Aur-Side:
An Aurway Entertainment Review Series
Where you can get a first hand opinion of all things art and entertainment, from OUR side of the table.
HOCUS POCUS 2
It seems like it was just yesterday when the new school year was starting and summer was winding down to a close. Before we knew it, September flew by and spooky season rolled into town. Luckily, we have so much to keep us entertained during the first wave of holidays in the year’s end line-up. If you’re anything like me, this is your favorite time of the year. October is the time for us all to tap into our more magical selves and embrace our wildest fantasies while our favorite Halloween movies coax us through the month. We have our classics like Carrie, Practical Magic, The Halloweentown Series, and of course, everyone’s favorite witchy trio in Hocus Pocus. (Notably, these are all lighter halloween movies cause we don’t do gore over here… we see enough blood shared on the internet when unarmed black people are killed by the police… but that’s another article for another day!) This year, we have a few new flicks to add to the Halloween cue and I, for one, couldn’t wait another day to start knocking them down. And you know I had to start with the long awaited return of the Sanderson Sisters in Hocus Pocus 2! Buckle your broomsticks, friends, cause we’re going on a ride!
**I will try my best not to provide any dier spoilers but my suggestion is for you to watch the film for yourself first. Not that my opinion will sway your experience one way or another. But don’t suck your teeth or roll those eyes when you stumble across a detail you assume is significant. My goal is only to provide perspective as not only a storyteller but also a POC writer.**
Let’s start by acknowledging this: Hocus Pocus 2 was tastefully executed. I absolutely plan on watching it again and often, for Halloweens to come. Color me biased, but I am a Disney Kid through and through. Therefore, I know production value and story arch will not be lacking with a Disney film. (The machine is well oiled… if ain’t broke, don’t fix it!) The charm of a sequel like this one falls solely on how much information you know the audience has up front. The writer, Jen D’Angelo, was clever by starting at the origin point of the Sanderson Sisters becoming the witches they are now as children. It was the perfect way to draw us right back into the world and immediately gag at the little faces of the witches we love so much. (Perfectly casted and acted… these young stars deserve a spinoff for their performance). The parallel to how the original Hocus Pocus starts in what could be considered a flashback of sorts with old, withering hags sucking the life out of Emily Binx only to turn her older brother, Thackeray, into a black cat before getting hung by the town’s people… in case you needed a quick reminder of the original conflict. In this sequel, we see the true start of their journey placing an original aggressor in our site lines from the witches’ adolescence.
I had a feeling early on that this would foreshadow some ancestral reincarnation later on in the film... And naturally, I was correct! The only real way to justify a second coming of these 3 wacky witches would only be to destroy an enemy more pressing than teenagers. (See … no dier spoilers… yet.)
Speaking of teens, this story couldn’t happen without a virgin lighting the black flame candle to bring the sisters back to Salem in the first place. Of course, they had to raise the stakes by adding a few witches to the mix. Who doesn’t love the prospect of a witch gaining her powers on her 16th birthday!? (If you’ve never seen Beautiful Creatures (2013), consider this your recommendation). I can even appreciate the epic showdown between a new witch and a master spell caster… I’m working on my own spin on that tale, as a matter of fact!
But what I appreciate most about this 2022 approach to the story is the casting of its meddlesome kids and an unlikely meddlesome adult. Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, and Sam Richardson were a breath of fresh air as Becca, Izzy, and Gilbert The Great. One of the original movie's downfalls would be solely its lack of representation. Even as a child, I found it hard to believe there wasn’t one black child at Max Denison’s school… even in suburban Massachusetts. But as Hollywood has been notorious for whitewashing most cinematic experiences, I am relieved at Disney’s continued efforts in providing space for actors of color to star in roles and circumstances previously kept from them.(Though this film being led by Peak wouldn’t stir up nearly as much controversy as Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid set to hit theaters in May of 2023. But like I said before… another article for another day!)
Nonetheless, I was impressed to see young women of color be matched up against that of the icons that are Bette Middler, Kathy Negimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker… and as this is probably the last we’ll see of this franchise for another 30 years, (Spoiler) it was good to see the black girl win! Which reminds me, our favorite badass from Stranger Things, Priah Fergerson (Erica Sinclair), has a new Halloween movie out on Netflix with Marlon Wayans and Kelly Rowland. I don’t know about y’all, but my month is about to be poppin’ with melaninated magic! (I don’t care what Hollywood taught you…We don’t always run!)
All in all, I think this film paid a beautiful homage to the fans that have made it the cult classic it is while introducing a new generation to a fuller understanding of the journey that Winifred, Mary, and Sarah Sanderson endured. If I’m honest, I would say there were one too many musical moments for my liking… and I write musicals! But that is a quick overlook when reflecting on the full 1 hour and 47 mins full of laughs, gasps and almost tears. I mean, if I was Bette, I’d have them put 3 solos in for me as well!
Whether you’re drunk with Halloween spirit or just need an evening distraction, I suggest you check this one out! Get that Disney plus account… or borrow somebody’s login info! You won’t be disappointed… and if you are, you can always revert back to the classic and bury this one in the Disney vault! I genuinely enjoyed it… and these are my thoughts after my first watch. If there’s one thing I took away from my experience on this side of the table watching Hocus Pocus 2, it is this: In life and in magic, you always have a choice… and those choices always require a sacrifice.
Don’t sacrifice too much though! Especially your joy!
Have a Safe and Magical Halloween.
By Lawrence Dandridge
October 3rd, 2022
