“Hocus Pocus 2” released on Disney+ on Sept. 30 and was a very anticipated release. This new film features the Sanderson sisters from the original but in the modern 2022 world. With Bette Midler as Winifred Sanderson, Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson and Kathy Najimay as Mary Sanderson; all reprising their roles from the original. 

The new film has the sisters being brought back by three young women by the names of Becca, Izzy and Cassie. The sisters are brought back on Halloween which is also Becca’s eighteenth birthday. Becca is played by Whitney Peak, Izzy is played by Belissa Escobedo and Cassie is played by Lilia Buckingham. Now the young girls, like the original, do not intentionally bring back the Sanderson sisters but were instead tricked into bringing them back by lighting another Black Flame Candle. This candle was given to them by Gilbert, the runner of the Sanderson sister museum, as a birthday present to Becca. The sisters are brought back and immediately start to wreak havoc with a similar goal as they had in the first film which is to be turned immortal so as to not disappear when the sun rises. 

This sequel features a bit more backstory on the sisters to make them seem less like evil witches and more like human girls that just got the short end of the stick. It shows more backstory into how the sisters got to the point where the first movie kicks off as well as showing how much they truly care for one another. 

“Hocus Pocus 2” shares the belly-aching comedy that the first film did with a little more humanization and feeling of sisterhood. It also features the same glorious music numbers as the first with a little modern twist.