Review: ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ Is Just As Lazy And Boring As Its Predecessor

The sequel to Hocus Pocus is almost exactly the same as the first one. It is basically the same movie. This is correct. The project is only for adults who thought the first wacky-witches kid-friendly horror comedy was good when it was on the Disney Channel or Freeform over the last 10 years or so. I understand why some young people were drawn to the film. There was a time when films for kids and kids for adults were very different. The Disney movie with horny witches, horny teens and child murder was a little novel. In 1993, the critics were correct.

The movie is basically the same as the first one. They weren't interested in having fun with the idea of evil coming back after 29 years. The plot is the same as before. The three-star baddies return to life in modern times and stand around with each other. Their barbs and observations are not funny and their confusion over technology that existed in 1993 is not. The idea of three witches living in the modern world is inherently funny and entertaining. Scenes of characters reprising beats and lines that were organic the first time are just checking off boxes because it is a nostalgia driven sequel. There are a few amusing human characters this time.

Sam Richardson is a gifted and consistently funny comic actor who brings entertainment value as a gift shop owner with an interest in the legend of the Sanderson sisters. While the characters are mostly non-entities, I was amused by a dim-bulb boyfriend who realized that his girlfriend's friends didn't take being weird as a compliment. I agree that I appreciated the role reversal of the popular girl who felt ostracized from her peers. There is no explicit horror and no implicit lust making the film tame even by the standards of its predecessors. We used to be something else.

Anne Fletcher, who helmed much better films like Step Up, The Proposal and 27 Dresses, doesn't bring much to the table. It's not like the first film was Kenny Ortega's best, but it was at least somewhat unique alongside the likes of The Firm and Rising Sun. Kids 29 years ago said, "Let's go see Free Willy again!" The Space Jam principle is used in this example. Space Jam stood out as weird, quirky and unique in the late 1990s. There is no curve now that every movie is Space Jam.

Kathy Najimy reprises her role as one of the Sanderson sisters. There is only one thing to say about it. The current streaming war has turned films that used to be direct-to-DVD into critical pieces in an industry wide chess match. Space Jam: A New Legacy had $150 million worth of top-shelf animation and production values, which made it a must-succeed theatrical release. My son liked that movie on its own, but he and my other two kids were bored by the sequel. Hocus Pocus 2 is just as bad as the Disney sequel. It would be better if it were as good as Aladdin and the King of Thieves.