Hocus Pocus 2 should make fans of all generations happy, paying tribute to the original and adding some gentle updating and some welcome diversity.
](/cast-and-crew/david-torres-jr)as Teacher [Ginger Minj ](/cast-and-crew/ginger-minj)as Drag Queen of Winifred Sanderson [Skyla Sousa ](/cast-and-crew/skyla-sousa)as Teen Winifred [Aiden Torres ](/cast-and-crew/aiden-torres)as Teen Mary [Emma Kaufman ](/cast-and-crew/emma-kaufman)as Teen Sarah [Ryan Rosenthal ](/cast-and-crew/ryan-rosenthal)as Glenn [Doug Jones](/cast-and-crew/doug-jones), the brilliant actor behind the creature in “ [The Shape of Water](/reviews/the-shape-of-water-2017)” and Abe in “Hellboy,” as the hapless zombie Billy Butcherson. Disney hit just the right spot between spooky and silly, with [Bette Midler](/cast-and-crew/bette-midler), [Sarah Jessica Parker](/cast-and-crew/sarah-jessica-parker), and [Kathy Najimy](/cast-and-crew/kathy-najimy) as a sort of witchy Three Stooges. The challenge for the sequel to a beloved film is maintaining enough of the original to make the fans happy without being too repetitive or confusing newcomers, and “Hocus Pocus 2” gets that just right. [Whitney Peak](/cast-and-crew/whitney-peak)) and Izzy ( [Belissa Escobedo](/cast-and-crew/belissa-escobedo)) are getting ready for their Halloween tradition, Becca’s birthday sleepover. The local clergyman, Reverend Traske (Tony Hale) has decided that since the Sanderson parents are dead, Winnie must marry a young man from the village and the younger girls will be sent to live with another family.
This makes sense. The project only exists to entice adults who convinced themselves that the first wacky-witches kid-friendly horror comedy was 'good, actually' ...
You’ll wish it were as good as Aladdin and the King of Thieves or Cinderella III: A Twist in Time. It’s not like the first film was Kenny Ortega’s finest hour (that would be, offhand, Michael Jackson This Is It, High School Musical 3 or Descendants 2), but it was at least somewhat unique alongside the likes of Jurassic Park, The Firm and Rising Sun. Otherwise, there’s no ‘there’ there, with (as expected) less explicit horror and no implicit lust making the film tame even by the standards of its predecessor. Anne Fletcher (who helmed much better films like Step Up, The Proposal and 27 Dresses) brings little to the table, although nobody wanted to use the protection of the IP to expand anyone’s horizons. And I will concede that I appreciated the role reversal of the popular girl (Lilia Buckingham) who feels ostracized from her previous peer group of less-popular kids (Whitney Peak and Belissa Escobedo). The critics were right in 1993, but I get the appeal.
The Sanderson sisters return, bringing the same spooky humor with some modern twists. ... From left, Kathy Najimy ...
In a slight retread of the first film’s plot, “Hocus Pocus 2” follows two present-day Salem teenagers, Becca and Izzy (Whitney Peak and Belissa Escobedo), who accidentally bring the witchy Sanderson sisters back to life while performing their yearly Halloween night ritual. Thankfully, with a cast rounded out by Doug Jones, Hannah Waddingham and Sam Richardson, the brew-haha’s aren’t solely concentrated in the three leads. [an initial negative reception](https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/16/movies/review-film-bette-midler-queen-witch-in-heavy-makeup.html) when it was released in 1993, the Halloween-themed comedy starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker as a trio of campy witch sisters gained a fan base through seasonal VHS rentals and repeated airings on ABC and the Disney Channel.
'Hocus Pocus 2,' starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson sisters, will be on Disney+ starting September 30.
[Hocus Pocus 2](https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=74968X1525078&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2Fmovies%2Fhocus-pocus-2%2F4Q5cWHlnVCun) [ page](https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=74968X1525078&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2Fmovies%2Fhocus-pocus-2%2F4Q5cWHlnVCun) on Disney+'s official site or stream it directly on the [Disney+ app](https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=74968X1525078&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapps.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fdisney%2Fid1446075923). [$7.99 per month or $79.99 per year](https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=74968X1525078&url=https%3A%2F%2Fhelp.disneyplus.com%2F). [Adrianna Freedman](/author/245093/Adrianna-Freedman)Editorial Assistant In addition, you can opt into the Disney Bundle (which includes Hulu and ESPN+) for [$13.99 per month](https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=74968X1525078&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2Fwelcome%2Fdisney-hulu-espn-bundle). And while you're at it, you should make watching the new film into a movie marathon, with a screening of [Hocus Pocus](https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=74968X1525078&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2Fmovies%2Fhocus-pocus%2F2iCcYcGrx7qD) as well. [Hocus Pocus](https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/a40116820/hocus-pocus-quotes/) debuted in theaters, fans have made the Halloween movie into a classic. There are multiple ways you can watch and stream Hocus Pocus 2. Here's what you need to know about watching Hocus Pocus 2 online: Hocus Pocus 2 will exclusively stream on Disney+. Now, it's up to a new set of teens to make sure they don't cause chaos again, all before dawn on All Hallow's Eve. Unfortunately, things don't go to plan, as they accidentally resurrect the Black Flame Candle and bring the Sanderson sisters back. Now, Disney is revealing what the trio of evil witches have been up to in [Hocus Pocus 2](https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a38135298/hocus-pocus-2-sequel-trailer-cast-release-date-news/), premiering on September 30.
The wait is almost over for the sequel to 1993 Hocus Pocus. Hocus Pocus 2 will see Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy and Bette Midler reprise the roles of ...
It will be available to stream on Disney+ from tomorrow. Hocus Pocus 2 will see Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy and Bette Midler reprise the roles of Winifred, Sarah, and Mary. The wait is almost over for the sequel to 1993 Hocus Pocus.
Disney's tame revival of the beloved Halloween classic offers a platform for Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy to have fun—but doesn't ...
When it was first released in 1993, the Halloween tale about three witchy sisters—played with panache by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker— ...
Though it doesn’t steer close to the campy magic of the original, that’s as good a reason as any to return to Salem. It’s probably the only way to tell the story in the modern age, though it may come as a disappointment to hardcore Hocus Pocus fans who miss the crass flavor of the original. If Hocus Pocus was a kid movie aimed at adults, Hocus Pocus 2 is a teen movie aimed squarely at tweens. Once they’re back, the sisters run amok, resuming their evil mission of stealing kid souls to stay youthful and alive forever. Directed by Anne Fletcher, the film brings us back to modern-day Salem, where the Sanderson sisters have gone from being a local legend to becoming a major commercial part of the town’s tapestry. When it was first released in 1993, the Halloween tale about three witchy sisters—played with panache by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker—stomping around modern-day Salem and trying to steal the souls of children was a critical and commercial misfire.
Startlingly magic-free belated sequel to witchy 1993 comedy wastefully reunites stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy.
The jokes – which include the Sanderson sisters riding around on Roombas – are heinous. ‘You have to experience it for yourself’](/culture/tv-radio/2022/09/24/revitalised-ray-darcy-revels-in-ploughing-pageantry/) I’ve the perfect sentence to sum up Irish identity](/culture/tv-radio/2022/09/23/patrick-freyne-intellectuals-you-can-stop-writing-ive-the-perfect-sentence-to-sum-up-irish-identity/) [‘It’s like a different planet,’ says an awestruck Ray D’Arcy.
Bette Midler returns with her child-killing sisters in a disappointingly flat follow-up that tries too hard to soften the villains.
So in Hocus Pocus 2, Hocus Pocus exists which begs too many questions to even begin trying to answer (I tried, got a migraine and promptly gave up). The dialogue is leaden with exposition, there are weird, indulgent musical sequences (that perhaps serve as a tease of the It’s a contemporary touch done with a heavy hand and is most discordant in the sugary finale as the tone swerves to moist-eyed emotion and the power of sisterhood, taking us so very far away from where we came from. [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://www.theguardian.com/film/sarah-jessica-parker) and Kathy Najimy) last showed up in Salem (why they didn’t wait for it to be a clean 30 is a mystery) and since then their legend has become commercialised and, for some, rewritten. It’s as tied to the day as bobbing for apples and being scared of teenagers, the kind of lived-in practice that happens without thinking about it, leading to huge, unquestioning pockets of affection, less for what it contains and more for what it represents. At times it feels more like an extended, if joke-free, SNL skit than a real movie, giving us the iconography we want but without any of the soul, propulsion or bare necessity we need to go with it, something that exists because it could rather than should.
We speak to an Oscar winner and a grime star this week, in the latest Backstage - the TV and film podcast from Sky News.
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) Claire Gregory is joined as usual by Stevie Wong, alongside Sky News' arts and entertainment reporter Chris Robertson, as they look at the latest news and reviews in the world of film and TV. We speak to an Oscar winner and a grime star this week, in the latest Backstage - the TV and film podcast from Sky News.
Andrew Scott and Bella Ramsey star in Lena Dunham's bracing look at life in medieval England, while the 90s cult classic gets the original Sanderson Sisters ...
[atmospheric drama](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/16/waves-review-drama-trey-edward-shults-peter-bradshaw). [2013 film](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/05/aint-them-bodies-saints-review), a delicate, Malick-esque love story. [sprightly comedy](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/sep/13/catherine-called-birdy-review-lena-dunhams-delightful-medieval-romp) by Lena Dunham focuses on Birdy (Bella Ramsey) as she narrates her life as a 14-year-old aristocrat in medieval England. The work was done by the staff of Gazeta Sporturilor, which is known mainly as a sports paper, and though there are many depressing aspects to the film’s revelations, it does proves the vital role independent journalism can play in an open society. The serious nature of their situation is balanced by the giddy newness of adventure; their offence gaining iconic status in the Black communities they pass through and are welcomed by. Bridges is as magnetic as ever as the lawman on the verge of retirement, but Pine and Foster also impress as the errant siblings.
Opinion has been mixed on the long-awaited sequel to the 1993 camp classic, which stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as three ...
"Putting a pointy hat on a pointy hat. [USA Today](https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2022/09/29/hocus-pocus-2-review-disney-sequel-does-sanderson-sisters-dirty/10442089002) opined in a particularly savage assessment of the family-friendly flick. Like witches clinging to life, it gets old." [New York Post](https://nypost.com/2022/09/29/hocus-pocus-2-review-a-pointless-and-unfunny-witch-sequel) critiqued. [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/movies/hocus-pocus-2-review.html) also gave the straight-to-streaming flick a positive review, saying: "It manages to capture the same hokey magic of the original while creatively updating its humour." [Variety](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/hocus-pocus-2-review-bette-midler-sarah-jessica-parker-1235387803) wrote.
The reboot of the cult classic boasts the original stars - Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy - and will serve as a dose of nostalgia for ...
"We all know that the Sanderson Sisters' story might not have ended when we turned to dust, nor did our shenanigans,” said Kathy Najimy, who plays Mary Sanderson in the beloved films. Wooden boards that groan under the weight of curious cats and cupboards filled with blood of owl and herb that’s red (and even a hair from Winifred’s head) await those who dare to explore the cottage’s dark corners. The Sanderson Sisters will host the time-worn cottage for an exclusive stay on October 20 for two guests, at only $31 (€31) (plus taxes and fees) a night in celebration of All Hallows’ Eve. “What better way to celebrate the season than to host guests at the trio’s historic haunt for a night they'll remember for years to come?" The reboot of the cult classic boasts the original stars - Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy - and will serve as a dose of nostalgia for original fans. The much-anticipated release of Hocus Pocus 2 is finally here and the spooky sequel to the 1990s classic is now streaming on Disney+.
The original film follows a trio of kids who work together to defeat the wickedly funny Sanderson sisters (played by Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah ...
In that respect, “Hocus Pocus 2” remains quite the same. While the sequel sweeps the issue a little more under the rug, the birds and the bees conversation still haunts Salem, and even pokes fun at the uncomfortable “what’s a virgin?” conversation many families were forced into after the first movie. We get a shortened version performed by the Mother Witch (played by “Ted Lasso’s” Hannah Waddingham). The new generation of Salem youths are a group of teen girls: Becca (Whitney Peak), Cassie (Lilia Buckingham) and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo). [I Put a Spell on You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCTbr3vjb6I),” as performed by Midler, Najimy and Parker. To achieve their immortality in the original “Hocus Pocus,” the Sanderson sisters require a virgin to light a candle. Though it didn’t do particularly well in theaters or with home sales, it found a second life on television: When Disney started to air the film on its own channel, and later on ABC Family, “a generation of millennials … In the not-too-distant future look for ‘Hocus Pocus’ in the rental-store bins, or as part of a Halloween ‘Trick or Treat’ package.” You’re going to put the leads of the first movie in the background and be satisfied? You’re not going to be satisfied, you’re going to be angry,” she explained. The original film follows a trio of kids who work together to defeat the wickedly funny Sanderson sisters (played by Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker) after accidentally bringing them back from the dead. The only thing millennials have been waiting longer for than affordable housing is a “Hocus Pocus” sequel.
The long-awaited sequel features the three Sanderson witches we've come to know and love, with the movie starring the same iconic actors from the original such ...
Here are the details on how to watch and where you can see Hocus Pocus 2 . At the moment, there is no free trial for the streaming service, so you will need to sign up if you’re not already a member. How to watch Hocus Pocus 2: where to watch the sequel
Surprisingly for a sequel based on a mediocre film, Hocus Pocus 2 is actually pretty fun.
With a lively, witty script by Jen D’Angelo, “Hocus Pocus 2” finds the Sanderson sisters Winifred (Midler), Sarah (Parker) and Mary (Najimy) unleashed on their present day town once more. Peak, who played Idris Elba’s daughter in “Molly’s Game,” is a standout. Midler, Parker and Najimy are all once again game to ham it up for the audience (and sometimes no one but themselves) with spells, songs and dances. So it was a pleasant surprise to find that “ This is not a testament to my taste at the time, when I thought “Grease 2” was one of the best movies ever, but more so indicative of the undeniable averageness of “Hocus Pocus.” I don’t think it was just me, either. Plus, there is the intro-to-camp factor of Parker, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy as singing sisters bent on eating children to preserve their youth.
29 years after the Sanderson sisters were last seen in Salem, a virgin, Becca (Whitney Peak), lights another black flame candle and releases them to cause ...
What’s more, between its prologue and post-credit sting, this manages to suffer from both prequelitis and sequelitis: introducing an unnecessary semi-sympathetic backstory to the Sandersons and hinting that the ending is really nothing of the sort. Both are increasingly tired tactics: not everything needs to be a franchise, and half the joy of the Sandersons is their unrepentant awfulness. Froy Gutierrez, as Cassie’s well-meaning but witness jock boyfriend, is a scene stealer when given the chance – but the film mostly splits its time between the high camp of the three sisters and the high stakes adventure for the young heroes, and that’s precisely what we’ve seen before. Things look promising in an opening prologue when Hannah Waddingham turns up as a sort of grand high witch, in flawless eye makeup and entirely in the campy spirit of the thing. That’s no fault of the supporting cast: Sam Richardson, as a magic shop with expert knowledge, brings an understated edge of sarkiness, and Tony Hale is fun as the town’s mayor. 29 years later, a belated sequel recreates exactly the same beats in ways that will delight fans but seem unlikely to win over anyone else.