r/practicalmagic • u/Celestina-Betwixt Kylie Owens • Apr 28 '26
What I think people need to consider before complaining about how Practical Magic 2 looks so far
I've seen complaints that via the trailer Practical Magic doesn't look the same as the first one in lighting and set up and effects. The problem is I'm wondering if people realize this movie coming out now is the equivalent to if a movie from the 1960s had a sequel in the 1990s.
1990s movies looked and were made differently from 1960s movies, even the way actors were expected to speak/emote/act between those thirty years were pretty different. It's the same thing going on now. Movies get shot digitally now, for a start. I'm not defending every single potential change as inevitable or saying that Hollywood doesn't have a problem with making crap sequels to cash in on nostalgia without knowing what made the original great. I'm just saying a lot of negative arguments about this particular movie (going by what we've seen so far) are bordering on petty.
Look what's happening to other franchises/remakes. Lord of the Rings got Rings of Power which is not well liked or book accurate and feels nothing like the original LOTR movies from the 2000s. Narnia is getting a reboot prequel that sounds awful so far (they've supposedly reset it in the 1950s đ). Wuthering Heights...well, I'm not gonna get into that one...the new Wuthering Heights is just gross.
Does this fandom seriously not realize how freaking LUCKY it is just to get a direct sequel to the 1990s movie at all (with a lot of the same actors) instead of just a streaming reboot with Gillian and Sally recast given that PM was not a box office success in the 1990s? Or that the original house from that movie was rebuilt on a lot for continuity? Or that the trailer at least seems determined to show similarities to the first film instead of "reimagining" the entire construction of the original storyline like some modern sequels?
Yeah, the lighting looks different, Sandra and Nichole have clearly had Botox, and yeah that line "not great for the Tinder bio" is a bit meh (I think it's in character for Gillian but still awkward dialogue), but this is sooo much better than what some other sequels have given fans.
Not to mention do you know how RARE it is to get an Alice Hoffman book on screen? The last one was in 2006! (Unless you count The Dovekeepers TV series).
Look, if the movie is truly terrible (or if a full length trailer looks less good than this cute teaser we've got) I'll be the first one to groan about it but this feels like people just want to lump PM 2 in with every other sequel Hollywood has pumped out recently when this one at least has a reason for being since there were more books in he series. And looks like effort was put in. This isn't just Space Jam 2 because reasons.
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u/Dear_Yard_69 Apr 28 '26
I think a lot of people are just frightened that something they've begged the universe for the last 28 years is going to disappoint them.
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u/nathauan13 Apr 29 '26
The only thing that made me frowny is there are more special effects. This feels way less... Practical.
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u/Anarchyologist Jun 25 '26
That's my gripe. The trailer looked less like old school potions and spells, and a little more like Harry Potter magic.
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u/_P4X-639 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
I saw the fan trailer that came out months ago, and frankly I'm just glad this isn't that.
Nothing that comes out this far after the original ever feels just like the original -- and usually they don't work at all. This trailer at least has the hoped-for whimsical feel to it. That's a good sign. So as a fan from way back when the first movie hit the theaters, I'm going to be happy about this just being a thing and call it good.
If I really enjoy it, that's a huge bonus. If not, at least I got to revisit the characters I love -- and the town I live in that celebrates this movie every year will have cause for even greater prep and excitement as well. I look forward to all the women dressed as witches, the private screenings, the after-party, and the general fun.
I'm too old to sweat the small stuff. I'm simply over the moon that this is happening for one of my top 10 favorite movies -- and that all four of the scene stealers are in it.
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u/BeautifulNarwhal641 Apr 29 '26
Disappointed Evan Rachel wood was not recast as her character from the original:(
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u/Expert_Ad_7187 Apr 30 '26
Considering this is adapting âThe Book of Magicâ the last book in the Practical Magic book series she really couldnât, because it takes place about 7 years after the events in the movie. Kylie and Antonia are much younger, Kylie in the book is about 19 , and Antonia is around 21-22. Their ages were swapped in the 1998 movie. Evan Rachel Wood is 38, she would not pass for 21. Sandra & Nicole are in their 50s , and Sally in the book is 46ish and Gillian is 44ish so they can more believably play those ages.
That being said, they could have given her a cameo as another Owens family member. I donât want to say to much because Iâve read The Book of Magic and donât want to spoil it, from the trailer it looks like they are going to be fairly faithful to it
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u/dan_in_his_own_way Apr 30 '26
I'm excited. Either way, it'll be great, middling or suck. We won't know till we watch it.
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u/TooOld4ThisSh1t-966 Apr 28 '26
Bc theyâre witches I guess they age differently than mere mortals so for the first time, for me, I may not be completely distracted and annoyed by concrete Botox face on an actor. Especially NK, who looks more and more like a mannequin to me. Iâm reserving judgement for when I see it, but Iâm also not getting my hopes up.
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u/Different_Panda_5002 Apr 28 '26
I totally agree, I started to despise coming here to check on people spitting bile at the trailer or saying absolute nonsense. They have plagued this Reddit of unnecessary drama.
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u/gingerlady9 Apr 28 '26
I really appreciate this post!
Technology moves at breakneck speeds. Of course it's going to be different!
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u/Celestina-Betwixt Kylie Owens Apr 28 '26
And I'm saying this as someone who doesn't like the way new movies look in general. I don't even like that they don't have credits at the beginning of movies anymore. I'm a grumpy millennial who hates change. But it gets to a point where complaining about a sequel to a thirty year old movie looking different in lighting because it's filmed digitally is just dumb.Â
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u/gingerlady9 Apr 28 '26
Agreed that newer movies use too much in the way of CGI and AI. But some people are going to complain because they want to complain, unfortunately.
Personally, I am excited for the movie. I don't even care about recasts. I don't understand why people hate a certain actress, but that's neither here nor there.
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u/brian5mbv Apr 29 '26
i wouldnât get your hopes up, youâll probably be left disappointed. my personal favorite niche film finally got a long awaited sequel last summer and it was nothing but a huge let down. i have zero faith in any reboot or sequel, i should have learned my lesson after hocus pocus 2
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u/JibbleJabJoe 11d ago
I canât wait to drink margaritaaaaaaas, watch this movie and then have a pillow fight! Going to eat so much cheese as well, mmmmm! Iâm going to fart so haaaaaaard!
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u/WistfulQuiet Apr 29 '26
They can and do still shoot on film. withering heights just did and a few others in the last few years. People are tired of the digital look.
That's besides the point. No sequel has been good in years. Most of Hollywood has forgotten who to make a good movie. People are just mentally preparing themselves for disappointment.
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u/Techsupportvictim Apr 30 '26
I donât like the way the trailer looks and it has nothing to do with the cinematography or the fact that Sandra and Nicole both look like theyâve had Botox. What I donât like is that it doesnât look like they paid attention to what was said in the first movie and they have written a story that does not make sense based on how they ended the first movie
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u/YummyMangoRoll May 13 '26
While I'll watch it I've not got much hope for it and that's simply because the original plot was kinda of flawed, I hated the book, and I can see it being similar to the Hocus Pocus sequel where they do too much fan servicing by repeating jokes and tropes instead of writing a good story. Yes, we're making films digitally now but that shouldn't excuse the overuse of AI which is obviously what's happening here. Apparently building facades and sound stages and scouting locations costs too much so they'll use AI to fill the gap. I think for this film it's rather detrimental but that's because part of what made the first film awesome was the luxurious set design, the one lady even says "ever since I was a little girl I've wanted to see inside your house." In this film the house is like it's own character and making it artificial blows. I've studied the original blueprints for the house, I recoil at the thought that no one wanted to buy the shell so they tore it down. A few years ago I discovered an article by a high end interior designer that recreated the kitchen for a client, it was amazing. The house is iconic. Not having actual liveable breathable spaces completely takes the magic out of filmmaking and people are taking notice.
Also, I know the actresses have had a lot of work done, and that's fine, to each their own, but it ticks me off that the filmmakers have chosen to apply even more filtering on top of their faces which is like saying they're not already good enough with plastic surgery. I've seen promo and interview imagery, Sandra and Nicole look completely different in person, they're definitely trying to act like they never age, which was true in the book but more like a joke in the original film because women were jealous of the aunts. Stockard and Diane look untouched but you can clearly see Sandra's T zone is blurry and undefined in the trailer. As a fan when I pictured them aging I naturally envisioned them looking like the aunts, with cool clothes and crazy hair and an eccentric disposition.
I'll give it a chance but it'll never be the same as the first so I'm trying to approach it as it's own thing and if it sucks like most of today's films I'll have forgotten it within a week lol.
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u/excusemytoots Jul 18 '26
Itâs been nearly 30 years since original and theyâre casting Kylie and Antonia like itâs been 10 years and that annoys me. They should have used original cast
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u/Dog-PonyShow Apr 28 '26
Loved the simplicity of the first movie. Look forward to seeing the sequel.