When the original Hocus Pocus movie landed in theaters in 1993, movie fans weren’t searching for Easter eggs on the big screen. There were still a lot of hidden details in that particular movie, like costumes being reused from other Disney projects for the Halloween party sequence. In modern movies, however, audiences are more aware of Easter eggs, especially in those that reference now beloved classics.
Hocus Pocus 2, released on Disney Plus 29 years after the debut of the original, provides a new story for a new generation. However, it relies heavily on nostalgia for older audience members. As a result, there are plenty of nods to the original movie.
The Opening Sequence
Hocus Pocus 2 opens in a familiar way, with an overhead shot of someone flying over water and a 1600s Salem. This time around, it’s the Mother Witch in the form of a bird. But in the 1993 movie, the shot was of Sarah Sanderson on her broom as she called to Emily Binx.
Interestingly, Sarah’s song also gets a spot in the opening sequence as Sarah is the only one young enough to still be lured to the Mother Witch with it before Mary and Winifred stop her. The Mother Witch’s dress will look familiar to fans as well. In addition to her bird form resembling the coloring on the collar of her dress, the collar and trim is also the same as the trim on Dani’s sweater for her witch costume in the first movie.
Black Cats
While the inclusion of Cobweb as Gilbert’s cat is a nice reminder of Binx, there’s another nod to him when Winifred and her sisters first get the book from the Mother Witch.
One of the first spells the girls see is a transformation spell that they think would be fun to use on the teenage boy Winifred has been chosen to marry. It gets used 40 years later on Thackery Binx when he tries to save his sister instead.
The Home Of The Sanderson Sisters
In the 1993 movie, the sisters' home sat in the woods. It had been converted to a museum about the trio. The same home is present in the sequel. It’s no longer a museum, but a storefront where Gilbert runs a magic shop. It keeps the tradition of someone fascinated by the sisters as the one running it, even if the only things preserved in the store are Winifred’s spellbook and the Sanderson hourglass.
A Creator Cameo
The script for the Hocus Pocus sequel was penned by Jen D’Angelo. The producer and writer has had plenty of experience in front of the camera as well though. She even appears onscreen in Hocus Pocus 2. D’Angelo is one of the parents of the children listening to Gilbert tell the story of the Sanderson sisters early in the movie.
There’s also a nod to another famous creator associated with Disney projects. Kenny Ortega, now famous for working on such projects as High School Musical and Julie And The Phantoms, was the director of Hocus Pocus in 1993. He also directed Disney Channel’s original movie Descendants, which has the children of Disney villains singing “Rotten to the Core.” That song title is also the name of the booth where participants are held down in an apple bobbing contest in Hocus Pocus 2.
Sarah Loves Flying
The movie continues the gag of the original that only Winifred gets a broom to fly when their own brooms are missing. In the original, Sarah had a mop and Mary had a bulky vacuum cleaner. In the sequel, Sarah has a Swiffer branded item and Mary has a pair of Roombas.
Beyond that, Sarah tends to pitch and roll more than her sisters, remarking on how much she loves flying. That’s likely a nod to actress Sarah Jessica Parker’s own memories of the film. When asked in interviews about her experiences making the movie, Parker has often admitted that she doesn’t remember much about the movie itself, but that she does remember how much she enjoyed filming the flying sequences. When scenes would cut for breaks, Parker would remain suspended in her harness and read, waiting for everyone else to come back.
Gilbert’s 1993 Halloween
The sequence of a young Gilbert witnessing the Sanderson sisters flying across the sky in 1993 is not from the 1993 movie, but shot with a young actor for the sequel. That being said, there are a few Easter eggs in his Halloween night. Gilbert tells the story of that night, admitting that it wasn’t great since some bullies stole his candy. Those bullies were Jay and Ice. Fans might remember that they also tried to take candy from Dani Dennison in the original movie, but her big brother gave them his instead.
It’s also notable that Gilbert’s magical persona for the shop is straight out of his 1993 memory. He wears a cloak with the same color and design in the store as he did as a child trick-or-treating, demonstrating that he’s been stuck ever since he saw the Sanderson sisters. Gilbert also whistles “I Put A Spell On You” while closing up his shop, the same song the Sanderson sisters sang to bewitch the adults in town in 1993. He's clearly a big fan of Hocus Pocus.
Mary’s Nickname For Becca
Mary doesn’t remember Becca’s name after talking with her, but she does have an unusual term for her. She calls her “shish-kababy.” That term might be familiar for fans of the original movie. It’s what Mary also calls Dani when it’s made clear that the sisters want to consume Dani’s soul.
The Devil And Medusa
When the sisters are searching for Traske and Becca in the modern day, Winifred flies by one window to witness a pair watching a movie on their television screen. That movie features Gary Marshall in a devil costume and Penny Marshall in a bathrobe with curlers in her hair. That’s the devil and Medusa straight out of the original Hocus Pocus.
The scene breaks continuity a bit, as it implies that Hocus Pocus is a movie within the Hocus Pocus universe as well. Still, it would go a long way to explaining how everyone in town knows exactly what kind of dresses the Sanderson sisters like, as there is always someone dressed in costume as the group for Halloween.
Familiar Halloween Costumes
The devil and Medusa don’t just appear in a movie clip within the movie. When Mayor Traske asks a couple to save his spot in line, the couple is dressed as Gary and Penny Marshall from the original movie. The duo appear frequently in scenes set within the fall festival.
They also aren’t the only familiar costume. If fans pay attention to the crowd, they’ll spot replicas of the Dracula and Madonna costumes that the Dennison parents wore to the 1993 holiday party. Cassie even sports a tie-dyed t-shirt in a possible nod to Max’s clothing when he takes Dani trick-or-treating in the original. There are also people in costume in the fake Salem police officer uniforms, like the one that is used when Max thinks he’s talking to a real police officer in the original movie.
References To Modern Technology
Just how much the Sanderson sisters know about the modern world is relatively inconsistent throughout both Hocus Pocus movies. After all, they are able to combine spells with the words of popular songs to enchant townspeople, but don’t know anything about paved roads in 1993.
In the sequel, some gags regarding modern technology are references to similar gags in the first movie. Mary thinks a woman is trapped in a home tech device, the same way she thought someone was talking inside a boombox in the first movie. Likewise, the witches all think the sun is coming up when headlights shine on them, a trick played on them by Max and Allison in the first movie. They also refer to cars as “small buses” since their only experience with a motorized vehicle is getting a ride in a city bus in the first movie.
Saying Goodbye
Just as in the original movie, Sarah and Mary fade away before Winifred. Their parting words are the same in the sequel as they were in the original movie, but Winifred’s reveal that her priorities have shifted. Instead of calling for her book, she calls for her sisters.
Likewise, when Billy is ready to fade away as well, Izzy offers him a “sweet dreams,” when he says, “good night.” That’s the same exchange Billy and Dani have in the original.
The Credit Scene
Scenes during or after the credits have become fun treats for fans. Sometimes, they provide the audience with a fun scene; other times, they provide a tease for a potential sequel.
Cobweb the cat jumps up onto a shelf to sit by a box labeled “B.F. Candle #2.” That indicates that Gilbert actually made a second black flame candle, setting up the possibility of someone lighting the candle and bringing the Sanderson sisters back one more time.
Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2 are currently streaming on Disney Plus.