original is a fast-paced, fun and stylish effort that\nbenefits greatly from the comedic chops of its central antagonists. Hocus\nPocus 2<\/em> continues the story of a trio of witches who go on the rampage\nafter being resurrected from the dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Set in present-day Salem during Halloween, the story follows\nteenage outcasts and witchcraft enthusiasts Becca (Whitney Peak) and Izzy\n(Belissa Escobedo). Disappointed that their friend Cassie (Lilia Buckingham)\nhas joined the popular crowd at school, they decide to celebrate the holiday\nand Becca\u2019s birthday as a twosome. After visiting the Olde Salem Magic Shoppe\nfor supplies and greeting owner Gilbert (Sam Richardson), the pair decide to\ntry a spell out in the nearby woods and accidentally resurrect the Sanderson sisters.\nSpecifically, the sinister witches Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah\nJessica Parker) and Mary (Kathy Najimy). The trio immediately set out to get\nrevenge on descendants of the reverend who caused their deaths, focusing on\nMayor Traske (Tony Hale) and his daughter Cassie. The villains also set out to\ncast a spell that will grant them immortality and incredible power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shooting a follow-up to a beloved film after nearly three\ndecades is no easy feat and this effort takes a great deal of time to find its\nfooting. A lengthy flashback opens the tale, presenting the witches as\nchildren. Some of the details presented here are important to the story, but\nthis stiff section doesn\u2019t generate many laughs. There is plenty of set-up and\ncharacters to introduce early on which slow down the proceedings. Some of the\nnew arrivals, like the caramel-apple obsessed Mayor Traske and shop owner\nGilbert do earn a few chuckles, but quite some time passes before the central\nreturnees appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thankfully, when Winifred, Sarah and Mary are resurrected,\nthe film gets a dose of much needed comedic energy. They arrive singing and\ndancing (which results in a very funny comment from one teen) and as the story\nshifts focus to the witches adapting to modern day Salem, there is some entertaining\nmaterial. A trip to a local Walgreens delivers big laughs as the villainous\nSandersons literally sample beauty products and seek out updated supplies for\ntheir conquest of Salam. A trip back to their old abode also hits the mark. The\ngreat chemistry between Midler, Parker and Najimy from the first film is\nimmediately present and the gang picks up right where they left off, lighting\nup the screen with quips and slapstick actions at every opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the cast deliver laughs, the story itself isn\u2019t without problems. Some of the callbacks to the previous film are forced and clumsy (one even involves a clip from the original movie playing on a TV screen). And a subplot attempting to revise the history of the witches and present them in a more sympathetic light is an unnecessary one. Towards the close, one villain briefly offers advice and encouragement to the young female leads. One can see the three antagonists sticking up for each other. However, it\u2019s a bizarre sentiment from a character famous for murdering children in order to extend their own life. Sometimes, an antagonist doesn\u2019t need an extended backstory to soften them and can simply be a menacing and\/or darkly amusing force of darkness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hocus Pocus 2<\/em> is a mixed bag. It\u2019s a passable sequel,\nbut one that ultimately doesn\u2019t match its predecessor. The Sanderson sisters\nare still a lot of fun to watch and there are some rib-tickling moments when\nthey go on the rampage. Yet, there are just as many uncoordinated elements.\nMaybe I\u2019ll feel differently in another 29 years, but in the final analysis this\nfilm doesn\u2019t quite conjure up the same memorable mojo of the original. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 103 minutes This original movie will premiere September 30th exclusively on Disney+.  It was 29 years ago that the original Disney chiller Hocus Pocus arrived at theaters. Frankly, it didn\u2019t make a big impression initially, underperforming at the box office and drawing the ire of many critics. However, the movie eventually found a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[209,2498,2628,4660,5922,7283,9230,9231,9232,9233,11514,12400,17564,17662,18035,19380,23087,24228,24386],"class_list":["post-25440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-209","tag-belissa-escobedo","tag-bette-midler","tag-comedy","tag-disney","tag-family","tag-hocus-pocus-2","tag-hocus-pocus-2-film-review","tag-hocus-pocus-2-movie-review","tag-hocus-pocus-2-review","tag-kathy-najimy","tag-lilia-buckingham","tag-sam-richardson","tag-sarah-jessica-parker","tag-sequel","tag-supernatural","tag-tony-hale","tag-whitney-peak","tag-witches"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}