From creepy new hidden details in Gilbert's Magic Shop, to Mary's shifting lip droop,
and secret Max, Dani, and Ursula references!
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan and I've re-watched and paused Hocus Pocus 2 all over
again, to hunt down another stack of easter eggs and details you might have missed in
the movie!
Mary's crooked jaw is part of her iconic look; however, our awesome eagle-eyed movie lovers
spotted that in the sequel her lip droop has shifted to the opposite side of her face compared
to the original movie.
Initially, Mary's crooked lip is on the same side of her mouth as in the first film, keeping
continuity between the two movies.
However, when Winnie slaps her in the face, the droop slips to the other side where it
remains for the rest of the film.
Kathy Najimy revealed she had to make this change as, after 30 years, it's too difficult
for her to maintain the lip droop on the original side.
I do love the clever little way the filmmakers integrated this change naturally into the
sequel.
Now, when the camera cuts to a giant poster for Mayor Traske's re-election campaign, you'll
have to pause the movie and look really closely at the buildings in the background.
Just over his shoulder and behind Cassie is a house that will be familiar to hard-core
Hocus Pocus fans.
Yes, it's Max and Dani's family home from the original movie!
And talking of Dani, the Witch Mother's red outfit in the sequel is a homage to the red
witch costume that Dani wore for Halloween back in the 90s.
In the sequel, it's the Witch Mother who gifts Book to Winnie, potentially contradicting
what was established about the spellbook in the original film.
This is the spell book of Winifred Sanderson.
It was given to her by the devil himself.
And, tons of our movie lovers have been asking about this, so let me clarify why this probably
isn't an error or a plot hole.
It's very likely that Allison's explanation is simply based on unverified stories and
myths that the people of Salem had heard about the Sanderson Sisters over the years and assumed
they must have been in league with the devil.
Perhaps because thou eateth the children?
In fact, given that in the sequel, Billy Butcherson goes out of his way to say that the stories
about his and Winnie's relationship are untrue, we could also argue that other legends about
the Sandersons might be incorrect too.
There is, however, a tribute to that original devil story on the replica black flame candles
Gilbert sells in his shop.
You can see this devil-like figure here giving a book to some characters wearing pointy,
witchy hats.
The candles are also white and decorated in red, similar to the black flame candle that
Max lit in the first movie.
And I found even more little tributes to the first film in Gilbert's shop.
Pause as the Sanderson Sisters make their dramatic return to their old cottage and by
the door you'll see two small wooden cages which appear to be smaller reproductions of
the ones where the witches imprisoned the bullies Jay and Ice.
Let us out of here.
We're really sorry.
By the way, if you're wondering what happened to the pair after they were left hanging in
the witches' house, well, there's a horrifying theory that when young Gilbert found them
there in 1993, he turned them into his two new black flame candles.
And I've got a video on that which I'll link to at the end of this video.
Another hidden easter egg in the store is this book and its cover design, which is actually
the poster for Bette Midler's special event "In Search of the Sanderson Sisters".
There's also a sneaky cameo during Gilbert's presentation about the legendary three witches.
This woman dressed as a pirate is Jen D'Angelo who wrote the screenplay for Hocus Pocus 2.
She's playing the part of Liam's mum, the kid who kept asking questions about the sisters
and then asked this rather awkward one…
What's a virgin?
Uh, that is a... person who has never...
lit a candle.
That's also a reference to the original movie's somewhat weird obsession with Max's virginity.
Are you a virgin?
Look, I'll get it tattooed on my forehead, okay?
When Gilbert opens up Book after hearing the news that the Sanderson Sisters have returned,
it sends a powerful ray of light through the magic shop's roof, similar to the burst of
light it gave off in the original movie after Max and Allison opened it, and which led the
witches to the spell book's location.
In my first paused video for Hocus Pocus 2, I mentioned how Winnie's belt buckle was identical
to the Witch Mother's brooch around her neck.
And as many of our marvellous movie lovers have also pointed out, the three new girls
all wear the same type of necklace, in a tribute to each of the Sanderson Sister's outfits.
So, each necklace has three coloured stones, a green one, a reddish-purple one, and a brownish-red
one; green is for Winnie, red is for Sarah and
brown is for Mary.
Each necklace also has several five-pointed stars, similar to the star in Winnie and the
Witch Mother's brooches.
And the moon symbols in each necklace can be spotted scattered around various embroidered
designs on Winnie's costume.
On top of that, the young girls' clothes are also a nod to the older witches and their
outfits; Becca has a green jacket that matches her
with Winnie; Izzy has a beige-brown cardigan that corresponds
to Mary; and Cassie's pink jacket relates to Sarah.
Actress Lilia Buckingham has also said that Cassie's cardigan is a deliberate call-back
to Allison's cardigan, hinting at a potential connection between the two characters.
Plus her tie-dye shirt is a shout-out to Max's tie-dye top in the original movie.
Belissa Escobedo has also said her burgundy cardigan is a tribute to Allison's red hooded
outfit in the first movie.
I also noticed another subtle connection between the new witches and the Sanderson Sisters.
When Becca and Izzy cycle through Salem's historic district to go into the woods, they
cycle down the same street and go past the same original buildings that the young witch
sisters originally ran through when they fled Salem to go into the Forbidden Forest in 1653.
I mentioned in my previous video a bunch of easter eggs and details hidden at the Salem
Scare Fest, but I spotted a new one on my rewatch.
When Becca and Izzy meet Major Traske for the first time, just behind them is a woman
dressed as a witch.
She's tied to a stake and getting photographed by someone in a Puritan costume.
This is a little nod to a myth that witches were burned during the Salem witch trials,
rather than hanged as was actually the case and as we saw happen to Winnie, Mary and Sarah
in the first movie.
When the Sanderson Sisters stumble across the pun-tastically named Apple-Plectic stall,
they're delighted to discover what they believe to be a man being drowned.
And appropriately enough, below the stall's name is the phrase "Rotten To The Core", a
Disney easter egg and reference to the 2015 Descendants film which was directed by Kenny
Ortega, who also directed the original Hocus Pocus movie.
Another interesting little detail here is that Descendants introduced a new generation
of characters who were the children of famous Disney villains, and in Hocus Pocus 2 we're
introduced to a new trio of young witches who by the end take on the legacy of the infamous
Sanderson Sisters.
When the wicked sisters sing and enchant the audience at the festival in Hocus Pocus 2,
among the crowd are three ladies dressed as The Supremes, a little hat-tip to the three
Supremes who were also bewitched in the original movie.
As another of our awesome movie lovers, Disney Gal, told us there's also someone dressed
as Ursula from Disney's The Little Mermaid here with the villain's iconic spiky white
hair, crown, and nautilus necklace.
Also among the dancing crowd is a guy who has a look about him that reminds me of the
Reverend Traske from Salem's early days.
Another of our marvellous movie lovers, Cora, says this guy here is wearing a Halloween
costume of zombie Billy Butcherson.
By the way, several more of our movie lovers have said that Billy's stitches look like
the word 'Kill', but I think it might actually be 'Kiss', a reference to the single kiss
that Billy says he only ever had with Winnie.
I shared one kiss with Winifred.
She has sullied my name for eternity.
There's a funny call-back to the first movie when Winnie and Mary encounter a talking virtual
assistant inside the Traske home...
ALEXA: Sorry, I didn't quite catch that.
Who said that?
Winnie...
There is a small woman trapped in that box.
This is a hat tip to the how the sisters were tricked by technology in the first movie when
Max, Allison and Dani trapped them by using a cassette machine playing back a French language
lesson.
Bonjour!
Je veux mon livre.
After Becca traps the Sandersons inside a salt circle, Winnie tests the force field
by pushing Sarah into the invisible barrier, similar to how she pushed her onto the road
outside their cottage to check if it was safe or not.
'Tis a black river.
And when Traske arrives back to find the witches locked in his garage, as his car's headlights
illuminate the space, Winnie and her sisters panic thinking the sunrise has come for them.
The sun.
Oh, no.
I don't wanna die.
This moment is a fun nod to how Max and Allison tricked the Sandersons in a similar way in
the first film when they were rescuing Dani and Binx.
The sun!
It hurts.
And there's even more intriguing details and connections in the sequel such as how Winifred's
eyes glow purple as she casts the Magicae Maxima spell, similar to the Witch Mother's
eyes when she uses her powers.
I talk a lot more about that plus whether Cobweb is actually a human who young Winnie
turned into a cat in my Hocus Pocus 2 theories video.
Tap here to watch that or follow the link in the video description.
Let me know what your favourite moment was in Hocus Pocus 2 and if you spotted any other
details.
And if you enjoyed this video, do leave a thumbs-up, I really appreciate it.
Thanks for enjoying this movie with me and hope you have a marvellous movie-loving week!
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!