Hocus Pocus 2 is not the original, and that’s just fine. It doesn’t have to be in order to be a fun movie that families can enjoy during the Halloween season.

Nothing will ever come close to capturing the magic of the Halloween classic that is Hocus Pocus (affiliate link), originally released in 1993. Still, there is plenty here to find fun in. The film opens with a look back at the days of early Salem, much like the first time, but this time the Sanderson Sisters are children. The three young girls that play them at this age are spot on and do a good job of showing which is which, without falling into parody. The only complaint about the opening of the film was that it went a bit long.

When it comes to the actresses we know as the Sanderson Sisters, Bette Midler is still the best of the three. Her performance felt the most akin to what it was the first time around, while Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker’s performances both felt a bit forced. On the other hand, the trio of girls playing the high school friends Becca (Whitney Peak), Izzy (Belissa Escobedo), and Cassie (Lilia Buckingham) were excellent. Their performances felt effortless and they played the dynamics of the friendship well through good times and bad.

The creators placed plenty of Easter Eggs throughout, beyond the obvious. Several flashbacks included footage from the original film, edited to create backstories for characters we meet for the first time here. We see a black cat in the Sanderson House museum and in my favorite bit, we get to see Billy Butcherson yet again, still played by Doug Jones. The fan service is tactful and not overdone to the point of detracting from the story.

The ending of the film didn’t feel overly engineered and did lead to a satisfying redemption for the Sanderson Sisters, even if it did leave things open for more sequels down the road. I’m not sure it was entirely necessary, but it still felt like Hocus Pocus (affiliate link) and didn’t destroy the charm of the original. For a generation that has grown up with the first film and watched it every Halloween, they now have one to show their kids.

6 out of 10

This much-hyped release on Disney+ tells the story of a beloved silver back gorilla who spends his days as part of a small circus show in a roadside shopping mall, but yearns to be free and experience the outside world.

Based on the children's book of the same name by Katherine Applegate, the film features the voice talent of Sam Rockwell as the titular gorilla, Angelina Jolie as Stella, the matriarchal elephant in the circus, Danny DeVito as the tag-along mutt Bob, Helen Mirren as the trick poodle Snickers, and Hamilton's Phillipa Soo as the circus parrot Thelma. The live action cast consists mainly of Ryan Cranston playing the ringmaster Mack with young Ariana Greenblatt (Avengers: Infinity War) as the lovable Julia who hangs around the circus.

While the film is billed as telling the story of the gorilla who discovers his love for creating art, there is sadly not much screen time of a painting gorilla. The plot feels disjointed throughout, almost feeling like it was originally intended as a 23 minute episodic series on the Disney streaming service than as a full length feature film. People familiar with Disney's formula will see the small "twists" in the film coming a mile away. Because these plot swings are so transparent, they lose all emotional impact they might otherwise have.

<Spoilers ahead> The centerpiece of the film has the troop of animals making a daring escape from the mall in the middle of the night, working together to trick the nigh security guard into Ivan's cage before locking him inside and smashing through the front doors of the mall. They run across the road with an obligatory joke about why Henrietta (the chicken voiced by Chaka Khan) should cross at all and escape to the woods. Unfortunately, they don't make it far before they realize the woods only go for a few yards before opening to a cliff overlooking the nearby city.

The film ends with a few stills and archival footage of the real life Ivan upon which the story was based. I feel like the book format may be better for telling this story than on the screen. If it was to be transcribed to film, it would have been better as a short documentary series than as a feature film.

Despite my feelings on the film, kids will surely love it. The animals are cute and there are enough laughs to keep their attention for the 95 minute running time. For adults, it may seem like a difficult slog through a story we've seen many times before. The CGI animals are passable, but a bit clunky whenever they interact with the human characters. Other than filler for family time, I cannot recommend this film.

The One and Only Ivan is streaming now on Disney+.

4 out of 10​​

Disney manages to make this story fresh and new, while paying homage to the memory of Robin Williams that made the original an instant classic.

I was initially very skeptical of this reboot, but i think it's one of my favorites that Disney has done in the last decade. The traditional songs and set pieces are still there, even down to the story being framed around the freed Genie (Will Smith) telling the tale of Aladdin (Mena Massoud). As expected, there is plenty of spectacle, from Smith's version of "Friend Like Me" to Aladdin's entrance into Agrabah to the pomp and circumstance of "Prince Ali."

As with many of these Disney live action remakes, there isn't a whole lot new here. Many of the changes are minor. Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) remains a strong female figure in the story, but beyond not wanting to marry the bumbling idiots paraded before her as suitors, she actually yearns to be sultan when her father's time is done. She has a fellow female character in her handmaid Dalia (Nasim Pedrad) who seems more like her friend than servant.

There has been some criticism of the changes the film made, but I generally approved. This is not the cartoon version of the story from 30 years ago. Smith's Genie is uniquely his own, paying homage to the original character, but diverging onto his own path and ultimately imbuing the character with a bit more humanity, even though the desire for freedom remains.

Overall, this is a good remake. I'm glad it wasn't a shot for shot remake like The Lion King nearly was and allowed development of several characters beyond their arcs in the original.

8 out of 10