Top 10 Hocus Pocus 2 Callbacks to the Original

They may have a spellbook, but when it comes to book smarts, none of the Sanderson sisters are exactly Hermione Granger. Of the three witches, youngest Sarah has the most space in her head. This is established early in the first film when the sisters suck the life out of Emily Binx. When an angry mob comes a-knockin’, Winnie and Mary try to play it cool while Sarah foolishly spells out precisely what they’re up to. The sequel also serves as a prequel of sorts as a flashback explores how the Sanders were first exiled. When the townsfolk show up at their village cottage, the Sandersons try to pretend they’re not home. Despite her good intentions, Sarah inadvertently gives them away by speaking.

Although they’re hanged, the Sandersons vow to return when a virgin lights a Black Flame Candle during a full moon on Halloween. For families watching the first film, this plot point will make parents tense up, older kids giggle, and little ones ponder, “What’s a virgin?” A child asks this exact question in the sequel during Gilbert’s presentation. Naturally, it’s not explained, but Gilbert gives a new black candle to high schoolers Becca and Izzy. While Becca and Izzy aren’t skeptics like Max, they don’t realize that this candle is the real deal, bringing the sisters back again. Gilbert later reveals that he hoped this would happen. He would’ve lit the candle himself, but… well, Gilbert spares Becca and Izzy the details.

If you and your friends ever dressed up as the Sanderson sisters for Halloween, there’s little doubt that you replicated the scene when they walked in a line, on the prowl for the kids who stole the book. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy don’t miss a beat in the sequel, reenacting this moment as if no time has passed. They’re not the only ones who pull off the walk. As the film closes, Becca, Izzy, and Cassie begin to walk in a similar formation. With Becca discovering that she possesses powers, the ending could be hinting at a new generation of sisterly witches. Hopefully this trio doesn’t become as obsessed with eternal youth as Winnie.

One of the first film’s biggest unanswered questions is whether resident jerks Ernie and Jay ever escaped the Sandersons’ cottage. While the sequel doesn’t give a clear-cut answer, it does allude to Max’s shoe-stealers. Retracing their steps, the Sandersons recall having two boys locked in cages before Max and Allison tricked them with headlights. In a flashback to his childhood, Gilbert recalls some kids stealing his candy the same night that he witnessed the Sandersons perish. Were Ernie and Jay part of the entourage that stole Gilbert’s candy? In any case, Gilbert eventually converts the Sanderson cottage into a store. So, Ernie and Jay must’ve been discovered at some point. What remains unclear is if they were still alive or if they starved to death.

There’s no denying that the most rewatched moment from the first film was “I Put a Spell On You,” a musical number that co-producer David Kirschner initially didn’t want. In time, Kirschner realized how wrong he was. The sequel paves the way for new music and old favorites like Sarah’s “Come Little Children.” Upon returning, the Sandersons break into song, much to the confusion of Becca and Izzy. Their big showstopper comes during Salem ScreamFest when the trio puts a bewitching spin on “One Way or Another.” They not only hypnotize the audience with their vocals, but a familiar chant as well. Oh, and just when you thought there wouldn’t be a grand finale, the end credits put another spell on us.

Thanks to Winnie’s curse, Thackery Binx spends 300 years as a black cat. When the witches were seemingly defeated for good, Thackery’s soul was freed at long last. Thackery doesn’t return for the sequel, although Gilbert owns a black cat named Cobweb in an obvious nod to the original. When the Sandersons stumble upon the cat, they’re quick to assume that it’s going to foil their plans. Gilbert clarifies that his cat doesn’t talk and isn’t cursed. Cobweb is just a normal cat, although the witches remain skeptical. In a post-credits scene, Cobweb hops atop a box with a mysterious note written on it. This could be hinting that Cobweb is more than meets the eye and that more magic awaits.

The verdict is still out on whether salt works on zombies and ex-boyfriends, but it does wonders against witches. Allison keeps the Sandersons at bay with a circle of salt in the original. In “Hocus Pocus 2,” we see the full effects of salt. At Walgreens, Becca and Izzy manage to give the Sandersons the slip with a little help from our friend sodium chloride. The girls remember this later when the Sandersons show up at Cassie’s house. They lure the witches into a trap, encircling them in salt, forming an impenetrable bubble around them. Well, not entirely impenetrable. As clever as this plan was, the kids didn’t count on a couple of Roombas returning to their masters. Those things have minds of their own.

Thackery explains that Billy Butcherson was Winnie’s boyfriend. After she caught Billy cheating on her with Sarah, Winnie poisoned Billy and sewed his mouth shut. Now that Billy is free to speak again, he sets the record straight in the sequel with Doug Jones reprising the role. It’s true that Winnie poisoned him and that he had a thing with Sarah. However, Billy was not Winnie’s lover. While she expressed interest in Billy at a young age, Winnie never got more than a reluctant kiss out of him. In Winnie’s eyes, that act constituted a serious relationship worth killing over. We knew that Winnie was the jealous type, but this makes Billy’s demise even more twisted. At least Billy gets a happier ending this time.

If there’s a moment we associate the most with the first film’s mix of comedy and Halloween spirit, it’s the witches taking flight using modern cleaning tools. While Winnie finds another broom, Sarah improvises with a mop while Mary is stuck with a vacuum cleaner. Returning 29 years later, the Sandersons must again find alternative flight travel. Winnie doesn’t have much trouble locating a broom since it’s Halloween. Sarah upgrades from a traditional mop to a sleeker Swiffer. Mary also goes from riding a vacuum to surfing on air with a pair of Roombas. House cleaning technology has come a long way since 1993. With that, the sisters are free to once again run amuck, amuck, amuck.

The “Hocus Pocus 2” costume department delivers a few sneaky callbacks. As the Sandersons prepare to take to the stage, a bartender in the background wears a familiar top hat and skeleton costume. Most notably, when Tony Hale’s Jefry is forced to leave a line, he encounters a man dressed as the devil and a woman wearing Medusa-like curlers. Their outfits pay tribute to Garry and Penny Marshall, who played two unsuspecting homeowners that crossed paths with the Sandersons. The Marshall siblings passed away a few years ago, but their memories live on through these costumes and another scene where the first film plays on TV. So, it’s a movie within a movie set within the same universe? Let’s just assume a witch did it.