Hocus Pocus 2 Easter Eggs: 13 Callbacks To The Original Film In Disney+'s Sequel

The following post contains spoilers for Hocus Pocus 2, now streaming on Disney+.

They're back, witches!

The much-anticipated Hocus Pocus 2 dropped on Disney+ Friday, resurrecting the witchy Sanderson Sisters (sorry: Sis-taaahs!) for more Halloween havoc.

The movie is a nostalgia-drenched follow-up to the 1993 cult classic, featuring the returns of Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy and Doug Jones as Winifred, Sarah, Mary and Billy Butcherson, respectively. And while the sequel certainly includes a few obvious nods to its predecessor — for instance, the helpful black cat Cobweb is clearly this film's version of Thackery Binx — we also noticed several other, smaller references to the original movie that we've outlined in the list below.

Among the 13 homages we spotted (a fitting number for this time of year, no?): Billy's description of himself as a "good zombie," the same phrase Max used for him at the end of the first film; a Salem resident dressed as Madonna for Halloween, mirroring Max's mom's costume at the town hall party; and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment that made us question everything we thought we knew about the Hocus Pocus universe.

Grade Hocus Pocus 2 in our poll below, then keep scrolling for our recap of the sequel's Easter eggs — and drop a comment with any we may have missed!

As the Sanderson Sisters found themselves in increasingly dire straits during Hocus Pocus, Mary was the first to suggest a calming circle to help the siblings stay focused. And as the opening flashbacks of Hocus Pocus 2 reveal to us, Mary has been initiating that ritual since the girls were teenagers, including during their journey into Salem's Forbidden Woods. The calming circles were much more serene when they were younger, though: In the witches' older age, it's less deep breathing and more deep grunting.

While perusing her newly acquired spellbook, young Winifred's eye is first caught by the manual's cat transformation spell — which, of course, we know she'll cast years later in order to turn Thackery Binx into an immortal feline.

In the original film, after the Sandersons' brooms were snagged by some trick-or-treaters, Winifred, Sarah and Mary were respectively forced to ride around on a sweeping broom, a mop and a vacuum cleaner. Twenty-nine years later, they're stuck with the same devices — but at least they've been upgraded! Sarah gets a sleek Swiffer this time, while Mary attaches a Roomba to each foot for flying. Broombas, if you will.

When a calming circle just won't do the trick, Mary's always willing to withstand a little pain to help her sisters relax. Case in point: Mary offering her hand for a panicked Winifred to slap, just as she did decades ago when Winifred tearfully awaited that fateful sunrise.

Sarah Sanderson loves repeating the word "amok" even more than she enjoys pointing out handsome men. (Well, maybe.) Only fitting, then, that she gets to chant it anew in the sequel, as Winifred announces their plan to run amok in Salem after brewing their Life Potion.

"Oh, stop, I'm a good zombie!" Billy Butcherson reassures a spooked Gilbert (Sam Richardson) after having his grave disturbed once more. But he's right to describe himself that way: Max Dennison first introduced Billy as a "good zombie" to love interest Allison in the original movie.

We suppose this one's less of an Easter egg and more of a must-have in any true Hocus Pocus follow-up: After bewitching the town hall party with their rendition of "I Put a Spell on You" back in 1993, the Sandersons cause musical mayhem once again with a brain-washing performance of Blondie's "One Way or Another" at the Salem Scare Fest. And they've really upped their audience choreography game!

Max and Dani's mom memorably wore a convincing Madonna costume at the original film's town hall party — and we were delighted to see a Salem resident in the same getup during the Sandersons' latest musical performance.

In the sequel's most obvious nod to its predecessor, Winifred at one point flies past an apartment window where the men inside are watching... the first Hocus Pocus! Plus, at the Scare Fest, a couple is dressed up as Garry Marshall and Penny Marshall's characters from the movie. We have so many questions about the implications of Hocus Pocus' existence in the Hocus Pocus universe... but honestly, they're probably best left unanswered.

"Why did we think taking Gilbert's trolley was a good idea?" Belissa Escobedo's Izzy asks bestie Becca (Whitney Peak) a little more than halfway through the latest movie. "It's the fastest way to get there!" Becca replies — but we also suspect it was a prime opportunity to mirror the Hocus Pocus scene in which Sarah Sanderson carelessly drives a bus across town... running over poor Binx in the process!

In 1993, the Sandersons thought water would be their demise when Max passed off their house's sprinkler system as the "burning rain of death." And they were convinced, for a while! Having learned nothing in the afterlife, though, the sisters are tricked by H2O again when Hocus Pocus 2's Becca pretends her Dasani is actually a rare juice the witches need for their potion. "Oh, this is just water," Becca later reveals — a sentence that should sound awfully familiar to Winifred, having uttered it herself 29 years earlier.

And in a wink to a different trick that Max and Allison pulled on the sisters, in which they taped over a car's headlights to mimic the sunrise that would kill the Sandersons, the sorceresses believe they're facing the sunlight once more when Mayor Traske (Tony Hale) pulls into his driveway. "I don't want to die!" Mary exclaims, then realizes moments later, "Oh, oopsie. Sorry. My mistake. It's just a very small bus."

There was only one way the sisters could fittingly bid Salem farewell, and the sequel doesn't disappoint on that front. As Sarah and Mary fade into oblivion, the former once again gives a wistful "Goodbye!" as she disappears, while the latter utters her now-iconic "Buh-bye!" one last time.