Hocus pocus 2 was originally intended to feature the Sanderson sisters in purgatory in the final scene. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy reprise their roles as the three witches from the first film, which was released in 1993. Hocus Pocus told the story of a brother and sister who, three hundred years after their deaths, accidentally resurrect the child-eating Sanderson sisters. The film has since become a Halloween favorite for all the family.
Hocus pocus 2, directed by Anne Fletcher, comes almost 30 years later. Although reviews have been mixed, the film has proven to be a hit with audiences with record viewership on Disney+. The story now takes place in the present, when teenage girls unknowingly light the Black Flame Candle and summon the Sanderson sisters again. This time, the girls use the witches’ own spellbook to defeat them for good. Hocus pocus 2 ends with a credits sequence in which the Sanderson sisters sing “The Witches are Back” in a music studio, a twist on Elton John’s “The Bitch is Back”.
However, Hocus pocus 2 originally had a different plan for the closing credits. In a recent interview on the podcast The Art of Kindness with Robert PeterpaulThe film’s costume designer, Salvador Perez, confirms that he had started designing outfits for the alternative concept, which involved Midler, Parker, and Najimy onstage in Purgatory. Perez explains:
“Instead of singing in the music studio, they would perform on stage in Purgatory. I had to make a gold version of it in gold costumes. We started that process and they said ‘no, we’re not going to do it, we don’t have the time or money.’ So it didn’t get me very far, but that would have been the end of the movie… My concept was these Vegas versions of their gold and sparkle costumes… I was really looking forward to it. The audience would be all in red and it was all different period costumes but all in red. So 15th century, 16th century, 17th… all those dead people in red in the booths and then the ladies in gold on the podium.”
Would the original Hocus Pocus 2 ending have been better?
After the Sanderson sisters at the end of… Hocus pocus 2, the idea of ​​the three witches singing in purgatory would have been a natural and clever extension of the story. It would have taken a slightly darker spin, knowing they might be left in a world with no spiritual resolution, while admittedly it’s funny to see them where they belong and still have a great time. On the other hand, while the witches have always been the villains of Hocus Pocus, the story ends with the climax of Winifred lovingly deciding to reunite with her sisters and shedding an empathetic light on the cartoonish evil characters. It’s a warm and peaceful ending that honors the legacy these Disney witches have held for many children over the decades.
End Hocus pocus 2 would have worked with the Sanderson sisters in purgatory as an extra joke that also answers the narrative question of what happened to them. However, the music studio segment takes the Sandersons out of the story and out of time, lightening the tone while also making the Hocus Pocus witches a sense of immortality. The last cut of Hocus pocus 2 the film ends on a more emotional note, with audiences getting to use their imaginations to ponder where the Sanderson sisters ended up, and the mystery adds a bit more to the magic. Not to mention, it gives more storytelling freedom for every potential Hocus pocus 3slightly hinted at in the post-credits scene.
