30 years after the original premiered, Hocus Pocus 2 hit television via the streaming service Disney+, starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy returning as Winnifred, Sarah, and Mary Sanderson, respectively. The film also features Doug Jones returning as lovable zombie Billy Butcherson, the former lover of Winnifred, who she later cursed. The film also features actors new to the world of Hocus Pocus, with Taylor Paige Henderson, Juju Brener, and Nina Kitchen as younger versions of the Sanderson Sisters. The film also features a new starring trio, Whitney Peak as Becca, Belissa Escobedo as Izzy, and Lilia Buckingham as Cassie.

The film focuses on the return of the Sanderson Sisters nearly 30 years after they were accidentally resurrected by Max (Omri Katz), in 1993. With them now being resurrected by Becca on her 16th birthday, with a candle made by Gilbert (Sam Richardson) the owner of the local magic shop, which was the old home of the Sanderson Sisters. The film also touches on how the Sanderson Sisters, specifically Winnifred, got their powers after being banished from Salem by Reverend Traske in 1653. The Sanderson sisters are now back in 2022, focused on finding Jefry Traske, the Mayor of Salem and Reverend Traske’s descendant, so they can use “the blood of their enemy” in a spell that will make them all-powerful, while Becca attempts to keep the Mayor safe while also trying to repair fraught relations with his daughter, Cassie.

Viewers have long anticipated this film, and it did not disappoint. The film is fun and humorous while also hitting a heavy nostalgia factor, taking us back to the original 1993 version that is so loved today.

The main event to me was the return of the three original actresses who played the Sanderson sisters. These three definitely balance each other out to create a likable and villainous bunch, with Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson having quite a few moments that caused me to laugh out loud in the middle of the movie. Something else I enjoyed was seeing the Sanderson sisters getting to explore more of the modern day, with them at one point in the film getting to explore and wreak havoc inside of a drugstore, and subsequently stealing and flying on various cleaning appliances, including a Swiffer and two Roombas.

Remakes and sequels are not things that Disney has shied away from, especially in recent years, with another Disney sequel, Disenchanted, premiering on Disney+ in November. On many occasions with Disney sequels, the plots have left something to be desired, constantly adding unnecessary peril to characters who were thought to have had their happily ever after, with most of these poorly made sequels going straight to DVD release in recent years. In addition, I felt that while the movie was visually incredible, the plot went too quickly and didn’t give the viewer much time to digest everything that was going on.

Many viewers also seemed disappointed by the little mention of the past 1993 movie, only having one or two scenes that brought the viewer back to that period and subsequently leaving out any word of the original trio from the movie. Including Omri Katz, who starred as Max in the 1993 version, expressing in an interview his disappointment that they were not at all mentioned in the 2022 sequel.

Overall, I think this movie is worth watching and getting excited about, being the best blend of nostalgia and humor, but also ingratiating itself into the modern day, making it a perfect movie for all audiences.