No one expected that the American director Anne Fletcher would re-release the movie "Hocus Pocus 2", which was shown on the Disney platform on September 30, with its three stars (Bette Midler, Kathy Najemi and Sarah Jessica Parker) who appeared before the 29th. years in the first part of the movie.

The year 1993 witnessed the release of the fantasy family comedy "Hocus Pocus", directed by Kenny Ortega, based on the story of the same name by American writer Todd Strasser, and it did not receive the attention of critics, and did not win more than two awards and 11 nominations, despite It achieved revenues of more than 45 million dollars, against a budget of about 28 million, and despite being considered a classic ritual on “Halloween” for nearly 3 decades, and capturing the admiration of children from the millennial generation, and turning it into “a source of inspiration for about 21 of the most popular Halloween costumes.” According to Parade magazine.

The second part is "a smarter and more inspiring sequel, than the first movie was," according to critic Justin Chang, who expects "to spend a good time watching it", despite the controversy surrounding reactions, including what was published by "Today". (today), that one of the American mothers warned families about the film, saying, "It will unleash hell on your children, as it is based on witches who control the minds of young children, with spells they send on television."

From a classic story to a cultural icon

“The challenge for a well-loved sequel is to keep enough of the original film, to please the original fans, without boring repetitions that would bore new viewers,” says critic Neil Mino, who says the remake has done it just right. ;

"Celebrate the highlights of the first movie, like the great music, and some really funny moments."

In its first release in 1993, the film succeeded in transforming from a classic story of 3 witch sisters who were sentenced to death into a "cultural icon that was a phenomenon in TV shows and home video, and became an annual tradition for many families, and parents - who loved it in the nineties - shared the generation Next watch it.

The remake comes nearly 30 years later, and stars the same three funny witches, the Sanderson Sisters, Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy), and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker).

It's "a little bit nicer than the original, makes fans of all generations happy, adds some cute update, some welcome variety, and cuts out some violence," Mino says.

The cast from the first movie has included actor Doug Jones as Billy Bucherson with new additions including the powerful comedy, Reverend Trask (Tony Hill), magic shop owner Gilbert (Sam Richardson), and all-around magical power, Ted Lasso (Hannah Waddingham). ).

Girls cause the witches to return

After the opening overhead, referring to the first version of the film, we see the Sanderson sisters, young girls after the departure of their father and mother.

We see Reverend Trask (Tony Hill), who decides to marry Winnie (Bette Midler) to a young man in the village, and sends the rest of the young girls to live with another family.

But Winnie refuses, and she and her sisters flee to the Forbidden Forest, where they meet the very bright witch Hannah Waddingham, who presents them with a book of spells (a key element of the first film), encased in a human eyeball that appears to see.

Meanwhile, high school students Becca (Whitney Beck) and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) prepare to celebrate Halloween in conjunction with Becca's birthday, in the absence of their other friend Cassie (Lilia Buckingham), the daughter of the city's mayor and a descendant of this strict, full-on Reverend Trask. Lively, star Tony Hill once again played him.

Becca and Izzy love to experiment with magic and spend a lot of time in Gilbert's "magic shop" who gave them the black candle spell (a key element in the first movie as well), and although they are well aware of the legend of the Sanderson Sisters, and that virginity is a condition to activate the candle's power to bring back the witches, they Do not hesitate to activate it.

The Sanderson sisters return on Halloween night, when partygoers celebrate with bizarre costumes and tricks and deceptions. As in the first movie, the witches seek revenge on Reverend Trask, sucking up children's souls, for eternal youth.

The tyranny of nostalgia over objectivity

Art critic Benjamin Lee describes the remake of Hocus Pocus as "a disappointingly flat follow-up, in which Bette Midler returns with her two sisters to murder children, in an attempt to polish off the bad guys, in which nostalgia trumps objectivity".

While the three sisters were expelled in the first film, for being eccentrics who refuse to marry, follow the witch Hannah Wadingham, and seize the souls of youngsters, "the 2022 version of the film comes, classifying them as misunderstood extremists, in a strangely false falsification, arguing that they did not kill a single child this time." ".

"The Sanderson Sisters weren't sadistic, but evildoers who nourished and energized by absorbing the life force of children," says Benjamin Lee, who sees director Anne Fletcher's remake of "a contemporary twist, done with a heavy hand, that magic can be a force." Women's Editor.

After Benjamin Lee complained of having a migraine while trying to make sense of the remake of the movie, critic Brian Truitt adds to the criticism of the new version, saying, "Over time, you'll realize just how the trajectory of 'Hocuspocus 2' ended up being an unnecessary sequel. terribly, lacking any nostalgia-satisfying spell.”