Random Movie Series Review - Hocus Pocus

Before we do today's post, I would like to pay tribute to an incredible actress who passed away this week. Angela Lansbury may not be a well known name to a few of you, but she was someone who did so much work and just kept going and going. She's appeared in a few Disney films and was one of the earliest of their witches, which kind of fits well into what I'm talking about today. She is well known for Murder She Wrote and more recently appeared in the first Nanny McPhee film and Mary Poppins Returns. My Dad is a big fan of hers, and she will be missed a great deal. Rest in Peace

Now onto today's review. Most people generally forget that nearly every single studio no matter how big or small, has had at least one cult hit in their huge library of films, TV shows and even some video games. In the music world, it can be known as One Hit Wonders when a band or artist has that one big hit song, but nothing else before or after it. With Disney recognizing that their 1993 film Hocus Pocus had a big fanbase (though that does speak true for many of their franchises), the film has been re-released a few times and despite being one year of its 30th anniversary, we get a sequel. In this day and age, this kind of film is best being seen on streaming platforms, and Disney certainly made that right call with the sequel here. But why on earth is a film about three over-the-top witches so darn popular, people often ask. Well I guess it's been able to help make Halloween more popular now than ever before, which in turn has given the original film it's cult status. So time to review both the original and the sequel and see if these ladies are worthy of being part of the Disney Villains club:

Hocus Pocus

In 1693, a teenage boy called Thackery Binx (played by Sean Murray), witnesses his younger sister Emily (played by Amanda Shepherd) being whisked away by a trio of witches known as the Sanderson Sisters (played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy). Binx attempts to save his sister, but is too late as her life is drained, which makes the witches young again. The sisters turn him into a black cat and curse him to forever live with the guilt of not saving his sister in time. The sisters are eventually found out of their crimes and are hanged, but not before setting up a spell that would resurrect them if certain conditions are met. Then in 1993, Max Dennison (played by Omri Katz) takes his younger sister Dani (played by Thora Birch) and his crush Allison Watts (played by Vinessa Shaw) out to do Trick or Treat. They stumble across the Sanderson cottage which had been turned into a museum that has since been abandoned and accidentally resurrect the sisters. With help from a familiar black cat, the trio of children/teenagers set out to bring an end to them before chaos starts happening. Having only learned of this film's existence by the internet, I can kind of see why it is popular. It's not a film to be taken seriously and, generally, people should watch it if you want to have a good time. It's silly, funny in areas, and definitely one best being seen at this time of year. Though some of the jokes can be a bit corny and so forth. But costume designs are neat so that's something. 7/10

2

The second film starts in 1653 where the young Sanderson sisters escape from being arrested by a church for defying an order to marry someone. They meet Mother Witch (played by Hannah Waddingham) who teaches them all the witchcraft and spells they would eventually come to use, including how to keep their appearances young. We then cut to 2022 where we meet Salem teenagers Becca (played by Whitney Peak) and Izzy (played by Belissa Escobedo) who are celebrating both Halloween and the former's sixteenth birthday. They are gifted a candle, which they eventually light and inadvertently resurrect the Sanderson sisters. Bent on revenge on what happened before, the two teenage girls try to outwit them, just as one of the sisters attempts a spell that Mother Witch warned them not to use, which could put Salem in disrepair. The second film, while slightly better than the original, is basically a nostalgia fest with some pretty good jokes and humour and fairly decent performances from all the actors and actresses involved. But it's not completely perfect as the plot is quite mediocre and again if you are going to take this film seriously, don't. It's really another silly film just for those that want to have a good time. 7/10

Not really the kind of films I would see all the time. But I do understand and appreciate the popularity of the Hocus Pocus films, even if I find them to be silly and a bit overwhelming on the jokes, the costumes and so forth. Definitely the kind of films anybody should consider watching at Halloween if you just want to have a good time. 7/10