Hocus Pocus

[pmas]

I really liked it, but I am easily pleased.

What was the deal with them continually talking about one of the girls mum's by first name: "Susan"? For a second I thought it was a nod to the original and the unknown point being one of the 3 were a daughter of one of the kids from the original, but then I remembered they were called Dani and Allison.

 

[Aiden]

This didn’t do it for me, girls. And that makes me so sad.

Why is everyone suddenly goofy, when the witches provided the sole camp-factor in the original? Where are the beautiful autumnal colors? Where’s the underlying hint of menace (murdered children, a book bound in human flesh, etc) that gave the original stakes? Why must everyone get a redemption arc these days? And where is my Thora Birch cameo!?

Bette, SJP and Kathy did the absolute best they could with the material, but they were really let down by the script and direction (that BLUE filter). This just felt like a cheap rehash - neutered of the wit, charm and heart that made the original an enduring seasonal classic. Needless to say I will not be rewatching every October, as I do with HP 1.

 

[Florencia.]

I just finished watching, and I really enjoyed it. It has a total different feeling to the OG, but I found it s worthy sequel. Mini Winnie was great, the new witch and her friends were cool, and seeing the 3 main characters again was fantastic, especially given how much fun they seemed to be having, and how much their chemistry remained after so many years. Of course seeing Billy was a treat too

There were a couple of loose ends in my opinion, or things they could've focused a little more on, but all in all, it was worth watching. I had fun

 

[MC54]

Post credit scene. Thoughts?

 

[Fabian]

The film is fun but PLEASE can froy gutierrez never act again?

 

[VitaminBee]

Someone said Young Winnie ate up her scenes… she truly did. Like… not a crumb left.

It really bothers me that not one person creatively thinks that a movie set on Halloween shouldn't be fluorescent blue. It's so generic and annoying. They even filmed in late October/November but all of the scenery just looks like basic set pieces. There's hardly any variation in the set-ups etc. I actually thought the cast, old and new, did a great job but the visuals were a let down.

This was my major issue with it. Watch the original one and the lighting was just so nicely done. This one used the same light for every scene. They sing on stage and it’s literally just the one yellow/orange light on them compared to the original film and they had blues, reds and greens.

 

[Cognitive Dissonance]

I’m so sad, this was a pile of shit.

I don’t know if SJP completely forgot how to play Sarah or they just gave her nothing to work with.

 

[Mynez]

Am I wrong or was there a moment where someone was watching the first movie? There was a TV showing the “Devil” and his wife with the curlers in her hair (who were also represented by people dressing up).

 

[TeamDorinda!!]

Sorry but the book sweating absolutely sent me and was worth the whole thing.

 

[TeamDorinda!!]

Am I wrong or was there a moment where someone was watching the first movie? There was a TV showing the “Devil” and his wife with the curlers in her hair (who were also represented by people dressing up).

Yes it was the original movie - I think it was a little nod to Garry and Penny Marshall who have both since passed.

 

[Rihanna UK]

Well I really loved this.

 

[Majora85]

There was just no sense of peril, urgency or darkness at all. I mean, within the first 15 minutes of the first movie the witches suck the life out of a young girl, turn her brother into a cat and then get hanged! To be honest the rest of the movie never really gets that dark again but it immediately tells the viewer that there are real stakes if the witches win.

Now I'm not going to claim that the first movie is a masterpiece because it had problems with the way it just seemed to make up countless rules as it went along to suit the plot and the fact that the witches' powers seem incredibly inconsistent (why is Winnie so sparing with her electricity powers when they're so powerful and she can conjure them seemingly at a whim? Why wasn't Sarah singing to lure children to them half the movie ago? Why is it they can turn a boy into a cat with little more than a rhyme but struggle to do nearly anything else?)

But despite all that it had a good balance of darkness, danger, jokes, campiness and kid-friendly drama/romance.

If the first movie doesn't really feel like a Disney movie at all, the biggest insult I can give the second movie is that it feels exactly like what you would expect from a Disney straight to streaming production in 2022. It's ugly, bland, undercooked, relies entirely too heavily on nostalgia to get by, and any interesting edges have been completely sanded off. I found the sequel simultaneously irritating and dull and definitely won't be watching it again.

 

[JamieHT]

Post credit scene. Thoughts?

First of all, they should’ve used my cat. Leaving it open to a sequel makes sense. They can always cut that scene.

 

[Shockbox]

Sorry but the book sweating absolutely sent me and was worth the whole thing.

I burst out laughing when that happened. So dumb that it was brilliant.

The more time I’ve had to think about the film, the more I think I liked it but also with the realisation that it wasn’t made for me. It is at its core a kids movie and for that reason, I think they’ve done a good job of it.

 

[MrJames]

I feel like, if nothing else, it was a great display of performance for the three ladies. They were as much of a riot as they were the first time.

 

[Florencia.]

I do wish that Sarah had been given more to play with. She did the best with what she got, but the script didn't really give her much to do

 

[bad karma]

I do think it’s important to remember that it’s a kids film and they have changed a lot since the original (especially Disney ones).

I completely understand why people wouldn’t enjoy it and I think this is a completely different movie, I really enjoyed it and will watch again but it’s characters I love in a modern movie.

 

[BTG]

Now I'm not going to claim that the first movie is a masterpiece because it had problems with the way it just seemed to make up countless rules as it went along to suit the plot and the fact that the witches' powers seem incredibly inconsistent (why is Winnie so sparing with her electricity powers when they're so powerful and she can conjure them seemingly at a whim? Why wasn't Sarah singing to lure children to them half the movie ago? Why is it they can turn a boy into a cat with little more than a rhyme but struggle to do nearly anything else?)

Funnily enough, there was an explanation for this in the movie and it’s part of a lot the deleted scenes that Disney refuse to release.

Originally, the witches made cursed candy that they handed out to the kids to put them into a trance, and then Sarah’s song lures them. There was a whole segment where they go to the supermarket to buy the ingredients to make them. Binx was going to find sweets in Emily’s bed in the first scene too but they cut it out.

Mary in the supermarket made it into a lot of the early trailers though.

 

[P'NutButter]

I wasn't expecting Billy Butcherson to look exactly the same!!! I nearly got emotional seeing him back! HOWEVER, he did not sound like that in the first film....

The ending was trite and awful and not having any of the three mains (non-witches) from the first film was a huge disappointment but it was a lot of fun and Sarah is still my favourite witch all these years later.

Also they should've sung 'I Put A Spell On You' again instead of the Blondie cover.

 

[MC54]

Has a studio version ever been released for this? This edit is pretty perfect.