Fans of Hocus Pocus got their wish 29 years later with the release of Hocus Pocus 2, but it's worth asking whether the sequel was worth the wait. The quality of a long-awaited sequel can be difficult to predict. Sometimes the layover ensures that the project only comes back when the story is worth telling, but others are cynical cash grabs that leave audiences wishing the filmmakers had left the characters in the past. In regard to Hocus Pocus 2, there are a few questions to answer, starting with why it took so long for Disney to make it.
For Hocus Pocus 2, the excitement for the return of the beloved Sanderson Sisters was always going to be balanced with Disney's growing reputation for recycling old IP to diminishing quality. Hocus Pocus 2 seemed like it would be a good candidate for avoiding this issue precisely because it wasn't a big hit when it was initially released. It didn't have a brand image it had to worry about upholding or characters with deeply established, intractable backstories to navigate. The filmmakers could be adventurous with the sequel's story. On paper, it looked like a recipe for success. Unfortunately, Hocus Pocus 2 wouldn't hold a candle to the beloved classic from 29 years prior.
Why Hocus Pocus 2 Took 29 Years to Release
The road map for sequels back in the early '90s was very different from the studio franchise format many films follow today. Depending on the metrics, Hocus Pocus was either a modest box office success or a flop, making only $45.4 million against a budget of $28 million. Those numbers are hardly enough to warrant a theatrical sequel and while Disney was certainly not above a television film for a second installment, it's unlikely any of the Sanderson Sister actresses would have been interested.
It wasn't until the early 2010s that the attitude toward the film began to change and Hocus Pocus grew extremely popular as a family holiday film. Bette Midler openly embraced her connection to the film, dressing as Winifred Sanderson while on tour in 2015. Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy both voiced interest in reprising their roles. Perhaps the strongest sign of its changing fortunes was that Disney began incorporating the Hocus Pocus IP into its live shows at Disney World in 2015. A reboot TV film was planned in 2017, but reactions clearly indicated to Disney that audiences didn't just want a new Hocus Pocus, they wanted one that continued the Sanderson witches' story. Then, Disney+ entered the picture. With the new streaming service, the proposition of Hocus Pocus 2 suddenly became much more attractive. The sequel was officially announced in 2019 as a Disney+ exclusive.
Why Hocus Pocus 2 Was Not Worth the Wait
The issues with Hocus Pocus 2 start from the very first scene. The film opens with a flashback to the early years of the Sanderson Sisters in the 1600s, when they have a fateful encounter with Hannah Waddingham's "Mother Witch" character and her magic book. This opening reveals the central issue with Hocus Pocus 2. The Sanderson Sisters are exactly the same now as when they were kids, and they'll always be this way. With no room for growth or change Midler, Parker, Najimy are given criminally little to work with, and their beloved characters feel tired and overly reliant on references to the original Hocus Pocus movie. This wasted opening also undercuts the heroes of the story: Becca, Izzy, and Cassie, three close friends whose own relationship is so underwritten that it's difficult to feel invested when they fret about their dwindling friendship. The movie didn't have anything new to say about the Sanderson Sisters, but was too afraid to make the story about anyone else.
The rest of the film continues to disappoint. In Hocus Pocus, the past and present are mirrored in Max and Thackery's joint goal of saving their young sisters. In Hocus Pocus 2, the various plot threads seem little interested in each other. Tony Hale as the descendant of the wickedly zealous Reverend Traske is a wonderful source of conflict that is abandoned before the final act. The hilarious Sam Richardson is horribly underused as Gilbert in Hocus Pocus 2. Doug Jones' Billy Butcherson is mostly just there for added nostalgia. In the end, it seems filmmakers were so preoccupied with if they could make Hocus Pocus 2 they forgot to consider why.
Hocus Pocus's legacy is unlikely to be affected by the existence of Hocus Pocus 2. Those that enjoyed it can add it to their holiday viewing schedule and those that didn't can write it off as a half-baked TV movie banking entirely on nostalgia. But for a film with as much heart as the original Hocus Pocus, it is hard to not look at Hocus Pocus 2 and recognize that it could have and should have been so much more. Maybe they can get it right in Hocus Pocus 3.