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Issue: Spring 2022 (Sep-Nov)

Hocus Pocus 2 (2022) movie review

The Witches is Back

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Beaches; Hocus Pocus (1993); Sex In The City;
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Movie poster, Hocus Pocus 2; (c) 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc, Festivale film review
Movie poster, Hocus Pocus 2 (2022) (c) 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc; Festivale film review
We're back, witches.

Almost 30 years have passed and in Salem the legend of the Sanderson Sisters witches is alive and celebrated. Once again they are raised and they must navigate the contemporary world and the best the efforts of three local teenage girls to thwart them.

Flashback to Salem and the sixteenth birthday of Winifred Sanderson. The 'nice' people want to forcibly marry her off and teach her sisters the righteous way.

Now, all due respect to Douglas Adams, being 'forcibly married' isn't a punch line. It's church-sponsored assault of a particularly soul-destroying, heart-breaking kind. While we are enjoying a glimpse into witches living in Salem past, and delighting in the actresses playing the younger versions of the three sisters, HOCUS POCUS moves quickly over the truly hideous future that the girls face.

Yes, the girls are fighting and crying, but the pace pushes us towards the moment when three sisters become three powerful witches in a secluded part of a forest.

Cut to modern times. Decades after the Sanderson sisters were revived and went looking for teenage virgins, they have become icons with their own fan base. On Halloween teenagers travel through the streets dressed as the witches, and grown-up drag queens have a look-alike contest.

Hocus Pocus 2 movie still Belissa Escobedo, Whitney Peak & Lilia Buckingham; (c) 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc,; Festivale film review; 699x317

Hocus Pocus 2 movie still Belissa Escobedo, Whitney Peak & Lilia Buckingham; (c) 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc,; Festivale film review

On her sixteenth birthday, we have learnt, a witch comes into her power. Two teenage girls are about to celebrate a birthday while a third hovers around them, trying to join in (Belissa Escobedo, Whitney Peak & Lilia Buckingham). Thus we have a young adults coming-of-age story set up. There are the kids who go to parties and the kids who practise rituals. There are good friends and lost friends. There are those who are 'like us' and those who are 'other'.

HOCUS POCUS is a fun bit of film with lots for the adults and for the kids. It has to have musical numbers and the enthralled drag queens are a hoot.

Hocus Pocus 2 movie still, Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler & Sarah Jessica Parker; Festivale film review;699x317

Hocus Pocus 2 movie still, Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler & Sarah Jessica Parker; (c) 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc,; Festivale film review

Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker throw themselves into their roles, delighting in the physical comedy, and while they are clearly the baddies and our young heroines -- the heroines, there is a kinship.

Pointing out people's differences and saying they're weird IS making fun of them

Of course there's an idea behind the story. All the best stories have a point, and this one comes at the satisfying end of the film.

Yes, all the major players are women. If this is a horror chick flick, I'm glad that I'm not a bloke.

Great fun.

by Ali Kayn

08-Oct-2022

Ali Kayn, photograph courtesy of the author

Ali Kayn is a freelance photojournalist and the founding editor of Festivale Online Magazine. Festivale was founded in October, 1996 to provide mentorship to developing writers, an outlet for talented fans, and a test bed for software and hardware under review. She lives in Melbourne, Victoria with a garden full of birds.

Ali Kayn contributor page
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Due for Australian release 30 Sep, 2022 (2022-09-30)
For credits and official site details, see below
Search Festivale for more work by the film-makers below.

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Just the facts:

Title: Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
Written by: Jen D'Angelo & David Kirschner
Directed by: Anne Fletcher
Running time: 103 mins
Rating: PG

The Players: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Lilia Buckingham

Official website: https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/hocus-pocus-2/4Q5cWHlnVCun
IMDb entry

For scheduled release dates, see the coming attractions section.

For more information about this movie, check out the internet movie database.
For the latest additions to Festivale, check out the change history section.