Hocus Pocus 2 is a 2022 Urban Fantasy Horror Comedy film and the sequel to Hocus Pocus (1993). It is directed by Anne Fletcher (The Proposal) and written by Jen D'Angelo. It once again stars Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker as the Sanderson Sisters. Joining them are Doug Jones, who reprises his role as Billy Butcherson, and new cast members Whitney Peak, Lila Buckingham, Belissa Escobedo, Hannah Waddingham, Ginger Minj, Sam Richardson, and Tony Hale. The film released on Disney+ on September 30, 2022.

The film is set 29 years after the events of the original. The plot follows a trio of high school girls who unwittingly resurrect the trio of witches - again - and must stop them from wreaking havoc on Salem.

A third movie is currently in development, with Anne Fletcher and Jen D'Angelo returning as director and writer, respectively.

Previews: Teaser, Trailer, Clip

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Hocus Pocus 2 provides examples of:

• 11th-Hour Superpower: Becca discovers that she's also a witch near the climax of the film, allowing her to combat the Sandersons with her own magical powers. She shares her abilities with Cassie and Izzy, allowing the three of them to stand up to them together.
• Aborted Arc: Winnie gives up another attempt at making the life potion in favor of a more powerful and evil spell. In this case it's a Justified Trope as the Magicae Maxima spell is so powerful that it would render the need for the life potion null. Sure enough, when the spell's completed, Sarah notes that the Black Flame Candle's gone out yet they're still alive.
• Actor Allusion: Whitney Peak, who plays Becca in the film, previously appeared in the 2017 film Molly's Game as daughter of Idris Elba's attorney. In the film, she reads Arthur Miller's The Crucible, a play about the Salem Witch trials in which the prologue of the original film is set in.
• Age Lift: The movie starts in 1653, on Winifred's 16th birthday, which means she was born in 1637, which means, in 1693, she was only 56 years old. All three of the witches were old hags in 1693 before they sucked the life out of Emily Binx, so it wouldn't make sense for Winifred to only be 56 and her sisters even younger than that and look so elderly. On the other hand, being 56 in 1693 is bound to make you look older than being 56 in 2023.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Unlike the first movie, the deaths of the Sanderson Sisters are played more sympathetically this time around.
• All-Loving Hero: Despite everything that the witches had done to her and her friends, Becca is still willing to help Winnie out and allow her to reunite with her sisters.
• All Part of the Show: The Sandersons bewitch a crowd of people to dance until they find Jefry Traske. When they circle around him - while still dancing, mind you - he thinks it's some sort of Flash Mob and giddily joins in.
• All There in the Manual: The Sanderson Sisters share one father, who was a mortal apothecary.
• Almost Dead Guy: Winnie's death undoes her spell which was keeping Billy alive, but helpfully the spell wears off in the order of removing his mouth stitches and letting him die again at a slow enough pace for some last words with Gilbert.
• Ambiguously Evil: Averted in this film, where Mary herself is shown to be just as evil as her sisters, making it clear to children that, no matter if they worship the Sanderson Sisters or not, she will still end up killing and cooking them.
• And I Must Scream: Implied to be the case with Billy since he has been underground but awake since 1993.
• Animal Motifs: Partially averted here. The animal motif Mary has still remains as she still barks, sniffs out children, and stays close to Winifred. However, it's revealed that the sisters actually shared one mortal apothecary father.
• Armor-Piercing Question: "Art thou not coming with us?"
• Arranged Marriage: The prologue shows that a young Winnie was almost forced to be in one by Reverend Traske (who took it upon himself to arrange her marriage because her father had passed away) to a boy named John Pritchett. It's her refusal to go through with it that leads to her being banished from Salem.
• Artistic License – History: In the prologue sequence, Winifred says, "It's a Parlor Trick". While parlors have been around since the medieval period, the term "parlor trick" was not coined until 1855, 202 years after the prologue's 1653 setting.
• Ascended Extra: While it was nothing more than a sentient prop in the first film, this film fleshes out the Book's character a bit more. It displays resistance when Winnie attempts to read about Magicae Maxima, it instructs Gilbert on how to make a new Black Flame Candle, it's capable of switching allegiances between characters, and it even sheds a tear when its beloved ex-master disappears.
• Ascended Fanboy: Subverted. Gilbert has admired the Sanderson Sisters since he encountered them as a child in 1993. He became so obsessed that he built a store in their house and planned to resurrect them himself. When he finally meets them in the flesh, he immediately gets more than he bargained for when they threaten his life, and force him to gather the ingredients for Magicae Maxima.
• Audience? What Audience?: Spoofed. After Becca and Izzy revive the Sanderson sisters, they begin singing a song about their return, Izzy then asks whom they're performing for. While it appears the sisters are performing for the audience, Sarah then appears in front of Becca and Izzy and reveals they are actually performing for the two of them.
  Izzy: Who are they performing for?
  Sarah Sanderson: You.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: This movie reveals that during the Sanderson Sisters' childhood, they were quite close. Winnie didn't want Mary and Sarah taken away from her when she was banished from Salem. And in the end, Winnie realizes that becoming all-powerful isn't worth it when the price is losing her sisters.
• Bait-and-Switch: Powered by Magica, Winnie insults Mary and Sarah for indulging in the spoils. Just when it looks as though Mary and Sarah will use their new abilities to turn against their sister, they still remain loyal to her.
• Because I Said So: Mother Witch uses this reason to make the sisters promise not to use the Magicae Maxima spell, along with noting that Book likewise doesn't approve.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Mary becoming this is more explicit here, where she is clearly touched by a group of children dressing up like the sisters as "worship", but still makes it clear that it won't save them from being cooked and eaten. She especially plays it up when she stops Becca and Izzy from leaving, coming off as very threatening even as she doesn't drop her chummy demeanor.
• Big Beautiful Woman: Subverted here, as it is revealed that Mary has lost a bit of weight since her last resurrection.
• Big Damn Heroes: When the sisters are trapped and seem resigned to their fate, Mary’s enchanted roombas show up out of nowhere to vacuum up the circle of salt and free them.
• Big Eater: Mike's first line is him explaining why he is late saying he decided to have two breakfasts instead of one this morning.
• Big Fancy House: Reverend Traske has a fairly large house. The Sanderson sisters' first spell causes it to catch fire.
• Big Sister Bully: Deconstructed. Winnie's just as much a bully as she was in the original movie, but here it's finally acknowledged for the toxic trait that it is. Sarah and Mary discover they have just as much power as Winnie while casting the Magicae Maxima spell, and probably always did had Winnie been willing to share, but a single attempt to fight back is quickly undone the moment Winnie screams at Sarah to get back in line. It's only after Winnie completes the power enhancing spell that she realizes how badly she's abused Mary and Sarah when the two die as the spell's price. All the centuries of abusing and belittling Mary and Sarah finally come back to bite Winnie as she's left with all the power she's ever wanted, but realizes it's not worth losing her sisters.
• Big Sister Instinct: As a young girl (by which time she'd been Promoted to Parent), Winifred protects her sisters, Mary and Sarah, from attacks by the Mother Witch, pulling them to her and putting herself in front of them.
• Blatant Lies: Becca and Izzy quickly lie and say they are 40 when they realize the Sandersons intend to eat them. The sisters believe them, not out of stupidity, but because of their own experiences with de-aging magic.
• Blue Is Heroic: When Becca's magic manifests, it appears as a bright blue glow, contrasting with the green, red, and purple motifs of the Sandersons.
• Bookends: The film opens and closes with a witch speaking to three young girls in the Forbidden Wood. At the beginning, it's the Mother Witch and the Sandersons, and at the end, it's Winifred and Becca's group. Both witches tell the girls that they're lucky to have each other before parting ways.
• Bowdlerise: The soundtrack features the Sandersons performing a PG-Halloween version of Elton John's "The Bitch Is Back" titled "The Witches Are Back".
• Brick Joke: Winnie knocks out the lighting in the Walgreens after Becca's ruse is revealed. Much later, Traske complains that the Walgreens had no lights when he went there.
• Call-Back: Several to the first film:
  • The prologue once again takes us back to the 17th century, where we are shown the Origin Story for one of the main characters. In the previous film, it was Thackery Binx; here, it's the witches themselves.
  • As children, the three sisters engage in a calming circle following their escape into the woods.
  • Mother Witch lures the sisters by singing ‘Come Little Children’, which charms Sarah until Winifred snaps out of it and pulls her back. It can be inferred that this is where Sarah first learned the song, which she would later use to lure Emily Binx in 1693.
  • Gilbert sells Becca and Izzy a special candle for their Halloween ritual; it turns out to be none other than a Black Flame Candle. No points for guessing what happens after they light it...
  • A black cat similar to Thackery Binx appears, but it's just a regular feline owned by Gilbert. The witches believe that it's Binx at first and immediately try to kill it.
  • "I haven't lost my touch!" In the last movie, Winnie says this when she zaps Max with her powers. She repeats it here after magically locking the girls in the basement.
  • In one scene, Gilbert whistles a bit of "I Put a Spell on You".
  • A man at the festival asks the sisters if they are looking for the stage (in reference to the musical number from the first film). Winifred replies “Always.”
  • Sarah gleefully starts her "Amok, amok, amok" chant as the sisters fly into the night.
  Winifred: Stop that! Don't make me come over there with this broom.
  • Once again, the witches have to find substitutes for their brooms, with Mary ending up with something unorthodox (in this case a pair of Roombas).
  • The sisters once again enchant a crowd of people by performing a famous song; this time, it's "One Way or Another". Winifred also incorporates the spell from "I Put a Spell on You" into this song ("Ah say into pi, alpha maybe upendi...").
  • After getting trapped in a magic-inhibiting salt circle, Winifred checks for a magic force field by slamming Sarah into it. This hearkens back to when she pushed Sarah onto a road, thinking it was a black river.
  • The sisters get flashed with car headlights and mistake it for the sun again.
  • Several costumes that appear are call backs to costumes worn in the first movie. A man wearing a devil costume and woman in hair curlers and a robe save the mayor's spot in line, a woman in the bewitched crowd wears the same Madonna costume worn by Max and Dani's mom, and one of Becca's classmates wears the vampire costume worn by Max and Danni's father.
  • Mary calls Becca "Shish-ka-baby", which is what she called Dani back in the 90's.
  • As Sarah and Mary fade away, they say goodbye just as they did at the end of the first film.
  • The Mother Witch wears the same clothes Dani wears disguised as a witch.
  • Actually, the entire character of Mother Witch, which had been cryptically referenced to by the sisters in the first movie.
• Call-Forward:
  • When the young Sandersons read Book for the first time, they show interest in a cat transformation spell, the same one that was used to curse Thackery Binx decades later.
  • The Mother Witch's outfit consists of a red dress, a fringed cape, and a sun emblem. Dani would wear a very similar costume in the original film centuries later, implied to be based on the Mother Witch herself.
• The Cameo: Ginger Minj, Kornbread Jete, and Kahmora Hall appear as a trio of drag queens who enter a Sanderson Sister costume contest.
• Canon Discontinuity:
  • The movie ignores the book Hocus Pocus & The All-New Sequel, which says the Sanderson Sisters came from a family of witches, had a fourth sister who was a good witch, and came back to Salem in 2018.
  • It also ignores several things that were deleted from the original movie (such as the Sanderson Sisters being maternal half-sisters with different fathers).
  • It also ignores Walt Disney World's annual Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, where the Sandersons harness the Magic Kingdom's magic to come back for one night and throw the most villainous Halloween party ever, but that was probably inevitable on that one.
• Casting Gag:
  • In April 2021, it was announced that Anne Fletcher was replacing Adam Shankman in the role of director for this film, due to Shankman's commitments to another Disney+ project, Disenchanted. Oddly enough, Fletcher was originally attached to direct the film before the project was put on hold in the mid-2010's.
  • Hannah Waddingham had previously played not one, but two witches onstage: The Wicked Witch of the West and the Witch from Into the Woods.
• The Cavalry Arrives Late: At the end, Gilbert finally enters the fray to fight the witches - heroic pose and all - but finds that they're already gone. He doesn't mind though, since he didn't have a plan anyway.
• Character Development:
  • Winnie has had 29 years of additional damnation to mull over her defeat last time. She deftly avoids several mistakes she made in the first film:
    • She immediately binds a curse on the person claiming to worship her and have brought her back out of devotion (Gilbert for Dani).
    • A black cat hanging around is seen as an instant danger and they move to kill it (Cobweb for Binx).
    • Even though they don’t see through the ruse their initial contacts are pulling, they keep a much closer eye on them to prevent escape or treachery (Becca and Izzy for Max, Allison, and Dani).
    • She alters her plans to go for the win rather than hang onto a petty revenge (Traske for Dani).
  • In the end, Winnie finally learns the important lesson that has eluded her for 300 years. Life, no matter how long and filled with power, is worthless without the people you love.
  • Winnie told Max he is a fool to give his life for his sister's. Years later, and she gives her life to be with her sisters.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • The angelica leaves that Gilbert gives Becca and Izzy are later used after the Sandersons use magic to take away some stairs and trap the girls in their cottage dungeon. Since the leaves undo curses, the girls use them to make the stairs come back.
  • The pair of Roombas that Mary uses to fly; they show up just in time to vacuum up the circle of salt keeping the Sandersons imprisoned.
• Childhood Friends:
  • Izzy has known Becca since they were five years old, and they're still going strong.
  • Cassie had been best friends with Becca and Izzy since they were five, but in their teen years, they slowly started to drift apart due to Cassie having a boyfriend who's a jerk.
• Company Cross-References: Look closely at the crowd during "One Way or Another" and you'll see a lady dressed like Ursula the Sea Witch, another Disney character.
• Compelling Voice: Somewhat averted here. When Becca and Izzy convince the sisters that they can buy youth potions with children's souls already mixed in at the local Walgreens. Sarah is crestfallen that she won't be using her song, "Come Little Children". She states that she enjoyed the luring and that it was her only task. However she does to get to use this collectively with her sisters during the "One Way or Another" performance.
• Connected All Along: Not quite. When Gilbert was younger, about 29 years ago, when the Sanderson Sisters were first released, he was just a random kid out trick or treating who got bullied out of his Halloween candy by Jay and Ernie, but happen to witness the Sanderson Sisters flying overhead by chance, and got to witness (partially) their defeat. It lead to him developing a fascination with the legendary witches and causing him to be the one to orchestrate their release in the present.
• Continuity Nod:
  • While putting on a show in his shop, Gilbert retells the story of the Sandersons while the film cuts back to footage of the previous movie's prologue. He then recalls a time when a virgin lit the Black Flame Candle to bring them back... before advertising for his own stock of (fake) Black Flame Candles (now half-off for Halloween!).
  • Gilbert mentions that Halloween 1993 (the setting of the first movie) was not a great year for him due to two boys (Jay and Ernie) stealing his candy.
  • Through a flashback, we are shown the first movie's climax from another person's perspective: Gilbert's, who had been hiding behind a gravestone to watch the scene go down.
  • Winifred tells Becca, "Lay thy burden down. 'Tis unattractive to hold a grudge!" In the first film, Winnie held a serious grudge against Dani after she called her "ugly".
  • Mary mistakes Mayor Traske's car for a "small bus" in one scene. Buses are among the few modern things that the Sanderson Sisters actually know about, since they rode a bus in the first movie.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: In the original film, Max was a perfectly average teenage boy adjusting to life in Salem after moving from California, he was highly skeptical about the paranormal, and his primary relationships were with his younger sister Dani and his crush Allison. To go in a slightly different direction, this film features a pair of teenage girls as the co-protagonists; Becca and Izzy have also lived in Salem their entire lives, they're deeply interested in the paranormal, and their primary relationship is with their estranged former friend Cassie. All three girls also develop magical powers by the end of the movie, making them even less explicitly ordinary than Max and his friends.
• Create Your Own Villain: The Sanderson sisters became witches simply because Winifred refused a marriage arranged by Reverend Traske, who retaliated by forcibly removing the sisters from their home, separating Winifred from her two younger sisters, and banishing her from Salem. Thanks to a spider and the subsequent panic, the three escaped to the Forbidden Woods... and the rest is history.
• Creative Closing Credits: During the closing credits, the Sanderson Sisters are seen in a recording booth singing "The Witches Are Back".
• Damsel in Distress: Just like Dani in the first movie, Cassie gets captured by the witches in the third act. They need the blood of their enemy to cast Magicae Maxima, and since Cassie is a direct descendant of Reverend Traske, she's their closest source.
• Dance Party Ending: As the main credits roll, we're treated with the Sanderson Sisters' actresses singing and dancing to "The Witches are Back" in a recording studio. It's obviously not connected to the actual story, serving more as a fun and energetic closing sequence.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Magica Maxima is a spell that is supposed to give a witch ultimate power, but the sisters are forbidden by the Mother Witch from using it. This is because it takes away what a witch values most - in Winifred’s case, her sisters.
• Dangerous 16th Birthday: A witch's powers are unlocked once she reaches sixteen years of age. During the prologue, we learn that Winifred and her sisters were banished from Salem and received the spellbook on her sixteenth birthday. Finally, Becca's powers emerge on the eve of her sweet sixteen after summoning the Sanderson Sisters that night.
• Deal with the Devil: Averted in this film. The Sanderson Sisters do worship Satan, but they did not receive their powers from him. They were born with magic and it emerged on their sixteenth birthdays - as seen with Winifred in this film.
• Death's Hourglass: Winnie curses Gilbert to die when her hourglass runs out if he does not complete his task.
• Deconstruction: To the whole concept of the Draco in Leather Pants trope, as the town's obsession with the Sandersons is borderline unhealthy and Gilbert's biased view on them being misunderstood is what kicks off the whole plot.invoked
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: In the beginning of the movie, set in Salem 1653, Winnie is being forced to marry John Pritchett at the age of 16, which she refused. At the place and the time, this is seen as wrong by many.
• Didn't Think This Through: The Sandersons cast an elaborate song-spell on a crowd to make them find Mayor Traske. The horde of enchanted people start to dance their way across town in a group, making them almost completely useless. They do eventually track him down, but as the spell only said to find him without any further instruction on what to do with him, the spell breaks and the crowd wanders off in confusion.
• Died Happily Ever After: At the end of this film, Winifred is so desperate to be with Sarah and Mary again that she's perfectly fine with it when Becca reveals the reunion spell won't bring her sisters back, but rather, send Winifred to the afterlife with them. She even thanks Becca for it.
• Disproportionate Retribution:
  • Banishing the Sanderson sisters from their home and separating Winifred from her sisters after Winifred refused an arranged marriage from Reverend Traske—and taking the Lord's name in vain (twice)—is cruel. It is also justified, in a Deliberate Values Dissonance way, as this was considered perfectly acceptable - and was even comparatively merciful - as a punishment for such behavior in the 16-to-1700's.
  • It is also revealed that Billy Butcherson was never Winifred's lover. She's been obsessed with him since they were teenagers and they kissed once. In fact, Billy is greatly annoyed when he learns what everyone thinks happened.
• Distant Sequel: The movie is set 29 years after the events of the original film, by at which point, the Sanderson witches have become local legends within Salem, Massachusetts.
• The Dog Bites Back: Attempted and defied, eventually becoming a Negated Moment of Awesome. After receiving a boost thanks to the Magicae Maxima, Sarah and Mary discover that they now have powers as strong as Winifred's (and probably did the whole time if not for Winifred holding them back) and Sarah shocks Winifred.
  Winifred Sanderson: I beg your pardon?!
  Sarah Sanderson: I am not a fool. I am a good and loyal sister, and I expect to be seen as such!
  Mary Sanderson: Ooh, she laid it down! She's a good and loyal sister, she-
  Winifred Sanderson: SHUT UP AND GET GOING!
  Sarah Sanderson: Of course, Winnie, with pleasure. Posthaste as is your pleasure.
  Mary Sanderson: I apologize for her.
• A Dog Named "Dog": Kind of, Mary doesn't know what the Broomies really are. Mary is; however, clearly aware that they are some form of cleaning supplies comparable to a broom and are such dubbed broomies by her.
• Do Wrong, Right: Winnie scolds a witch at the festival passing out poisoned apples. You're not supposed to tell people they're poisoned.
• Draco in Leather Pants: In-universe, the sisters discover they now have fans despite being child-eating murderers. It's even because of a fan that they come back, as Gilbert made the new Black Flame Candle and tricked Becca and Izzy into taking it, so that the Sandersons would return.
• Dramatic Irony: At the end of the first movie, Winifred thought Max Dennison was a fool to sacrifice his life to save Dani. At the end of this movie, Winifred is horrified at the thought of her sisters being sacrificed for her benefit and allows herself to die to be with Mary and Sarah.
• Dumb Jock: Mike never studies for his classes, and Becca jokes about him getting lost on the way to the principal's office. Later on, the witches assume that he's the "village idiot" and scare him into leading them directly to the mayor.
• Dumbass Has a Point: Sarah makes a good point that would've probably saved her and her sisters from dying again, as she is the only one to try and argue against the Power Spell when she comments on how reluctant Book is to show it to Winifred, especially when it's shown the cost of the spell is her and Mary dying.
  Sarah: I don't think he cares for that spell.
• Earn Your Happy Ending:
  • At the end of the movie, as a result of showing grief over losing her sisters at the cost of the Magicae Maxima spell, Winnie is pardoned by Becca after she is defeated for real, and she gets to peacefully Go into the Light with Mary and Sarah.
  • The film reveals that Billy Butcherson never actually got to go "back to sleep" when he fell back into his grave. This film has him truly get to rest and pass on peacefully.
• The End... Or Is It?: As Becca, Cassie, and Izzy walk off into the night together, the Mother Witch - in her crow form - closely trails behind them. Meanwhile, a second Black Flame Candle is shown in Gilbert's shop, implying that the witches can still return in the future.
• Even Evil Has Standards: The Book is very much against casting Magicae Maxima, to the point it will close itself up when somebody attempts to look at casting it.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Winifred finds herself in this position in this film, casting a spell she's been warned against even though it will sacrifice what she values most, so long as it gives her the power she craves. Eventually subverted when she learns what that price truly is, and she willingly trades her power so she can be with her sisters, realizing she is truly nothing without them.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Gilbert’s plan to bring back the Sanderson Sisters backfires spectacularly.
• Exact Words:
  • The sisters command the bewitched crowd to hunt down Mayor Traske. They failed to specify they wanted him detained or otherwise delivered to them, so the spell breaks the second the crowd finds him and the sisters, being presently occupied, gain nothing from the effort.
  • The spell to reunite Winnie with her sisters mentions that they'll be together forever. When it doesn't seem to work at first, Becca clarifies that it doesn't bring them back, it sends her to where they are now.
• Exactly Exty Years Ago: Averted, despite being played straight in the first movie, where the sisters came back exactly 300 years after their death. Here, it has been 29 years after their second death, and the characters do not try to dance around it by stating it was roughly 30 years ago. It is always said that it was 29 years ago.
• Eye Awaken: As the girls cast their spell in the trailer, there is a shot of the eye on Winifred's spellbook opening.
• Fandom Nod: A LOT. Beyond the Sanderson Sisters' crazy fame in-universe being a nod to the success of the first movie (see Draco in Leather Pants above), the sequel also makes it clear that the LGBT+ Periphery Demographic is acknowledged, ranging from drag-queens appearing at the Sanderson Sisters costume contest, to Winifred spying on a same-sex couple watching the original movie in their living room.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: The Sanderson Sisters are three witches that have been dead since the 1600's. Just like in the original in which they had to adjust in the 1990's, they have to adjust to the 2020's.
• Flash Mob: When the horde of enchanted dancers finds Mayor Traske, he mistakes them for one and is having fun instead of fearing for his life.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Gilbert showing off the remains of the first Black Flame Candle indicates that he is much more than an average magic shop owner and was actually present for part of the events 29 years ago.
  • Like Winifred, Becca wears green clothes and has curly hair. She claims to feel a connection to the woods which is said to be sacred for witches. In the third act, she gains magical powers and becomes the Book's new owner, effectively becoming Winifred's (more heroic) successor.
  • Notice how Izzy's ponytail, maroon jacket, and plaid slacks give her a look that's subtly reminiscent of Mary? This indicates that she'll become Becca's right-hand woman in their newly-formed coven, i.e. the "Mary" to her "Winnie".
  • Cassie is conventionally pretty, slender, a bit of a party girl, and wears a purplish-pink T-shirt... hinting that she’ll be the "Sarah" of her peer group.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: As Winnie skims through Book's pages to read about Magicae Maxima, there's a clear (but quick) shot of the spell's warning in its entirety, which cautions the reader about its deadly price. Winnie skips past it because she's too impatient to read it all, and this comes back to bite her later in the film.
• Godzilla Threshold: Winnie decides to try the Magicae Maxima spell after the initial attempt at draining children for youth doesn't pan out, wanting a more permanent solution.
• Good Counterpart: Becca becomes one to Winifred. They both become witches at 16, but while Winnie immediately uses her newfound powers to wreck havoc on Salem, Becca uses hers to save it. It's not a coincidence that she also has curly hair, wears green, and sports a gold necklace with a round pendant.
• Go Out with a Smile: Winifred does this in this film, since she knows she'll be Together in Death with Sarah and Mary.
• Greater-Scope Villain: You thought Winifred was bad? The Mother Witch is the woman who mentored her. The Sandersons wouldn't have menaced all of Salem if it wasn't for the Mother Witch.
• Hate Sink: Sexist, demanding, and willing to banish teenage girls, the Reverend Traske is meant to be as unlikable as possible, making it all the more satisfying when the witches exact their revenge.
• Haunted Technology: Mary enchants a pair of Roombas as a replacement broom, which also seems to give them some degree of sentience.
• The Hecate Sisters: The Maiden, Mother, and Crone are referenced in Becca and Izzy's incantation.
• Heel–Face Turn:
  • Winifred accidentally sacrifices Sarah and Mary in order to gain stronger powers through a forbidden spell. When Winifred realizes her mistake, she painfully admits that her powers mean nothing without her sisters. Becca, the new protagonist and budding witch, takes pity on Winifred and undoes the spell allowing Winifred to be reunited with them. Grateful for Becca's kindness, Winifred sincerely thanks her and praises the friendship between Becca and her companions telling that they are lucky to have each other.
  • Following Winifred forcing it to let her cast the Magicae Maxima spell and the discovery that Becca is a witch, the Book chooses to serve her over Winifred.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Gilbert views the Sanderson Sisters as misguided souls forced into committing acts of evil. The truth is far, far from the thought.
• Hypocritical Humor: Winnie gets herself banished from Salem for her visceral reaction to the idea of marrying John Pritchett. When she loudly proclaims in front of the whole town that she won’t do it, a visibly relieved John says, “Thank God.” Winnie looks incensed at his aversion to marrying her.
• Identical Grandson: Mayor Traske and his ancestor, the Reverend Traske, are both played by Tony Hale. Justified since Jefry is the splitting image of his ancestor, the Reverend Traske.
• I'm a Humanitarian:
  • The Sanderson Sisters eating children is made more explicit in this film, in which the witches keep using the term "eat" when it comes to dealing with children - visibly in the sense of eating both their souls and bodies.
  • The Mother Witch eats children, just like her successors mentioned above.
• Innocent Awkward Question: When Gilbert is explaining to a crowd of people that lighting the candle to summon the Sanderson sisters only works if you're a virgin, a little boy asks what one is. Gilbert is about to define it and says, "A virgin is someone who has never..." but then chickens out and finishes, "...lit a candle."
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • Mike, Cassie's new boyfriend, is presented to the audience as a bully for making fun of Becca and Izzy for being into witches. It turns out he's actually a Nice Guy who had no idea that was how he was coming across. When he finds out, he's horrified. This is a Truth in Television for many real-life bullies.
  Mike: I thought I was just making conversation. I have so many people to apologize to.
  • Downplayed compared to Mike, but Cassie didn't realize that the reason Izzy and Becca don't like Mike is because they thought he was making fun of them. She thought they just didn't like the guy, refused to try and play nice, and then took it out on her.
• In the Blood: Considerably downplayed. Jefry Traske is nowhere near as cruel and despicable as his distant ancestor, the Reverend Traske, but his reactions to being delayed - and ultimately denied - a gourmet caramel apple and having to (in his own words) "[...] settle for a caramel-covered matzo ball from Walgreens" shows that he can act just as spoiled as the Reverend when he's really pushed.
• Irony: Winifred mocks her sisters, Mary and Sarah, just like mocking Max for giving up his life for Dani in the original film.
• It's All About Me: Reverend Traske, who ultimately started the whole mess, is an entitled, self-righteous, spoiled, misogynistic jerk and a fool.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • 16-year-old Winifred may be a brat, but she has every right to be angry and upset about being called "old" and to say no to an arranged marriage by misogynistic Reverend Traske; see also Deliberate Values Dissonance above.
  • Reverend Traske does concede to a fourteen year old Winnie's point that John Pritchett (the guy he arranged for her to marry) isn't much of a catch himself, noting his "oddness". He'll still try to force her to marry him, though.
• Jerkass Realization: Mike did not realize his comments to Becca and Izzy about them being weird girls who were into witchcraft were hurtful to them, seeing it as "making conversation". He feels remorseful when they tell him how it really made them feel.
• Jerk Jock: Cassie's boyfriend Mike is a downplayed version of this. While he’s a good boyfriend to her, he makes off-color comments about her friends.
• Joker Immunity: Gilbert creates a new black candle, which is lit by virgin Becca and Izzy on Halloween's full moon again. The Stinger reveals that there's another unlit black flame candle in storage, ensuring that the Sanderson sisters will never truly die.
• Large Ham: Tony Hale wastes no energy when Reverend Traske is on screen.
  Reverend Traske: I BANISH THEE FROM SALEM!
• Last-Name Basis: We're never told Reverend Traske's first name. He's only referred to as "Traske" or "The Reverend".
• Last-Second Word Swap: The Mother Witch does this when she first meets the Sandersons.
  Mother Witch: Thou art different from the other children I have eat- met.
• Life Drinker: The Mother Witch maintains her immortality by stealing children's souls, something that the Sandersons would go on to do as adults. She nearly murders Sarah this way when they first meet until Winifred intervenes.
• Lighter and Softer: In comparison to the previous movie, most of the main characters are less mean-spirited and the virginity plot point is mentioned in passing. Even the Sanderson sisters are painted in a more sympathetic light as opposed to just being a force of pure evil.
• Literal-Minded: When the witches invade Mayor Traske's house, Winifred tells them to spread out. Sarah begins to do just that with a split, much to Winifred and Mary's shared annoyance.
• Logo Joke: The Disney Vanity Plate starts out the same as normal, perhaps a little brighter than usual, before it shifts - the music becomes ominous, the world becomes grey and cloudy, the castle is revealed to be a half-timbered building like those that existed during the Salem Witch trials, and the fields in front of the castle are now dense and overgrown woods. There isn't even a sparking arch over the castle.
• Made of Magic: As Becca lampshades, the resurrected Sanderson sisters are basically nothing but dark magic, so a circle of salt is like an impenetrable forcefield to them.
• Magic Harms Technology: Winifred casts a spell to trap Becca and Izzy in the magic shop’s cellar, making the stairs and trap door disappear. When they try to video-call Cassie for help, the spell mutes their speech and blacks out the camera, making her think Becca just butt-dialed her.
  Winifred: None shall see or hear thee shout, heed my words, there’s no way out!
• Meaningful Echo:
  • "You'll never know how precious she is until you lose her." The words of Thackery Binx ring true with Winnie when she finally realizes how valuable her sisters were.
  • During the prologue, the Mother Witch tells the young Sandersons, "Thou art lucky to have each other." At the end, Winnie shares this exact sentiment with Becca, Izzy, and Cassie before fading away.
• The Mentor: The Mother Witch introduces the Sandersons to the Book and the larger world of witchcraft. She becomes a figure the trio reveres.
• A Minor Kidroduction: The film opens with the Sanderson Sisters in their teen years, showing how they were first run out of Salem and how they obtained their spellbook.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Of all characters, it's Winifred's spell book, which ends up siding with the heroes after Winifred forced it to reveal the Power Spell despite it very clearly trying to prevent her from using it.
• Moody Trailer Cover Song: The music for the teaser trailer is a somber, instrumental version of Sarah's Come Little Children song from the first film.
• Muggle Best Friend: Downplayed; Izzy briefly becomes one to Becca after the latter unlocks her witch powers, but by the end, she herself is able to help Becca cast spells, meaning that she has the potential to become a witch too.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • Cassie's boyfriend Mike needs it spelled out by the girls that pointing out things that make people different, and then calling them weird for them, is not a good thing. He takes a moment to comprehend that he has a lot of people to apologize to.
  • After Winifred forces the Book to reveal Magicae Maxima against its will, the Book ends up going to Becca when she says it doesn't have to help Winnie. After the Book goes to Becca, Winifred at first screams a Big "NO!" before looking utterly heartbroken.
  • The ultimate spell has a price: to take away those whom you cherish the most. When Winnie finds out that Mary and Sarah are vanishing, she instantly regrets being a Big Sister Bully. Thankfully, this is reversed and she is soon reunited with them.
• Mysterious Past: Not much is revealed about the Mother Witch, though there are hints that she has lost her coven (possibly after using Magicae Maxima) and is now operating alone.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The witches go shopping in a Walgreens, in a clear reference to a deleted scene from the original where the sisters go shopping in a grocery store for stuff to make the candy crows.
  • The candy crows themselves are alluded to when Winnie encounters a witch at the festival peddling poisoned apples (actually a regular apple dipped in black coating).
• Neat Freak: According to Mary, the Broomies are this, in fact the Sanderson sisters use this trait to escape from a salt circle that keeps them trapped.
  Mary Sanderson: Looky, my brooms. They hate this. Do you see this?
• Negated Moment of Awesome: After receiving their powers from the ultimate spell, Winnie calls Sarah a fool. Sarah, now confident and self-sufficient, declares herself a powerful witch until a second order from Winnie sends her into submission.
• New Superpower: After she and her sisters partially cast a spell known as the Magicae Maxima, Sarah and Mary's powers were increased enough to where she could project power from her fingertips in a form that resembles purple and reddish lightning, respectively.
• Nice Guy: Jefry Traske is generally a cheery and good-natured man. Even Becca and Izzy consider him "the sweetest man alive" and don't hold their fight with Cassie against him; in fact, they think he'd probably not be happy about Cassie ditching them if he knew.
• No Fair Cheating: Winifred sets a magic hourglass to count down to Gilbert's expiration unless he completes the task of gathering ingredients. Gilbert discovers to his frustration that physics are not on his side, because simply flipping the Sanderson hourglass does nothing to change the distribution of sand or buy him time. It always, impossibly, keeps the same level of sand draining to the lower portion no matter how many times it's flipped, with the progress of the sand timer totally undisturbed and Gilbert unable to delay it or trick the witches.
• Noodle Incident: When being told the Walgreens is lit by fluorescent lights, Winifred thinks Becca and Izzy are talking about another witch the sisters knew.
  Winifred: Fluorescents... you know, I think we knew her. I believe she was in the Paris Coven.
  Mary: She was a fierceful witch indeed.
  Winifred: Oh, such a lie.
• No Ontological Inertia: Winnie's ambiguous death also cancels out every spell she ever cast, allowing Billy to finally die.
• Not Evil, Just Misunderstood:
  • Gilbert thinks the Sanderson Sisters were evil because they had to be. He is very wrong.
  • Billy Butcherson tries to explain himself as a good zombie to Gilbert who was stereotyping him when they first met.
• Not Quite Dead: It took nearly three decades for someone (in this case, Becca and Izzy) to bring back the Sanderson Sisters from the dead again.
• Off with His Head!: Gilbert rips off Billy Butcherson's head as an ingredient for the Sanderson Sisters' Magicae Maxima spell.
• OOC Is Serious Business: As a result of the Magicae Maxima spell, Mary and Sarah not only have their powers boosted, but also their wits (in a sense). Sarah has a brief moment of standing up to Winnie by telling her that, as a so-far unfailingly loyal sister, she should be respected as such. Winnie's second order brings her down a peg. We also see Sarah and Mary's unhappy reactions to Winnie insulting them as "parasites" leeching off her while she herself proclaims to be the most powerful witch of all, but they still remain by her side.
• Parental Obliviousness: Jefry Traske hasn't picked up on the fact that Cassie is on bad terms with Izzy and Becca, despite the girls not having hung out in months. He also doesn't realize Cassie's throwing a party behind his back until he's told.
• Pet the Dog: The Mother Witch chose to spare the Sanderson Sisters upon realizing Winifred was a witch, and warned them off using Magicae Maxima. Granted, she didn't set the sisters on the best path...
• Power at a Price: The Magicae Maxima spell makes a witch all-powerful, but is such a forbidden spell that the sisters are warned by their predecessors never to use it. It turns out that the price for using it is that the caster will lose whatever they value most, in this case Winnie's sisters. Implicitly, the Mother Witch likely learned the same lesson the hard way, as she herself is alone when the sisters meet her.
• Precision F-Strike: When Mary compliments someone dressed like her, she drops the only profanity in the film.
  Mary: Damn, girl, we look foxy!
• Product Placement: The Sanderson sisters get their "brooms" (well, at least Winnie gets a broom from a display stand) from a Walgreens, with Sarah getting a Swiffer WetJet and Mary getting a pair of Roombas.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Exemplified with Sarah who, upon being told they sell potions made from "already demised children," she becomes crestfallen thinking she's now redundant since she liked luring kids to their deaths.
  Sarah: I delighted in the luring, 'twas my only job.
• Recursive Canon: At one point, Winnie passes the window of a house where two guys are watching the original Hocus Pocus (1993).
• Redeeming Replacement: Towards the end, it's implied that after Becca, Izzy and Cassie gained magic powers of their own and became the new owners of Book, their new coven will become this to the Sanderson sisters, using their magic to protect Salem while the Sandersons used theirs to terrorize it.
• Redemption Equals Death: Played with. After Winifred's hunger for power ends with Sarah and Mary being erased in front of her, she begs for the girls and Book to restore them. All they can do is send Winifred to where her sisters are, effectively killing her again. She ends up accepting it if it means being reunited with her sisters.
• Remember the New Guy?: Gilbert was apparently offside watching the final fight with the sisters at the end of the first movie. However, both his view and the protagonist's view of him had been misconstrued by his hiding spot, which would explain a few things.
• Retcon:
  • According to Allison in the first movie, the spell book was given to Winifred and her sisters by the Devil himself. Here, it was given to them by the Mother Witch, and it's implied that she rather than their literal birth mother was the "mother" mentioned by the sisters in the original film. Justified in that what Allison said was just a bit of lore passed down by superstitious villagers.
  • Due to the candy crow subplot from the first movie being axed, this is canonically the first time the witches have encountered a supermarket.
  • Similarly, here the Sanderson Sisters were born of the same father, who was the town apothecary but passed away before the prologue, while in the backstory intended for the original movie (but cut from the final picture) they were half-sisters born to a witch by different fathers, with Winifred's having been a warlock, Sarah's having been the village idiot and Mary's having been a dog, hence their very different appearances, and some of their quirks such as Mary's barks.
  • Billy reveals that his relationship with Winnie was a single kiss when they were children, rendering Binx's account of events (Billy was Winnie's lover who cheated on her with Sarah) moot. Turns out Winnie has been telling everyone that they were together for so long, everyone just believed it.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: The sisters decide that Becca and Izzy were lying to them about the beauty products in Walgreens being youth potions not because of common sense but because of seeing their own reflections distorted in a mirror and thinking the products have made them hideous.
• Salt Solution: A line of salt proves to be an outright force field so far as the Sandersons and their spells are concerned. But not for Mary’s Roombas.
• Sequel Hook: The heroes have now formed a coven and have Winnie's spell book, and they are seemingly being followed/watched over by Mother Witch. Oh, and there's another black flame candle, indicating that the Sandersons can, in fact, be summoned again.
• Series Continuity Error:
  • Gilbert states that as a child, he witnessed the climactic finale of the first movie, but in said film, all the children of Salem were under Sarah's trance at this point, marching towards the Sanderson cottage. Gilbert is clearly capable of performing magic and therefore, it's possible he may be immune, like the Sanderson Sisters.
  • In the original film, it was stated that the Devil himself gave Winifred the spellbook, but in this movie, it is a witch who gives it to her. However, it's likely that legends about how the sisters got the book are not factual, just the same as how people believe Billy Butcherson and Winifred were in a relationship despite having only kissed once as children.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: Jefry Traske's arc amounts to him trying to nab a caramel apple, finally getting said apple, and then losing it at the last minute. The poor guy has to settle for a cheap one from Walgreens.
• Shout-Out:
  • Reverend Traske could be one to Dark Shadows, where there was also a Reverend Trask, who was a Sinister Minister Witch Hunter with an Identical Grandson who was played by the same actor.
  • When Book tries to keep her from reading the instructions for the Magicae Maxima spell, Winnifred tells it, "Resistance is futile",
• Sinister Minister: Reverend Traske seems disturbingly keen on keeping women subservient, arranging marriages whether they like it or not, forcing them from their homes and separating loved ones when they refuse.
• Small Role, Big Impact:
  • Reverend Traske only appears in the film's prologue, but if it wasn't for his actions, the Sandersons would've never become witches in the first place.
  • The Mother Witch has only one scene (two if you count the ending), yet it's her influence that led to the emergence of Salem's most legendary witches.
• Start of Darkness: The Sanderson sisters becoming witches and all the mayhem and horror that followed all started because the eldest sister (rightfully) said "no" to an arranged marriage.
• Stealth Hi/Bye:
  • When Becca and Izzy think they can run as the sisters walk down the store aisle, they turn around only to find Mary standing right before them, seemingly having got there in seconds.
  • Sarah pulls one off at the beginning of the film. When the Sanderson Sisters are doing their "The Witches Are Back" musical number, Becca and Izzy are running away. Izzy asks, "Who are they performing for?" Sarah pops up and goes "You!"
• The Stinger: After the credits, we get a brief scene of Cobweb the cat pouncing around Gilbert's store. He reaches a shelf and rubs against a second Black Flame Candle, hinting at the Sandersons' return.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: After enchanting a crowd into dancing under their control, like in the first movie, the Sanderson Sisters order them to hunt down Salem's mayor, and as they fly off into what seems to be a grand and epic chase... we cut to the witches realizing that the people's constant dancing means they advance very slowly, frustrating them enough to pursue the hunt all by themselves. The crowd only succeed in their task because Traske ends up driving back to the event, whereupon they find him and then immediately disperse because the spell is complete.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Winnie's impatience with her sisters' incompetence is Played for Drama as part of her character development.
• Tagline:
  • "Back and more glorious than ever."
  • "A Wickedly Glorious Return."
• A Taste of Their Own Medicine: The young Sanderson Sisters are briefly enthralled by Mother Witch singing ‘Come Little Children’ - the very song they would use to lure children to their deaths. Sarah is affected more than the other two and walks towards the voice until Winifred snaps her out of it. Sarah being lured and almost killed by the song she would later use herself as an adult witch is a retroactive example of this trope.
• Teens Are Monsters: Once the adolescent Sandersons get their hands on Book, the first thing they do is burn down Reverend Traske's house in an act of revenge. Winnie also mentions in passing that they tried to kill his entire family, but they were too young and inexperienced.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Once Winnie tells Gilbert that he's been "rendered redundant", he braces for impact, knowing he's about to get zapped.
• Third-Party Peacekeeper: Izzy tries to intervene when Becca and Cassie get into an argument.
• Those Two Guys: There's two of the Broomies and they're always seen together.
• Time Skip: Set 29 years after its predecessor.
• Together in Death: Winifred Sanderson gives up her magic and allows Becca to kill her at the end of the film so she can be with her sisters again.
• Took a Level in Badass: Becca evolves from an everyday high school student to a magically powered novice witch.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Jefry Traske loves the caramel apples from Sandy's Candy Cauldron. He spends most of his screentime trying to get his hands on one.
• Uncertain Doom: What exactly happened to the Sanderson Sisters at the end? Did they die? Go to Hell? A different plane of existence? Can they return? Is it a happy ending for them or a bad one? Whatever the case, it is clearly on a higher level than their previous deaths, as it is actually able to undo the zombie curse placed on Billy Butcherson whereas the other deaths did not. A cut sequence from the ending would have shown them happily performing a stage act in Purgatory for a crowd of other dead people from various eras, but this was not filmed due to trouble with the budget for another huge crowd scene, an underworld set, and the gold costumes the sisters would have worn.
• Undeath Always Ends: Averted here. Despite the Sanderson Sisters' defeat and him returning to his grave, Billy Butcherson was never actually put back to sleep, meaning he's been laying on the ground for 29 years until Gilbert digs him up again. Played straight at the end, however.
• Undying Loyalty: The Book is reluctant to help Winifred cast the Magicae Maxima spell and sided with Becca for the mistress' good. When Winifred disappears for good to where her sisters are, the Book sheds a tear for her.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
  • The prologue reveals Reverend Traske is the one responsible for unleashing the Sandersons upon 1653 Salem. His misogyny and attempted forced marriage of Winifred drives the Sandersons into the Forbidden Forest and right into the path of Mother Witch — thereby setting off a chain of events that will culminate 40 years later.
  • Gilbert thinks the Sanderson Sisters are just misunderstood and only resorted to evil because they had to. He also thinks it would be cool to bring them back and tricks Becca and Izzy into lighting a black flame candle. He quickly comes to regret this when they throw Becca and Izzy in the dungeon and place a curse on him to do their bidding.
• Unwitting Pawn: Book taught Gilbert how to make a black flame candle so he'd revive the sisters.
• Vain Sorceress: Like the Sanderson Sisters later will, the Mother Witch feeds on the lives of children to keep herself young and, in her own words, "ridiculously beautiful".
• Villain of Another Story: The Mother Witch. While unexplained, something happened to her coven and now she has been flying around Salem for centuries, feeding on children in secret. She's still alive by the time of the modern day. It's been also implied that she had been feeding off of children long before the Sandersons have.
• Villain Song: The Sanderson Sisters get two this time around.
  • They briefly celebrate their resurrection with the song "The Witches Are Back", a cover of Elton John's "The Bitch Is Back". Their actresses sing a more complete version of "The Witches Are Back" in-character during the credits.
  • They enchant a crowd of people with a wicked rendition of Blondie's "One Way or Another", which they sing to hunt down Mayor Traske.
• Vocal Evolution:
  • Since this film was released nearly three decades after the original, it was inevitable that Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy's voices would lower with age. Midler's character voice has noticeably changed the most, as she speaks in a much deeper tone (which actually works in favor of Winifred's evil nature), in contrast to her much higher voice from the first film.
  • Since this film gives him even more dialogue compared to the original, Doug Jones' Cockney accent for Billy Butcherson is much more pronounced.
• Voice of Reason: Just like in the original, Mary serves as the one to suggest a "calming circle".
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • Mike disappears after Billy's headless body scares him away.
  • Mary’s "broomies" (the enchanted Roombas) never show up again after they cast the Maxima spell.
• Wild Teen Party: Cassie has a Halloween party at her house while her dad's at the festival. Downplayed, as nothing too crazy is seen - this is a Disney movie, after all. The wildest it ever gets is some loud music, and everyone's out by midnight thanks to her dad getting home early.
• Would Hurt a Child: Where do you think the Sanderson Sisters got their appetite for children from? The Mother Witch actually comes close to killing Sarah when they first meet until Winnie stops her.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: The girls trap the Sanderson Sisters in a circle of salt, but things go from bad to worse when Mayor Traske comes home, mildly upset that he did not get a candy apple from Sandy's and Mary's broomies come to the rescue by eating the salt. This leads to Cassie's kidnapping.
• You Are Too Late: The girls try to stop the Sanderson sisters from casting the spell once they realize the true cost of its use, but they arrive too late. This costs Winnie her sisters and her own life when she begs to undo her folly.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Once Gilbert has acquired the ingredients for the spell, Winnie declares him redundant and magically flings him away. Fortunately, this is a fairly lazy murder attempt and he comes out of it fine.
• Your Costume Needs Work: The Sandersons are roped into a costume contest based on themselves, and manage to lose to a trio of much younger ladies wearing "sexy" variants of their outfits.

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