A Look at Disney Halloween: Villains Profile: The Witch

Witches can be right

Before reading this entry consider that line for a good while.  Something I've been trying to convey throughout this month is that witches are human.  They are fallible and can make mistakes but we shouldn't always hold that against them. One of the biggest things that set witches apart from other monsters is that they're as I said human.  Or at least appear human, this idea is heavily explored in the Stephen Sondheim musical Into The Woods, which is a mash-up of fairy-tales and adds deeper meaning to these characters and asks what comes after happily ever after. The show premiered on Broadway in 1987 with Bernadette Peters originating the role. 

Other iconic actresses in the role include Mother Gothel's voice actress, Donna Murphy.  

This is a little humorous as The Witch is based on the Witch character from the original Rapunzel fairy tale.  However, the character of The Witch is a bit more complex and has more depth to her than one might expect.  She may be considered the villain but antagonist is perhaps a more appropriate word and I'll explain this as we go along.  In 2014,  Disney released a film adaption of Sondheim's musical and Meryl Streep took on the iconic role.  (Oh, I'll be doing something different and won't be giving the songs an individual section but attributing them to the sections that best suit the themes of this entry)

Actress


Meryl Streep

Streep is perhaps one of the more iconic actors that I've covered for this series as she's been acting since the '70s and I remembered reading that a lot of diehard fans of the musical weren't happy with this casting decision.  Now, if I recall correctly,  Streep up to this point in her career had only done other musical, the film adaption of the ABBA jukebox musical, Mamma Mia!.  I believe Streep was stronger here as The Witch and that is important to highlight as while Woods is an ensemble piece, The Witch has to carry a lot of the musical as her actions are what trigger the events of the story.  And while there have been better and more versatile ladies to play The Witch, for Rob Marshall's film adaption, Streep does a commendable job.


First Appearance


The Witch first appears during the 14-minute long prologue setting up all the characters.  We first get a sense of her with a line from The Baker.

It's the witch from next door.

It's a small line but it sets up how the fairy tale villagers are afraid of The Witch because they don't know her and well, she's different.  This is something I hope to explain more but the way the villagers treat The Witch harkens back to how those that were accused of witchcraft were treated when the trials were rampant.  A perfect example of this is the play, The Witch of Edmonton.  

In the village of Edmonton, Elizabeth Sawyer is derided by her neighbours. A poor and lonely old woman, she is ostracised, harassed and accused of being a witch.

I believe this idea is felt even more with the section dubbed the Witch's Rap.




The line that sells how The Witch had been shunned by how the villagers for me is how she describes what The Baker's Father did.

He was robbing me. Raping me

Obviously, when we see the word rape, our mind thinks of the horrific sexual action that people commit. And while The Baker's Father didn't sexually rape The Witch, she's not wrong if one looks at the other definition.

an act of plunder, violent seizure, or abuse; despoliation; violation

This idea speaks to how the character of The Witch was abused by those around her and as a result, was punished for their actions. This idea of The Witch being punished for others' actions and speaks to how complex and complicated all these characters in this story are.


Personality

Complicated and complex as I said is an apt way to describe this character.  And this is what fascinates me the most about this particular character.  She's not truly evil,  she just fears the outside world.

...rather than being truly evil, simply distrusts people and the world in general and tries to keep Rapunzel sheltered from it

While the character of The Witch isn't truly evil per se, there is still a sense of frightening yet sympathetic.  This is especially felt in her interactions with Rapunzel as she comes across as both a loving mother but also intimidating.  This is perhaps best exemplified during the song, Stay with Me that she sings to her daughter.




There is a sense of commanding and heartbreak in this number.  as she feels as though her heart has been betrayed by Rapunzel and guilts the young princess by calling herself old and ugly.  The line that really sells the evil and terrifying side of her is this.

I gave you protection and yet you disobeyed me.

This here speaks to the frightening nature of this character but there is also a sense of sorrow in her as she views herself as Rapunzel's mother and is heartbroken when her daughter runs off.






This highlights a key aspect of this musical that is the parent/child relationship and The Witch perhaps displays it the best because while she did take Rapunzel away from The Baker's Father, she did truly love the girl and wanted to do everything in her power to keep Rapunzel safe.  I know that I've been spending a lot of time on her relationship with Rapunzel here but that helps define The Witch's personality more than just saying that she's cold and vindictive.  This is a character that cannot be boiled down that easily and I think by looking at her most important relationship,  one can see why she's so fragile.


Motivation

You'll rightly note that I didn't use Grand Desire for this section and well, that's because it didn't feel right.  There are multiple things that we have to consider here.  The first being getting her youth and beauty back, which she does for a temporary while.

However,  this only goes so far and is one of the more shallow elements of this character.  Not saying being beautiful makes one shallow but there is more to her than that.   There is a key point that the movie changes regarding The Witch and the second act.  Spoilers for an old stage musical but...

Back in the enchanted kingdom, her madness sends her screaming and weeping through the woods, where she's eventually trampled to death by the Giant. And this all happens right in front of her mother.
In the film, there's no madness, no babies, and most importantly no death

Removing Rapunzel's death cuts part of the emotional weight that this character should have as to The Witch, Rapunzel was her world and would do anything to protect her from the outside world. As we saw with the song, Stay with Me.  Rapunzel's death when handled well can help to highlight the idea of hopelessness that The Witch is facing and how she does become the cold realist when characters start dying left and right.  Now Sondheim did write a new number that was ultimately cut for Streep's Witch that helps one to understand her hurt feelings when Rapunzel leaves with her Prince.




It includes a hint of the Witch's Lament.  I like this number because it shows how The Witch is trying to dupe herself into believing that she didn't actually lose the one thing/person she cared about. Again, killing off Rapunzel would have had more weight but this works to show how sympathetic this character to say compared to a Mother Gothel.  The Witch truly loves Rapunzel whereas Gothel put down the animated Rapunzel every chance she got with a line such as this.

Look in that mirror, I see a strong, confident, beautiful young lady. Oh look, you're here too

Her third goal is a sense of survival when The Giantess starts wreaking havoc throughout the village and can be felt with the opening line of Last Midnight.

Just give me the boy 

The villagers defend Jack (aka the boy) from The Witch but I think for some context, we need to look at the song that leads directly into Last Midnight





I remember when I first saw the movie, I talked with my mom about who was truly at fault.  And well, I think that's the wrong message to take from this story as everyone is seemingly at fault for the actions that have transpired here.


Demise


The Witch's demise or death if you wish to call it that is a bit weird.  But the words that she goes out on are a bit scathing and I love it.






The Witch here gives it to the villagers and in many regards, I look at some of the lyrics and it feels like the women that were accused of being witches channeling their anger into this character as a vessel to lash out at those that wronged them.  Look at this whole section here.

No, of course, what really matters is the blameSomeone you can blameFine, if that's the thing you enjoyPlacing the blameIf that's the aimGive me the blame

This is where we see The Witch being fed up and just tired of the blame game, which is perfect but the line that really sells the anger of The Witch and that works as the vessel that I was talking about can be seen here.

You're all liars and thieves

It's hard for me to not look at this line and think of how someone like Abigail Williams wrongly had so many killed because of her lies.

I cannot one hundred percent say for certain that was Sondheim and James Lapine were going for when writing for this particular character but it's hard for my brain to not think of this. This brings us to a larger point that I didn't know where to fit it.  Quite a few of the characters in this musical are both victims and the cause of someone else's pain.  This is very much true with The Witch, we've already she's a victim because of what The Baker's Father did all those years ago, even if it was well-intentioned for his wife.  Whereas she took their daughter in exchange because of what he did.   I apologize if this seems rambly but I do have a point here, it's something that I feel is key to bring up and works the best with this character.


The people that were accused of witchcraft were essentially victims of bullying and groupthink. If society had dubbed someone a woman, they would be ostracized and tortured in unspeakable ways  Taking us back to the play, The Witch of Edmonton, one can compare the "Your all liars and thieves."  to this particular line from the character of Elizabeth Sawyer.

Throw all their scandalous malice upon me?

Both of these lines, I feel can be looked at to show two witches that are fed up with the world around them and in the case of The Witch.   And this is why she basically takes herself out of the picture and leaves the villagers on their own to deal with The Giantess on their own.


Is The Witch a Good Villain?


Let's return to the lyric I opened this entry with.

Witches can be right 

Which brings us to another question, is The Witch a Villain?  Well, it's complicated as she does horrible things that trigger the events of the first act of the musical but she is just as much a victim as anyone else in this story.  Yes, she's antagonistic but...

. 








It almost feels like calling her a villain would be selling her short. Yes, this is called Villains Profile and I know this may seem like it's defeating the whole purpose of covering her on Villains Profile but let me explain.  When looking at someone at first glance and assuming they're a villain, we don't always see the human side of them.  Yes, most other villains I've covered for this series have been explicitly evil (except maybe Varian)  but The Witch is one of the more human characters that I've covered for this series.  And again, she is antagonistic and can be villainous but there is more to her than that.   Which makes her a great character and I guess that can make her a good villain because she's one that the audience can relate to and feel for.  I hope that you've enjoyed this rather unique entry for this Halloween series.  Peace!  

Halloween: Cauldronation Day (Sofia The First Episode Review)

We have looked at various types of witches throughout this month. The one type that we've not tackled too much are witches of the cute variety.  The idea of cute witches and child witch characters date back to characters such as Wendy the Good Little Witch from 1954. And now my beloved Sabrina has also appeared as a little witch (we've discussed the Animated Series in the past) as Little Sabrina. 

 




I bring these examples up to show that cute child witches are just as important to their adult counterparts, who often overshadows them. As the idea of witches is a good source of conjuring up the child's imagination and on the other aspect, it can also show that kids that witches like them will also go through struggles.


The Plot

That kinda sums it up.  Well okay, to elaborate some more,  Sofia is invited to her witch friend Lucinda's Cauldronation Day.  And there is a cute moment where Lucinda turns Sof's dress into a witch's dress.

We learn that this event is basically to prove that Lucinda is grown-up and a big witch, which she'll have to do by completing a spell and that'll make her a midnight witch.  I looked this up and it seems that instead of incorporating witch lore, this episode created it's own. And that's cool because the more that can be added to witch lore means the more that can with witch lore in the future.  However, the Cauldronation is really just a backdrop for what the episode is really about as Lucinda invited her best good witch friend and her best bad witch friend and these two do not get along.  And these two try to one-up each other all throughout Lucinda's big event and practically ruin everything.  From Indigo (the bad witch) sending Sof flying up in the air after getting jealous that Lucinda chose Sofia to help with a spell at the end of the night.

It all comes to a blow when the two girls get into another fight of the night and the broom lands into the potion that Lucinda was making and spills over and turns everyone into owls.

Sof has had enough of the two witches fighting and lays it out their that actions made Lucinda upset and ruined the night. Realizing this, they agree to work together and turn everyone back to normal. And the episode ends with the girls taking off on Lucinda's broom for a flight.

In all, a fun episode.

Characters

Sofia played by Ariel Winter

Sofia was fun in this episode as an observer to events that she's not familiar because as she put it.

I'm a princess in witch's clothing.

She may not have been who the episode was about but she was who we saw the story through and would do anything to help her friend to make this special night for perfect.


Lucinda voiced by  Merit Leighton

This was Lucinda's third appearance in the series and she's really calmed down since her first appearance.  Just listen to the song from her first episode to see how she has grown and changed.  This episode really brought out the best in her as you couldn't help but feel bad for her as her friend ruined what should have been a big night for her.


Supporting Characters


Indigo & Lily voiced by Brennley Faith Brown & Bailey Gambertoglio

These two were a little tiresome but I think that was part of the point of their characters to show that even though, you may not get along some, if they're a friend of one of your friends, you should give it a chance to try and see if there is any common ground.  They do get along after this episode as we do see them trick-or-treating with Sof and Lucinda in the final Halloween episode of the series.

Now, it was obvious that they couldn't stand each other but hey, they at least made the attempt for Lucinda.  I'm not expecting this from them but who knows.

Song


The Broomstick Dance







It's fun but really doesn't relate to the goings-on of the story but not every song needs to serve the story.  It's probably a fun song for a little kid's Halloween party though.



My Final Thoughts


Not a bad episode and one with a good message all around.  It's really fun and it was a nice change of pace to look at something the cuter side with witches. Peace!

Villains Profile: Evanora

Something that I have been highlighting throughout my look at witches is that they can often be used as boogeymen to scare children. And one of the most popular places this is seen within fairy tales.  This brings us to the world of Oz.  As Oz contains quite a few witches and in 2013, Sam Raimi directed an Oz prequel for Disney.  The history of Disney and Oz fascinating as it goes back a long way, you can read about it more here.   Of course, there have been Oz movies from Disney such as Return to Oz.  Which went for a darker tone than the MGM film that most people grew up on.  I'll admit that I went back and forth on whether or not to include that for this event but ultimately decided against it. With that outta the way, let's begin.


Actress

Rachel Weisz

Weisz in this role was quite scary and that was good. She embodied what Evanora was meant to be and showed a person that was evil, cold and calculating.  It also helped that you could that she played the character as though, she were the smartest person in Oz. And in some cases, that was true.


First Appearance


To quote her entry from the Villains Wiki.

Evanora first appears guarding the throne when her sister Theodora introduces Oscar Diggs, the fabled "wizard" to the throne room that previously belonged to her father and the king, who was supposedly murdered by the wicked witch Glinda

Even here, there is a sense of coldness to Evanora that she carries throughout the movie and as though, she has no emotion. And only runs on cunning awareness of how to dupe those around her.


Personality


This has been hinted at already but Evanora is very cruel, vindictive, cold and uncaring towards those around her including her younger sister.  After all, she was the one that turned her younger sister into the Wicked Witch of the West.





Only someone with no love in their heart would stoop this low.  Consider how true some people actually thought this to be of witches for a moment.  When people were scared of witches and accused of them any and everything just to get them out of the way,  they truly thought witches didn't have the capacity to love anyone. It's a heartbreaking thought but one that makes too much sense.  And we see it on display here with Evanora.



Grand Desire


Her grand desire is quite simple.  She wants to keep ruling Oz at any cost necessary and will do whatever it takes to hold onto this power that she has.  Which ties back into how underhanded and evil she is.  This is seen by how she lies about Glinda having killed the previous ruler when in reality she was the one that killed Glinda's father.


Lackey


Winged Baboons

The Winged Baboons that under the control of Evanora are just a take on the classic Ozian flying monkeys.

However, they look at more threatening here in Raimi's film as they are about to enter a war but the flying monkeys are still a scary idea and that is seen in how Evanora commands them.

That is just a chilling image that sends shivers down my spine.




Most Evil Deed


I feel that I hinted at this already but in my mind, it has to be her turning her sister into the Wicked Witch of the West.






Yes, her killing Glinda's father is pretty bad and I could go with that but I wanted to go with something that demonstrated her evilness in the movie.  And she did this under the guise of helping her sister when that couldn't be further from the case.  It's just so harrowing that she could do this and this set Theodora down on her path of evilness.


Demise


Evanora's demise is pretty cool as we get a witch fight between her and Glinda.  It was really fun to watch.

You think for a moment that she'll get the upper hand but that is not the case as observed with this.

Evanora, in a weakened state, tries to kill her with her magic, but realizes her magic pendant is gone, Glinda having accidentally broken it. Horrified, Evanora falls to the ground, and tries to crawl away. As she struggles, she turns into her true form. The real Evanora is revealed to be wrinkled, hag-like and ugly without her magic. Without regret, Glinda banishes her from Emerald City. In anger of her fall, Evanora attempts to lunge at Glinda as a final attack, but Glinda fires a beam that slams her out of the window. However, she is saved by her baboon minions, and swears revenge against Glinda and Oscar as she flies away with the remnants of her army.

The big thing to focus on here for me is her true appearance.

Her demise reveals her actual appearance is as ugly as her personality was throughout the whole movie.  And is quite frightening but fitting with who Evanora was as a person.  She had outer beauty but was a vile being through and through.


Is Evanora a Good Villain?


Honestly, I'd say that she is.  She's scary and you see how she'd stop at nothing to get what she wants.  She's quite different from the Sanderson Sisters as she comes across as an actual threat and you get the sense that it would be boneheaded to think of her as anything less than a threat.  Join me next time as we look at her younger sister...

Theodora

Halloween: Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel

Sequels are a fickle beast.  If the sequel strays too far from the original, fans could be disappointed that the sequel doesn't have the spirit of the original.  Copy the original and it could come off as derivative.  Sequels to cult classics are perhaps even harder, consider for a moment, the Rocky Horror sequel, Shock Treatment.   

While this movie is garnering a following in its own right now,  a movie like that was trying to recapture the spirit of RHPS but that's an uphill battle. I bring this up to highlight for years, there has been demand for a sequel to Hocus Pocus including from some of the people that were involved in the original film. And well, last year to celebrate the film's 25th anniversary,  a sequel did come out... in book form.

Not exactly what fans have wanted but it counts.  The book is actually divided up into two parts  Then & Now.  Then is a novelization of the original movie and since I've already reviewed the movie during this event, I'll be skipping straight to now to look at the sequel.


Author


A.W. Jantha

I think we're dealing with an author writing under a pen name because when I googled the author's name, the only result that popped up was this book.  Which is a little frustrating as someone that wants to give authors credit for their work in book reviews. So, that's a little awkward.



Cover

I really don't like this cover.  Other the silhouettes and the moon, there's nothing here that indicates Hocus Pocus to me.  Take a look at the original poster for the move for a moment.

This makes the movie look like a lot of fun and it is.  Whereas the silhouettes feel as though the cover artist is trying to cover up blank space just by using the faces.  It's no different than the covers for Serena Valentino's Disney Villains book series.

Covers like these are only interested in selling on the book on the character and not the story.  Good covers for books (even licensed books) should reflect the action of the story and give people reason to pick up the book beyond the character.  The covers for Leila Howland's Tangled Novels perfectly do this by showing actions of the character that make the person looking at the book curious about what is happening in the story.

Look at this cover,  it teases the city of Harmony Glen. It highlights the three main characters in an interesting action whereas the cover for this book is just boring.  Is this a thing for a YA novels? To have boring covers that don't give the reader an idea of what the story is about. 


Also, I don't have anywhere else to bring this up but why does the sequel not have a real title?  It's rather generic to call it, the All-New Sequel.  Even in the book, it's only referred to as Now.  Something simple like Hocus Pocus II would have solved this issue.


Narration


Man,  the narration in this book must've been confusing for anyone that read the novelization and the sequel unlike me.  You see the first half of the book is written in third-person past-tense narration whereas the sequel is written in a first-person present-tense narration from the point-of-view of Max and Allison's daughter., Poppy.  Except for when the witches enter and when Poppy and her friends aren't around as then it switches to third-person present-tense.   Thankfully, that's usually indicated with a scene break with symbols of stars like this.

*****

Also, personal thing here but I'm not the biggest fan of present-tense writing.   The week I started reading this book, we were discussing types of tenses in my creative writing class and there three main types,  Past, Present, and Future.  The last one is the least used style but let's just focus on Present-Tense for a moment.   What is it? 

In English Grammar, the Present Tense is used to talk about something that is going on now(currently) or that is true now and at any time.

It's a bit weird that I have an issue with this as I believe that a story should make a reader feel as though they're a part of the action but I dunno, something about this style of writing just feels unnatural compared to the traditional third-person past-tense or even what a first-person past-tense could provide.  According to some reviews of the book on Goodreads, this is now a trend in YA writing.  So, perhaps it was a demand from higher-ups to have the book be written this way.  However, if that is the case, then why isn't the novelization written in this style from Max's point-of-view.  Just an odd decision to have two different stories in this one book that don't share the same style of writing.   That is a really jarring thing to do.




The Plot


When reading this, I thought less of Hocus Pocus and more of those early 2000's direct-to-video Disney Cheapquels.

Now, it's not as bad as one of those but it does things that we have seen in cheapquels before especially The Little Mermaid II.  Seriously, I could not stop thinking of that movie while reading this book.   First off, this is a book that is a sequel to Hocus Pocus but as soon as The Sandersons return, Max, Allison, & Dani are sidelined for the entire story as they're sent to Hell and Dani really gets the short stick here.  Which is a shame because it seemed like they were setting her up to be the cool aunt.  Instead, this story focuses on the kids of the characters from the movie. Fine I guess but people do like the three protagonists.


Also, much like the movie, this film opens in a history class at the high school.  Fine sure but Max is the history teacher.

There was nothing that really indicated that Max would become a history teacher in the movie. Now yes,  that was one night in his life but it feels really outta left field but not as much as Jay, this guy

Being the high school principal.  Again...

Okay, so those are some minor things but they're odd.  What's the actual plot of this book?  That's easy, here's the answer.

It's Hocus Pocus all over again.   Max and Allison are now married and have become a bit paranoid about witches, ghosts, and superstitions, they have even forbidden their daughter from going to the Sanderson House.   And Allison sets up a party on Halloween to keep all the teenagers indoors so that the Sandersons don't get free but well, there's a girl that Poppy (Max and Allison's daughter) has a crush on and much like her father before her, she wants to impress her crush and her crush has an ouija board and wants to contact spirits inside The Sanderson House.  They do and that's where things go awry.


For the characters, for the book well...  Let's see, they sideline the characters that people care about.  Poppy's crush is a descendant of The Sandersons.  Okay, that's an odd decision but sure, whatever.  Oh, and there's a fourth Sanderson Sister that is a good witch.



I'm sorry but no.   Oh, and she was there the day that Emily died and tried to bring her back to life.

Fans know that this character didn't exist before this book and retconning it so, that's she had always been there made no sense. Just why?  I'll give the book this, the stakes do feel bigger but this is something that we will discuss The Sanderson Sisters felt off.  Also, I know I'm the Disney nerd but the Disney references in this book did not feel natural at all.  At one point, Poppy talks about her friend Travis drawing Iron Man on his tablet (yes, this counts as a Disney reference)  and at one point they pass a gaggle of six-year-olds dressed as Disney Princesses.

(I read this on my phone, so that was easy to capture)   Maybe, it's because of the style of writing that the "author" chose to use for this book and even though kids do dress as Disney characters on Halloween, nothing about felt authentic.   Again,  this is a hard issue to pinpoint and it's a personal one but it almost felt like I was being hit over the head with a reminder that this is a Disney book.  Granted, it's not as bad as when the book tried to get meta.

Dani says that she wants to watch their favorite Halloween movie and they've watched it every year since they were kids.   Oh, and it's a cult classic.  Gee, what movie is a cult classic that people like to watch around this time of year that they've watched since they were kids?

Well yes, but no.   Clearly,  it's a reference to Hocus Pocus. And I'm just glad that it came at the end of the book and while it's not an overt meta-reference, it is still one that has me going, "I get it!" 


Okay, I know that I've ragged on the book a lot in this section and I do have a lot of issues with it but there are things I like.  Just give me a moment.  I liked the characters and the theme that it seemed to be going for as family as it followed in the idea of sibling relationships and showing that Poppy loves her family and it contrasts with how fractured The Sanderson family is.  And oh, there is one more thing that I'll touch upon in the character section.



Characters



Note: Thackery and Emily do appear but they don't offer much to the plot.  And Billy doesn't show up until the very last page of the book.

Main Character


Poppy


Poppy is a fun young kid that feels like her own character and not a retread of either of her parents.  (Wish the plot were the same)  She's a bit nervous and shy especially around her crush.  Which is just adorable and as we got to this chapter, I was waiting for Poppy and her crush to kiss.

I recall last year when this book was announced and that Poppy would have a Lesbian love interest, there was a lot of excitement and rightfully so as it is cool to see LGTBQ characters in fiction of all ages.  However, there was one response that stuck in my crawl.   You see I posted this news to a Discord server, where I am an admin and a guy there was known for making bigoted comments asked, "Why does this matter?"

It took everything in me to not respond as the last two years were also years of self-discovery for me.  I don't bring this up much except to my close friends, I'm bisexual and that means a lot to me.  And while I know what Poppy reps isn't the same as what I am,  it still matters to me to show that kids can read stories about characters that aren't in heteronormative relationships. 




Supporting Characters


Isabella


Isabella is adorable as she is just this perfect girl that is popular but loves hanging out with Poppy and her best friend.  I do wish that we got to spend more time with  Isabella as a human because this book in trying to recapture the beats of the movie had Isabella turned into an animal by Winifred.

This time, a dog.   Sure, why not?  But I dunno,  it feels like this kid is getting hit with a lot of the worst.  She's a Sanderson descendant,  one of her many great aunts turned into a dog and she finds out that she's a witch as well.  Sure.



Travis


Well, Travis was a character that sure does exist.  He is a good support system to Poppy but much like Allison in the original movie, he doesn't much that makes him stand out.



Katie Taylor


Katie is interesting as at first, she starts out like her dad bullying her heroine but they actually take the time to get to know one another and we actually get the perspective of what happened to Jay on Halloween 1993 and how that left him scarred and that's why he hates Max because Max left him there to hang.   Jay explains this to Poppy and afterward, this brings Poppy and Katie closer together.  And it subverts the mean girl character, one of my biggest pet peeves in stories as in a story like this, you don't need a mean girl as there is a bigger threat. 



Elizabeth Sanderson

That's the big question that I have regarding this character.   Her sudden appearance makes me think of how Morgana in The Little Mermaid II is introduced as "Ursula's crazy sister!"  That was really abrupt and random and the sudden appearance of this character also felt that way.  She is set up in the first chapter of the book during the history class by Isabella but even then, her presence felt so random and out of nowhere.




Villains


Winifred, Mary, & Sarah


The Sanderson Sisters do not translate well to the page.  They weren't as fun in book form as they are in the movie.  Without the performances from Midler, Najimy, & Jessica Parker, you lose what made these characters so great.   Now, I should also mention that there is a new method to defeat them as there is a new plot device called the Blood Moonstone that has to be destroyed to send the sisters back to Hell. Also, the plan was a lot bigger as they brought enough witches back to life to make a coven and to take over the world.  Sure?   Now, I mentioned that there is an idea of family here and The Sanderson Sisters feel fractured and that takes out a lot of the fun from these characters.   I know I said that Winnie wasn't above putting her sisters in harm's way but she tolerated her sisters.  Yes, there is this line.

Why was I cursed with such idiot sister?!

But in book form,  it's just mean and not fun.  Bette Midler sold the nastiness and annoyance of Winnie and without that to back it up,  it loses the fun edge.

 Also, without Sarah Jessica Parker, Sarah comes across as an annoying idiot.   Also, there's a whole subplot that's dropped about Mary wanting to show that she's better than Winnie.  It even gets a song number. Yes, really!





My Final Thoughts

I really wanted this to be better.  A sequel to Hocus Pocus isn't a bad idea but man,  it falls flat in so many areas.  A fourth Sanderson sister is the first place, where I just threw up my hands.  But then I really lost it, when Max, Dani, and Allison were sidelined.  And that's not even getting into the chapter dedicated to Mother Sanderson.  Which felt tacked on, even though part of their plan was to bring Mother and Master back.  Yeah,  it felt like this author wanted The Sanderson Sisters to go bigger than their simple goal in the original film.  Oh and this book never ends, I swear there were three different chapters where I felt like the book could end.   It went one chapter and an epilogue after the kids had vanquished The Sanderson Sisters and skips ahead from 2018 to 2019, and that's when Billy finally shows up.   It felt like this book was sequel-baiting.  Well, if you write a sequel to the All-New Sequel,  could you at least give it a title, this time?


I'm just bummed because I  really like the movie and the idea of a sequel isn't a bad idea and I know I said sequels are a fickle beast but this one was such a jumbled mess. 

Yeah, that's a good idea.  Man,  I haven't been this negative in a review in a long time but here's the thing, this book is riding off the nostalgia that people have for Hocus Pocus and that's cool.  Not knocking that but it doesn't seem to understand what people liked about the movie.  It feels like it thinks it does and comes across as artificial in the process.  One can say many things about Hocus Pocus but it always felt genuine with every scene that passed.  I like the new characters, even if the inclusion of one is baffling but I don't think this story deserves the characters it has.   

Halloween: Hocus Pocus

Halloween and cult classics go together like peanut butter and jelly.  There are so many great cult classics that are perfect for this time of year.  Now, I've talked about two movies that I consider cult classics perfect for this time of year in the past.

 



Now my beloved Little Shop of Horrors is an outlier as cult classics are usually not that well-received upon first release but over time develop a following of people that love the movie and reflect upon it positively to the point of the film garnering a cult following. Consider for a moment, that The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when it was first released, didn't garner good reviews.

Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert noted that when first released, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was "ignored by pretty much everyone, including the future fanatics who would eventually count the hundreds of times they'd seen it".

Disney is no stranger to movies of theirs becoming cult classics as one of my favorite Disney movies was ravaged upon its release.  

From the director of this movie no less.  Why do I bring all this up?  For two reasons to show that the cultural opinion of a film can shift over time. And moreover, that one's personal opinion of a movie can change over time.  I used to say that Hocus Pocus was a movie that I could take or leave. That was until a certain caustic critic posted a clipless review of this movie to his site. And well,  the badness of that video tainted Hocus Pocus to me. However, I recall seeing a clip from that video where someone told DW that they liked this film because they knew it was dumb and bad.

It may have been years since I sat down and watched this movie but despite the reception that this movie got back in 1993, I don't think this film is dumb or bad in the slightest.  There's another word that I'd use to describe this movie.

Seriously, this movie is just a lot of fun.  Not every movie needs to be some great piece of art.  This is not meant to undermine the work that people put into this movie but rather a way of embracing the movie in all its glory and enjoying it for what it is.  This is something I hinted at with Les during our crossover on The Sanderson Sisters but there's a new appreciation for this film with everything from a Halloween show at Disney World, merchandise up the wazoo, a special that aired last year aired on Freeform celebrating the movie, and a sequel. Well okay, it's a book sequel but still.

 

 

 Let me make this clear,  merchandise and a TV special do not always indicate the quality of a product but it sure does show the love there is for this film.  And I'm now one of those people that loves this movie.   I've been lured in by Sarah Sanderson's song.   (And yes, I'll be reviewing the sequel and the TV special.)

I know that I've tiptoed around getting to the plot but here's the thing with this movie.  I'll be brief and give the basics but this is a movie where the plot is secondary to what this movie makes people feel.  And what this movie make me feel?

That sums it up.



The Plot


Look, this movie is a classic and most people that love it know the plot of it by now.   A virgin Max to impress his crush Allison after moving to Salem from California sneaks into the Sanderson House lights the  Black Flame candle and there's the whole thing about him being a virgin.  If you want a bit more, her's the synopsis from IMDB.

A curious youngster moves to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.

And the virgin thing as I explained makes sense. If you want a more analytical look at this movie, I did that with my Villains Profile on The Sanderson Sisters.  (We will also be skipping the songs as I already looked at those there.)   And really, the biggest thought I had after watching this movie again for this review is that this movie is a live-action cartoon.  In both how funny it is and how the scenes almost feel like a series of little vignettes of the kids trying to stop the witches.  There's the town hall scene, which is fun.  There's when Max attempts to torch the Sisters.

Fans of this movie have a different favorite moment and line because this movie is filled to the brim with great moments and lines. It's a breezy movie that doesn't waste any time getting things done and it knows that people are here to have a good time and it delivers on that front.


However, while the film is really funny, it can also be really dark such as with the plan of The Sanderson Sisters and some of the jokes for a Disney movie can be risque but that is part of the charm of the movie.    I apologize for not ding a traditional plot breakdown but this is one movie where most people that have seen it know what it's about and more importantly as I stated, this is a movie that's less about the plot and more about how it wants to give people a good time.  With that outta the way, let's move onto the characters.



Characters


Main Characters


Max Dennison played by Omri Katz

Max is a typical teenager but I think that fits with the idea of what the movie is going for.  As this is a fun kid's movie about everyday kids going up against the supernatural and knowing about it and believing it.  It's a combination of the main characters being kids and well, a '90s movie where the kids are the only ones that are taking the threats seriously.  Max isn't a bad kid, even if Dani does call him a jerk face and yeah, he may have left Jay and Ernie locked up in cages in the Sanderson household but the movie is on his side in that regard of Jay and Ernie are the Bulk and Skull of Salem (early MMPR Bulk and Skull before they were redeemed).

I look at these two and can't Not hear this in my head.  Maybe, it's something about '90s bullies but the movie makes a good case for Max doing that, even if we as the audience do know that it's kinda a dick thing to do.  But they try to take Dani's candy and that's not cool.   Also,  Max has such a cool moment (granted it is kinda dumb in hindsight) where he calls himself The Great and Powerful Max.


It's probably me but part of the reason I love that scene is because it's a lot like the Darth Vader scene from Back To The Future. 

There's very little correlation between the two but I love this scene for the same reason that I love the Vader scene because we see our main character imposing himself above someone else to make them seem more powerful.  Granted, it works out better for Marty than Max. 



Dani Dennison played Thora Birch

When handled poorly,  kid characters can be quite annoying and not feel like a real kid but instead what a writer thinks a kid acts like. In other words...

So, where does that place, Dani?  She's a fun character that feels like a real kid and not a kid that was designed by committee.  Sure, she's a little bratty but what eight-year-old doesn't have moments of brattiness.   Take for example, when she screams at her big brother.

Not every sibling relationship can be Anna & Elsa (Yes, I know they have a rocky relationship but my point stands)  nor should it be.   And that helps to sell the relationship as even if she may call her big brother, a jerk face, she does love him.  And Max loves his little sister as well and would do anything to protect her going so far as drinking Winifred's potion.

As a younger sibling,  I always love it when movies take time to show that both the older and young siblings do care for one another, even if they do annoy each other.  And Max's actions here shows what great lengths he is willing to go to for Dani.


Allison played by Vinessa Shaw

Allison isn't a bad character per se and she's not a forced romantic interest as she has her own interests and loves Halloween but compared to the Dennison siblings, she doesn't feel as fully realized a character.  I enjoy her presence in the movie but she doesn't really stand out that much.



Supporting Characters


Thackery Binx voiced by Jason Marsden; played by Sean Murray (human)

This is something I find interesting as cats are often associated with witches but usually as their Familiar.

...supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic.

An example of this is Salem in the Netflix series, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as he serves as Sabrina's Familiar in that show.

 But that's not the case with Thackery Binx.  If anything, he's more a guide for the kids to help stop The Sanderson Sisters.  Out of all the characters, he has the most pathos to him as you can see that he's ridden with guilt over not being able to protect his little sister and being turned into a cat.

This ties back into the theme of sibling relationships. And this is felt when Thackery tells Max to care of Dani.  I might be reading into this a bit much but Emily must've been the same age as Dani.  And therefore, Thackery saw his little sister in Dani.  And wanted to make sure that she was protected.  Speaking of, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't get a little misty-eyed when Thackery and Emily were reunited at the end.

Now, this is a bit outside but last year, Freeform used Thackery Binx to promote their 31 Days of Halloween programming block but they didn't contact Jason Marsden to do the voice.  And he found out this about via Twitter.

That is an intense reaction but I don't think it's unjustified there.  First off,  that cat sounded nothing like Thackery.  And moreover,  Marsden brought the character to life in a way that I don't think any other voice actor could.  (And that's not just because I love him as Max Goof)  It's always disheartening when companies don't even consider to reach out to the actor that originated the role.  I mean Farevau brought James Earl Jones back to play Mufasa in The Lion King remake.  So, it couldn't be that hard for a cable channel to reach out to Marsden for a short 30-second bumper.


This goes back to the idea of a remake of this movie bugging me.  That is something that's been floating around for a while now and well,  some actors such as Midler are supremely against the idea. And well,  I normally wouldn't go this far but one of the biggest charms of the movie is how the actors brought these characters to life.  And it's almost catching lightning in a bottle with the performances in the first movie.


Sorry about bringing the fun down but I felt the need to bring that up.


Billy Butcherson played by Doug Jones

Now, I already discussed Billy's character at great length during the Villains Profile and comparatively speaking, he doesn't have as much depth as the rest of our main characters but that's okay. He's fun and really funny starting as someone chasing the kids but in the end allies with them to take down Winnie and her sisters.  Sure, she may be a little crass but eh, it's still quite a bit of fun.



Villains


Winifred, Mary, & Sarah played by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, & Sarah Jessica Parker

These characters are fun and scary at the same time.  And they are the biggest reason that this movie is so well-remembered as they make the movie work.  They have so many great moments such as Mary's

I smell children

Sarah dancing with the devil and while they make you laugh during the movie while also reminding you that they are a threat as they lure the children of Salem.     There is a great sense of the power relationship here with Winifred being in charge and Mary & Sarah following her orders because she's the older sister.  This ties back into the sibling relationships that we've discussed throughout this review so far,  Max and Thackery do greatly for their younger sibling, while Winnie only tolerates her younger sibling and is more than willing to put them in harm's way to get what she wants.   That is seen throughout the whole movie and it contrasts what we see of the siblings on the side of good as they both go out of their way to protect their younger siblings.



My Final Thoughts


This movie is fun and has a lot more heart than it's given credit for.  I think back to that statement from that clipless video about this movie being dumb.  I'm sorry but saying that this movie is dumb undermines the love that people have for this movie and how fun it can be.  Furthermore, as I've attempted to highlight throughout this review, the heart in this movie is found within the sibling relationships.  Or at least, that's where I found the heart within this movie.  I'd say don't let what other people say influence or taint how you view the movie.  Like I said, this movie is fun and that makes it a good time.  Join me next time as we look at what happens when The Sanderson Sisters return to Salem twenty-five years later as we look at the All-New Sequel (Yeah, the book sequel doesn't have a good title)