Hocus Pocus

Boy, when they say "Disney version of witches," they ain’t kidding. It’s remarkable to think, in retrospect, that this live action film was being produced roughly contemporaneously as the same company’s animation unit was creating Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King. Clearly, the live-action side of the lot did not catch up to its fellow filmmakers for several years (and arguably, based on some recent efforts, it never did). Indeed, while this effort tells a cute story and has some enjoyable elements, it is also true that there is little in this work that is inventive, especially clever, or particularly artful. The quality here is about on a par with your average Disney-produced TV movie. I’d expect a similar quality effort today to premiere on Freeform (the erstwhile ABC Family Channel), or perhaps direct-to-streaming on the Mouse's own platform (as did this one’s long-germinating sequel). Yet this got a major theatrical release when it opened! I guess enough people liked it to make a sequel desirable—or, alternately, the streaming service is that desperate for content. Probably the latter. I’m not saying anyone involved here needs to avoid being seen in public; I’m merely suggesting that this movie may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. Watchable, yes—but hardly spellbinding.