Hocus Pocus and the AllNew Sequel

by Disney Press and A W Jantha

Matt Griffin (Illustrator)

Fans will be spellbound by a fresh retelling of the original film, followed by the all-new sequel that continues the story with the next generation of Salem teens.

• ISBN10: 1368020038
• ISBN13: 9781368020039
• Publish Date: 10 July 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Disney Hyperion
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 528
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781368020039

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

3 1/2 stars

I’m a huge fan of Hocus Pocus. I watch it every year around Halloween, and sometimes when it isn’t even remotely that time of the year. What can I say, it’s a good movie! When I heard that they were making a sequel to the movie, in novel form, I knew that I was going to have to read it.
This novel includes a novelization form of Hocus Pocus, as well as a sequel. I’m not sure if the sequel actually received a formal name or if it’s just the Hocus Pocus Sequel. So about half of this book is something any fan will know nearly by heart, and the other half will be all new.



Okay, so you know how I said I’m a huge fan of Hocus Pocus? I’m shocked to say that I didn’t love this novel nearly as much as I had been anticipating. Maybe if my expectations hadn’t been so high, I would have loved it more? I’m not sure.
The first half of the novel is Hocus Pocus. It’s almost verbatim for the entire movie, which was fine by me. They changed a couple relatively minor things in order to set up for the sequel, but otherwise, it was the movie I’ve come to love. Oddly enough though, reading it didn’t make me crave watching the movie. Maybe because every line was included, and I could basically hear the actors reading them out in my head?
As for the sequel…it isn’t exactly what I had been hoping for. If it had been up to me, I would have moved on from the Sanderson sisters (they’re awesome and cannot be topped, not even by themselves), but instead would have gone for something totally different. I won’t bother going into specifics for my idea since it didn’t and won’t happen.
I think my biggest complaint about the sequel is it felt like they had a list of items that they needed to check off as they went. It felt like every single element that had any significance in the movie was put into the sequel – even if it didn’t really make sense. Sometimes it came off as charming – a nice little hat tip to the movie, but other times it felt like they were shoehorning it in. I would have been fine with keeping the parts that felt more organic.
All my complaints aside, I do want to give the novel credit for a few things. The relatively subtle changes made during Hocus Pocus to set up for a sequel were a good call. They still fit in with the plot, while still being obvious that these elements would be important later. Likewise, the conclusion of the sequel sets up for another book. I’m significantly more interested in that potential sequel than the one I was given. It’s different and has a lot of potential. Though they need to explain a few things in order to keep it from breaking some of the rules they already established.
On the whole, I’m glad I took the time to read Hocus Pocus and the sequel. While it wasn’t everything I had hoped it would be, it was still interesting. I think that should another book make an appearance that I would probably give it a try as well.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Baroness Book Trove]

Get a grip, it’s like a horrible bad dream.

Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel by AW Jantha is one of the many remakes that Freeform is doing with old Disney movies. This one was the first I saw and wanted to buy it. I mean it’s has a sequel I so wanted to know what happened. The author has their work cut out to make sure that it’s good and makes sense. The story also needs to please the zillions of Hocus Pocus fans.

Part 1

So the first part of the book is based on the Disney movie called Hocus Pocus. I watched this movie when I was younger, and I still watch it every year around Halloween. It’s a great movie.

Anyways back to the reason for this part. AW Jantha wrote the first part of this book based on the movie. However, it is different from the film as the author left out scenes and added her narrative to mix with her sequel.

Yet, the author gave a bit of backstory to Emily and Thackery Binx which I thought was cool. Along with the Sanderson sisters as well. I thought it was pretty cool to have it this way and I have to admit I did cry a bit while reading the story.

Three Stars

I am giving the first part of the book a three-star rating since it was cool but lacked the original pizzazz. I did like the backstories that we got from the movie part of the book. The author did miss some things from the movie for this part of the book, but I guess that’s okay.

Part 2

The second part of the book is the All-New Sequel portion of the book. The main reason that I’m guessing many of us bought this book. I am only saying that because that is what I did. Back to the review. I so wanted to like the sequel, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations for it.

We have Max and Allison’s daughter, Poppy is a seventeen-year-old junior and is crushing on this girl named Isabella. There is something fishy with Isabella though. Poppy's best friend Travis joins the girls to give us the similar dynamics as the original.

I won't spoil the story too much, but it’s terrible. From the writing to the way the witches come back, to the not very developed characters, to the characters that are just there to move the plot along, and lastly to the terrible ending. I don’t think I spoiled it but if I did then oops. The author also changes point of view from first person (Poppy) to third person limited (when the Sandersons arrive).

1 Star

With everything, I said above it’s because of that I am only giving this part of it 1 star. You all should know that I hardly ever do that except it’s just plain terrible, and I wanted to love it just I ended up hating it.

2 Stars Average

I am giving Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel by AW Jantha only two stars. I thought it was a lousy way to write like a movie script with one of the scenes, then go to writing like a book. This book is written like it was something that a group of people roleplayed out. Or possibly a terrible fanfiction idea that didn’t get fully developed before posting it on the web.

I am not going to be recommending this book.

To:  Freeform, other TV outlets like The CW, or movie production companies, please stop taking ideas/movies/tv shows that were already here and turning them into something else that ruins or degrades the original feature. Stop adding your current marketing trends to our beloved features.

Anyways until the next time enjoy this review brought to you by



 This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove

[kalventure]

Hocus Pocus is one of my all-time favorite movies and I was equal parts excited to revisit the beloved characters with a continuation 25 years later and terrified that it wouldn't live up to the nostalgia I feel for the film. As such I went into this with very low expectations and overall found this to be an enjoyable read.

Full disclosure: I skipped the first 196 pages as I wasn't interested in reading a novelized account of the movie. Which was a good choice for me personally, 10/10 would recommend to others looking for a trip down nostalgia lane. This review solely focuses on the All New Sequel part of the book.

It's been 25 years since a virgin lit the Black Flame Candle, and Salem is still as bewitched with the tales of the Sanderson Sisters as ever. Well, everyone except for Poppy Dennison, the 17 year old daughter of Max and Allison. She grew up listening to her parents and Aunt Dani recount their experiences with the Sanderson Sisters and has spent her life hiding her family's secret from everyone, convinced that it is a tall tale. It is Halloween 2018, and things are about to get witchy again in Salem!

The story itself is well plotted and I found the storyline enjoyable to read. The Sanderson Sisters are back on Halloween night, and it is another race against time to save the world. Another trio of unlikely heroes to save the day. Beloved characters return from beyond to help provide guidance. Also there is a delightful spirit board that I absolutely need: HEY GHOUL, HEY; GHOUL, BYE. I have never felt so connected to a fictional inanimate object before, but here we are.

While I enjoyed the plot, I felt a disconnect between the character's ages and their actions that I found particularly distracting. This is categorized as a Young Adult novel but reads more like a middle grade book to me in terms of the word choices, sentence structure, and the actions of the characters. The characters themselves were well developed in terms of their backstories and I rooted for them, but unfortunately I just didn't believe their characters would act in the ways described but would totally buy it if they were Dani's age from the film. If I am being honest, the dialog between Poppy, Isabella, and Travis felt off and unrealistic - like an adult trying to write the cool lingo of today's youth, but no one really talks like that to this extent.

Jantha did a good job of writing the Sanderson Sisters true to the characters of the film, particularly with Winifred. Every time Winnie spoke, the lines played in Bette Middler's voice in my head! However, Sarah felt almost like a caricature of herself and most of her lines were some variation of "Amok, amok, amok!"

It was wonderful to see Binx and Emily again, but they kind of didn't seem like themselves? I don't know how to explain it. I did find the Olde English speech to be inconsistent, and honestly the Sisters kind of figured out how to use an iPhone faster than I think someone from the 1600s would.

Since this is a Disney publication it makes sense that they would want to appeal to a younger audience, especially ones that haven't seen the movie before (hence the novelized account). The movie does a much better job of appealing to both children and young adult audiences, and I feel like they made an odd marketing choice here. In my opinion a huge audience here are the adults that grew up watching this movie looking for nostalgia, and this book really doesn't appeal to us at all.

Overall, I enjoyed my trip back to Salem and the Sanderson Sisters' return. The plot felt well developed and true to the hijinks they would get into for immortality. If you're an adult looking for a bit of nostalgia, keep in mind that this book really wasn't written for you and go in with low expectations. I also recommend just skipping to the sequel on page 198 so as to not taint your movie feels. The book is left open for something new in this world, but I don't know that it is something that I will follow personally.

🤝 Buddy read with the wonderful Becca over at beccaleighanne !

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[Angie]

That was a super pleasant surprise!