Disney’s “Hocus Pocus” is likely one of the firm’s few true cult classics; after an preliminary unfavourable reception when it was launched 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 by seasonal VHS leases and repeated airings on ABC and the Disney Channel. And whereas its new sequel, “Hocus Pocus 2,” could also be a blatant try by Disney to proceed propping up its streaming platform Disney+ (the place the film has its debut), it manages to seize the identical hokey magic of the unique whereas creatively updating its humor.
In a slight retread of the primary movie’s plot, “Hocus Pocus 2” follows two present-day Salem youngsters, Becca and Izzy (Whitney Peak and Belissa Escobedo), who unintentionally carry the witchy Sanderson sisters again to life whereas performing their yearly Halloween evening ritual. (The teenagers’ curiosity in witchcraft and the occult is benign, a really 2022 element which may not have come throughout the identical approach 30 years in the past.) Excessive jinks ensue as the ladies race to cease the witches from kidnapping the city’s genial mayor (Tony Hale) and casting an immortality spell that will make them omnipotent, whereas additionally making amends with their former good friend, the mayor’s daughter, Cassie (Lilia Buckingham).
Anne Fletcher (“Step Up,” “The Proposal”) directs this sequel, however follows the identical goofy comedic strategy of the Kenny Ortega-directed first movie — specifically, how the sisters react to trendy innovations like robotic vacuums, Amazon’s Alexa and Walgreens. Even just a few meta-jokes nod to the Sanderson sisters’ reputation on the planet of drag. Fortunately, with a forged rounded out by Doug Jones, Hannah Waddingham and Sam Richardson, the brew-haha’s aren’t solely concentrated within the three leads.
Hocus Pocus 2
Rated PG. Working time: 1 hour 43 minutes. Watch on Disney+.