Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2 has had ample opportunity to play on and improve scenes from the original film, including fixing a fun cut scene from the 1993 version. The original Hocus Pocus wasn’t a critical success when first released, but repeated releases around Halloween brought it back into the public eye, establishing it as a cult classic. The sequel to the original movie was announced in 2019, and producers took the opportunity to fill the sequel with plenty of callbacks and Easter eggs to the first Hocus Pocus movie.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
As in the original, Hocus Pocus 2 follows the Sanderson sisters, a coven of witches comprised of three sisters from the late 1600s. Among the cast of Hocus Pocus 2 are Bette Midler as Winifred, Kathy Najimy as Mary, and Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah. Once again, the sisters are resurrected due to a curse they cast at the time of their deaths, stipulating that if a virgin lights a black flame candle under a full moon on Halloween, they'd be returned to life. However, as in the original Hocus Pocus, while the sisters are quite accomplished in the arcane arts, they occasionally struggle to adapt to the modern world, especially when they have less than 12 hours to do so in each movie.
The culture clash between 1600s witches and the modern world has led to some of the most memorable scenes in both Hocus Pocus movies, such as the Sanderson sisters thinking paved asphalt is a black river and Mary making do with a vacuum and a hoverboard for flying instruments in Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2, respectively. However, the Sanderson sister witches’ origins and learning curve in the modern world in Hocus Pocus 2 provides an even stronger link to the original film by harkening back to a fun, deleted scene. In the 1993 film, the sisters were originally going to lure the children of Salem to them with magical candy, leading them to a grocery-store trip much like the Walgreens scenes in Hocus Pocus 2, including the sisters attempting to eat cosmetics. But ultimately, the magical candy was cut, and Sarah lured the children to the sisters with her song instead. Now, the only remains of the original 1993 grocery incident are a few scenes in old tv spots, but Hocus Pocus 2's Walgreens trip manages to fix the loss of the original fun scene.
Why Hocus Pocus Didn't Include The Supermarket Scene From The Trailer
Although the magical candy of the original Hocus Pocus could have led to several fun jokes as the sisters attempted to understand modern goods, ultimately, the changed storyline strengthened both the Sanderson sisters (beyond Winifred) and the film’s worldbuilding. Witches using magical candy as a lure might have had stronger ties to Halloween, but making Sarah the lure increased her contributions to her sisters plans beyond her role as the pretty face and comedic relief. Additionally, her magical song made for an interesting link to folklore around sirens and faeries, making the film feel a touch more mythic along with the comedy. This balance between fantasy and comedy added to the whimsy that’s granted Hocus Pocus such longevity.
Hocus Pocus 2’s ability to compare to the original (with scenes such as the one in Walgreens) is a nice nod to the continuity between the two films. It’s fun to see the slapstick comedy that helped make Hocus Pocus so popular make an appearance in the sequel, especially when the jokes have their roots back in the 1993 version. If further sequels are produced, audiences may see more unrealized scenes from the original movie.