Favorites Friday| The Gilded Margin
There are some movies that feel like movies.
And then there are movies that become a season.
Practical Magic is firmly in the second category.
The Owens sisters are back.
Nearly 30 years after Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman first brought Sally and Gillian Owens to the screen, Practical Magic 2 has arrived in theaters.
Bullock returns as Sally Owens.
Kidman returns as Gillian.
And the new chapter expands the Owens family with Joey King, Maisie Williams, Lee Pace and Xolo Maridueña joining returning favorites Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest. (Practical Magic)
But here’s the part I find even more interesting:
This isn’t just a sequel to a movie.
It’s a sequel connected to an entire literary universe.
The original Practical Magic began as Alice Hoffman’s 1995 novel before becoming the 1998 film we now associate with black cats, midnight margaritas, eccentric aunts, sisterhood and one extremely memorable kitchen dance party.
And Practical Magic 2 is based on another Alice Hoffman novel:
The Book of Magic. (Practical Magic)
Which means if you walked into the theater knowing only the movie…
There is an entire bookshelf waiting for you.
The Owens family has a whole story.
Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic was followed years later by:
The Rules of Magic
Magic Lessons
The Book of Magic
Together, they expand the Owens family story across generations.
And The Book of Magic brings the family back together as multiple generations confront the curse that has followed them for centuries. (Alice Hoffman)
So while we’re all revisiting the movie…
Maybe it’s time to revisit the books, too.
Because sometimes the best part of a movie adaptation is discovering the story that existed before the screen.
Have you seen Practical Magic 2 yet—or are you planning to read the books first?
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