BACKGROUND
The Halloweentown film series had proven itself to be a popular, successful franchise for Disney Channel, continuing with it by making four films in the space of eight years.
But the fourth film, Return to Halloweentown (2006), had angered some fans by recasting its main character of Marnie Piper, having them ignore or try to forget this film even existed. So, what would Disney channel do now for their new Halloween programming?
It was definitely the case that new Halloween DCOM premieres had done well in their release years, in terms of viewing figures, so it made sense to go on with that trend. As Twitches had done well in 2005, making a sequel to that would seem the best option. They had even added an alternate ending to the DVD release of Twitches, giving a hint as to what the viewers might expect from a second Twitches film.
Twitches Too was a worthwhile sequel due to the fact that many of the cast and crew were happy and excited to return to make this new film. This meant that most of the actors were already comfortable in their roles, allowing them to explore their characters further and push the original story forward. It was interesting to see Alex and Camryn adjusting to their new lives, knowing that they are witches and technically princesses of Coventry, and yet are still living on Earth with Camryn’s adoptive parents, so they are essentially living two different lives simultaneously, juggling college with their responsibilities in their kingdom.
Some say that Twitches Too is an even better film than the original Twitches, which says a lot seeing as the first film is loved by so many people already. However, for me, I did not agree. Having said that, when I watched Twitches and Twitches Too for the first time, I remember thinking the second movie was better.
I don’t know what changed but all I can say is I did not enjoy Twitches Too this time around. For one thing, the story was not much different from the first. The original film’s villain Thantos even returned and there were too many side plots and random characters added in that had very little to do with the main story. The final battle sequence did partially make up for that though, as that was one of few moments I enjoyed in Twitches Too.
When it comes to either Twitches film though, I could take them or leave them. They just aren’t for me sadly, although if pushed to watch one again, I would likely choose to see the first one over the second one. Personally, Twitches Too just seemed unnecessary.
PLOT
Twitches Too begins with a recap of the events of Twitches. It reminds the audience that the kingdom of Coventry was once being suffocated by the Darkness. The twin daughters of Coventry’s king and queen, Aron and Miranda, were born in the midst of this battle between the Darkness and the Forces of Light. Two servants, Ileana and Karsh, took the girls to Earth to protect them, being separated and raised with adoptive families. 21 years later, the girls, Alex and Camryn, met, embracing their magical powers and their heritage to defeat the evil Thantos and the Darkness. However, it remains to be seen whether Thantos was defeated.
Later, in Coventry, Alex and Camryn’s mother, Miranda, fears that something is wrong in her kingdom. As she searches for something in a book in Aron’s study, she says to his portrait that she misses him so much. Aron is believed to have died at the hands of Thantos on the night his daughters were born. Miranda then goes into a secret passageway in the castle, where she feels like she is being followed, hearing a voice speak her name and seeing a shadow. Miranda gets through the tunnel and seals the door.
On Earth, Camryn is still living with her parents Emily and David, but we also learn that Alex is living here too. It would seem that Camryn is getting a bit annoyed with Alex, due to her obsession over attending college for the first time. As Camryn sees that everyone is finished with breakfast, she decides to use her magic to load the dishwasher. Although she can open the dishwasher with her magic, her spell causes plates of food to fly about the kitchen. It turns out Camryn’s practising may not be going so well, especially as she’s already crashed her car with her magic, something her father is only just hearing about!
Suddenly, Camryn has a feeling that something is wrong and rushes up to her sister’s bedroom where she is sleeping. A shadow appears to come and grab at her, but Camryn uses her magic to stop it, inadvertently throwing Alex and her bed up against the wall! Camryn tries to explain to Alex what happened, but doesn’t actually know what she saw…As payback, Alex uses her magic to turn Camryn entirely blue. Camryn hits back by giving Alex a tail. The girls continue to argue, as Camryn’s parents come to see what is going on. David then finds himself being spooked by a strange shadow on the wall…
Alex comes down for breakfast, and thanks Camryn’s parents for letting her stay with them and for helping her get into college. Camryn thinks that Alex is deliberately trying to make her look bad in front of her parents by being so sweet and perfect in front of them. As Camryn’s parents once again try to stop a potential argument forming between Alex and Camryn, they see that their protectors Ileana and Karsh have appeared, using a portal that lands them in the family’s pool. Alex and Camryn are left to talk to Ileana and Karsh, where they tell the girls that they are getting married. The girls are excited to hear that. They are also told that Miranda wants to see them in Coventry right away, with Karsh and Ileana interested to see that Camryn has drawn a door with Aron’s crest on it and Alex having dreams about him regularly recently. Alex refuses to go to Coventry now, heading to college instead, saying she’ll get there later. Camryn goes to Coventry with Ileana and Karsh.
Reunited with Miranda again in Coventry, Miranda tells Camryn that she has some concerns still, despite Camryn being reassured that they have defeated the Darkness. Camryn doesn’t want to hear about this though, deciding it is time that she embraced being a princess of Coventry. Miranda states that Camryn needs to learn how to control her magic first, stating that Ileana will help teach her, once Camryn gets that princess dress she craves. Miranda then tells Ileana and Karsh that something evil is moving in the Shadowlands, believing that Thantos is trying to regain his human form. The two are told to secure the castle, before helping to search every inch of the grounds.
Back on Earth, Alex is finally living her dream of going to college, attending Waverly University, the same college where Camryn has been studying art, though she says she is doing independent study this semester. Alex is soon approached by a guy who seems to think he knows her. Alex asks for directions to her lecture, and realises that this guy must think she is Camryn. He says he’ll catch up with her later. Alex tries to tell him she isn’t Camryn. Camryn’s best friend Beth comes up to Alex and says that the guy is Marcus Warburton, Camryn’s ex-boyfriend, having only broken up with him two weeks ago. Beth immediately texts Camryn to let her know about Alex’s interaction with him.
In Coventry, Camryn is enjoying her new, poofy princess dress. In the room, she sees some magic books and decides to try out some magic. Whilst levitating a vase, the vase shoots across the room, being caught by a guy called Demitri. Camryn is given the vase back but drops it. Demitri gives Camryn some advice for her magic, telling her not to think too hard and helps her fix it magically. Camryn is immediately smitten with this guy, believing him to be a prince. As she leaves, Demitri’s friend warns him about getting too close to the princess, especially as he is a servant in the kitchens like him and has no magic.
Back with Alex, Marcus comes up to Alex again, having been told by Beth that Alex is not Camryn after all. Alex says it’s already happened a lot today, learning how popular her sister is with the boys. Marcus tries to ask Alex out as well, but she doesn’t think that would be such a good idea, walking away. A shadow passes through Marcus, making him insist that Alex let him walk her home, to keep her safe.
Back at the castle, Camryn has tried to use her magic and it has gone wrong again, finding herself trapped in the wall she attempted to walk through. She calls to Ileana and Karsh to help get her out. They successfully do so, warning Camryn not to try any more magic until they get back. Camryn is suspicious that something is wrong. Ileana is about to tell her that there is a dark force looming, but Karsh quickly jumps in, saying they are just busy planning their wedding right now. Camryn doesn’t believe them. Bored and unable to do magic, Camryn wanders the halls of the castle, trying to figure out what to do. She passes a doorway that randomly opens. She goes through the door, heading up a winding staircase. Demitri’s servant friend follows her, but he is attacked by a shadow on the stairs. Camryn gets to the top of a tower, seeing a well ahead of her. She hears something drop behind her, and picks up a ring with their father’s crest on it.
Camryn returns home, to speak with Alex, who has heard someone calling her by her birth name of Artemis. Alex also learns from Mrs. Norseng, the family’s housekeeper, that Marcus, having walked Alex home, has been standing on the street outside, staring at the house ever since. Weirdo… Camryn hears about this and is annoyed to hear that Marcus has asked Alex out already. But there’s no time to talk about that, telling Alex that she met a new guy anyway, called Demitri. Alex tells Camryn to show her what she claims to have found. Camryn shows Alex the ring. This makes Alex believe that Aron is actually still alive, having written that he is trapped in the Shadowlands and needs help. Alex and Camryn want to go to Miranda to tell her this now, but all their closet doors close and a shadow whirls around the room. Ileana and Karsh appear, telling them Thantos is back.
The four go back to Coventry, with the girls demanding to know how Thantos can possibly be back, having thought they had defeated him and the Darkness with the power of love. Miranda states that apparently part of Thantos was left behind and has been clinging to life in the Shadowlands ever since. She had felt a dark presence over the last few days, now knowing it to be Thantos as a servant was attacked in the North Tower, the place where Camryn found the ring. The girls are told the servant is ok, but his shadow is not, leading them to realise that shadows exist on their own in this world. This is where Thantos is hiding. Camryn realises that this shadow must’ve been what she saw trying to attack Alex that morning. Miranda is concerned that Thantos is able to go between dimensions so easily.
In order to fully defeat Thantos, Miranda tells Alex and Camryn that in two days, the Sun and the Moon will be in perfect alignment, due to the solar eclipse. Miranda orders Karsh and Ileana to have the girls ready to perform the Vanquishing Spell on that date. Alex fears that this spell will destroy their father’s shadow, but Miranda simply says that Aron is gone, despite the evidence they seem to have with the ring and Alex’s journalling. Miranda thinks this is Thantos tricking them, and tells them to trust her that this is the right thing to do. Ileana and Karsh begin to train the girls to perform the Vanquishing Spell, reminding them that the most important thing for this spell is for the girls to be equally involved in it. They begin by reciting the first part of the spell – but it backfires, burning Ileana and Karsh, who say there was too much Sun due to Alex not wanting to participate in the spell.
Camryn convinces Alex to trust their mother, and they try to practise the spell again, however, Camryn is distracted by the arrival of Demitri and runs out of the room, chasing him outside. Here, Camryn learns that Demitri is a servant working in the kitchen, after hearing Ileana and Karsh order food from him. Embarrassed, Demitri returns to work, and Camryn refuses to talk to him. Alex goes after him instead, telling him not to be ashamed of his job as it does not define him. She says Camryn still likes him and will come round eventually. Demitri asks to borrow some of Alex’s magic, to do something special for Camryn. Alex finds this suspicious, and traps Demitri in a teapot. Ileana and Karsh come running to help, with Alex saying he must be Thantos as he asked to borrow her magic. Alex learns that actually only a select few people in Coventry have access to magic. After Aron’s death, Miranda ordered that only those trusted to control magic could have it. Alex finds that incredibly unfair, and storms back home. But the good news is Demitri is not Thantos!
Back at home, Alex has returned to college, as has Camryn who is trying to find her. Beth goes straight up to Camryn, letting her know that Alex and Marcus are sitting in the cafeteria together. They are just studying, but Camryn can’t help being jealous and uses her magic to turn into Alex. She confronts Marcus after Alex has left, demanding to know what he thinks of Camryn. Marcus says Camryn is fun, but a little vapid and shallow. Alex turns around to see Camryn looking like her and decides two can play at that game, coming over to them looking like Camryn. She really plays up Camryn’s ditziness to get back at her sister. Marcus is very confused and leaves the sisters to talk it out with each other. Alex wonders why Camryn doesn’t trust her not to go after Marcus, with Camryn revealing that Marcus actually broke up with her, not the other way around like she said. Alex says Camryn isn’t self-centred and that Marcus said they broke up because they didn’t have enough in common. The two then discuss the real issue, that Alex doesn’t want to go back to Coventry as she thinks their father is still alive but Miranda doesn’t believe her. They go back over what they’ve recently seen of Aron and the crest, looking at Camryn’s drawing of the door. They need to get back to Coventry to find where this door was. Camryn insists on using her car to magically transport them to Coventry. It’s a bit of strange ride but they get there!
Alex locates the place in the castle where this door would’ve been. They walk through the wall and find themselves in a tunnel, realising the door was bricked up but don’t know why. They rush through this tunnel after discovering they are being chased by a shadow, turning up in Aron’s study, where Miranda also is. Miranda sees the drawing and once again states that this is just Thantos trying to deceive them. The girls ask to know more about their father. Miranda says she met Aron at the Winter Festival. At the end of the night, Aron promised to get her any gift she wanted as a reminder of their time together. She asked for a star from the North Sky and he got it for her. Miranda says she’s never told anyone that story before…Miranda has the girls return home, believing they’re safer on Earth. Alex tries to convince Miranda that it is Aron communicating with them, not Thantos.
Back at Camryn’s house, Camryn’s parents are annoyed that the girls have been out all day without even a call, glad they are safe but concerned that something is wrong. Camryn remembers they left the car in Coventry and her and Alex go back for it. They come back with the car and set about getting ready for bed, discussing the theory that both Aron and Thantos could be alive in the Shadowlands. Alex wrote that Aron was weak but managed to escape Thantos, living in the Shadowlands to watch over his daughters. She goes back to Aron’s study alone to get more proof he is alive. Meanwhile, Mrs. Norseng is attacked by a shadow in the kitchen. She later comes to Camryn’s door, loudly offering her snickerdoodles. The shadow leaves Mrs. Norseng and goes into the bedroom.
In Aron’s study in Coventry, Alex wonders where to find proof that their father is alive, ending up falling asleep. She wakes up, feeling that someone else is in the room with her. She speaks to it, saying that if it is Thantos, she is not afraid, but that if it is her father, she needs a sign. A star is then drawn on the window. Alex thinks this is definitive evidence that Aron is still here, because Aron gave Miranda a star on the night they met. Miranda refuses to engage with Alex, telling her not to say another word about it. She knows Aron may still be out there, but they still have to do the spell to stop Thantos regaining his power. Alex accuses Miranda of not caring about anything except the kingdom and storms off. Miranda asks Ileana and Karsh to find Camryn, to get her to convince Alex to do the spell.
Camryn is told by Ileana and Karsh that as a princess she has to act, and has to do the right thing. She goes to the college to speak to Alex, who doesn’t want to talk to her. Eventually, Alex realises that they do need to get back to Coventry to work things out. They make a door appear in the middle of the university campus and transport back to Coventry. Marcus and Beth see this argument play out and then see a door fly up into the sky….
Camryn and Alex search for clues that Aron is still alive in the study. They can’t find anything, so Camryn says they have to go now as the eclipse is about to start and they need to do the Vanquishing Spell. Just as they are about to leave, a spellbook lands on the desk, flipping to a page with the Freedom Spell on it, which will free those in the shadows. Alex sees that only the last line of the spells are different. This is Camryn’s line so Alex tries to convince her to change the spell at the last minute. Camryn isn’t sure what to do now.
Ileana and Karsh take the girls to the main hall of the castle. They are positioned for the spell to take place. The solar eclipse is almost complete. Other Coventry citizens, Ileana, Karsh, and Miranda watch Alex and Camryn perform the spell from the balcony above. At the proper moment, the girls hold hands and are lifted into the air. They begin the spell and their amulets combine. Alex thinks that Camryn is going to change the last line of the spell to perform the Freedom Spell instead of the Vanquishing Spell, however, at the last minute, Camryn states the final line of the Vanquishing Spell, upsetting Alex. The spell is complete and bursts of light fly around Coventry, searching for shadows to destroy them.
Alex runs to the study to save their father’s shadow. The spellbook flips more pages as she enters the room, showing her the Transfer Spell, which will transfer her magic to her father. A shadowy hand appears to her. Alex holds onto it and transfers her magic. The spell is complete, just as Camryn shows up. Here, they see that the shadow was not Aron and was in fact Thantos; he has now regained his human form. Thantos goes to Earth to find his brother and finally end him. Camryn knows Aron will be at their home, and they head back.
On entering their bedroom, they hear a scream. Camryn’s parents were attacked, as Thantos wanted their shadows. They held him off, but Mrs. Norseng was not so lucky. The girls see she has been pinned up against the wall by Thantos, who lets her leave if she leaves her shadow behind. She runs off, saying she quits. It is revealed that Aron was hiding in Mrs. Norseng’s shadow. Alex and Camryn see that Thantos and Aron have left Earth and use Camryn’s car to return to the castle. But on their return, they discover that Thantos has locked down the castle, leaving Ileana, Karsh, and Miranda outside. Demitri comes to the rescue, saying there is a door into the castle from the kitchen. He also tells Alex and Camryn that Miranda gave back the citizens their magic.
Thantos has Aron trapped on the North Tower, attacking him with magic. Miranda, Ileana, Karsh, Alex, and Camryn run to the tower to help, using magic on Thantos to stop his attacks. Thantos quickly pushes Ileana and Karsh off the tower, who hold on to stop themselves falling to their deaths. Miranda confronts Thantos, saying she won’t allow him to do this, but he says when the eclipse is complete, Aron will be gone. Thantos tries to control Alex and Camryn, and Miranda uses her own magic to stop him, leaving the girls suspended in midair. Meanwhile, Aron is dying. Seeing this, Thantos once again attacks Aron. Miranda puts herself between Aron and Thantos. Alex and Camryn realise they can do the Transfer Spell again, on their father this time, holding hands with each other, him, and Miranda, allowing Aron to regain his human form just in time. Thantos is hit by bolts of light, momentarily halting him. He then tries to attack Aron one last time, but Aron uses magic to push Thantos into the North Tower’s well. Thantos is gone. Alex, Camryn, Miranda, and Aron enjoy a brief family reunion, before realising that Ileana and Karsh need rescuing!
The film ends with Ileana and Karsh’s wedding, attended by not only the magical citizens of Coventry but also Alex and Camryn’s human friends Beth and Marcus, and Mrs. Norseng, who has decided to start a book club with Karsh’s mother, who was turned into a donkey by one of Ileana’s spells years before! Alex and Camryn go to sit with their birth parents, adoptive parents, and Ileana and Karsh, celebrating the day. They end the story by chanting their favourite phrase: “Go, Twitches! Go, Twitches” with the whole table.
CHARACTERS & CAST
Twitches Too sees Alex and Camryn getting used to their duties and responsibilities as princesses of Coventry, whilst also balancing their normal lives back on Earth. Alex is now living with Camryn’s parents, Emily and David, as she is attending Waverly University, which is close by and the same school that Camryn goes to. Alex would rather be focusing on her studies rather than the goings-on in Coventry, whilst Camryn just wants to finally be a princess. Meanwhile, their birth mother, Miranda, knows that Thantos is trying to return from the Shadowlands as he was not properly defeated. Alex wholeheartedly believes that their father, Aron, is alive in the shadows, trying to convince Camryn of the same thing, however, Camryn wants to help her mother and their kingdom. The Vanquishing Spell is performed, but fearing for their father, Alex goes to help him, transferring her magic to him so he can regain human form. Except Miranda was right and this was simply Thantos tricking the girls to have him return instead. But Alex was also right as Aron was still alive, watching over them in the shadows on Earth. Thantos attempts to use Alex’s magic to finally kill his brother once and for all, but the power of their collective family magic allows them to revive Aron. Thantos is defeated by Aron, leading to Alex and Camryn reuniting with their birth parents.
Tia and Tamera Mowry returned to reprise their roles of Alex and Camryn, as did various other cast members. Some of these include Kristen Wilson back to play Miranda and Patrick Fabian returning as Thantos. Camryn’s adoptive parents Emily and David Barnes are also returning characters, so Karen Holness and Arnold Pinnock came back for this sequel.
Aron DuBaer is the twins’ father. In the first Twitches film, it was believed that Aron had died, having been killed at the hands of his own brother, Thantos, however, in this sequel, the certainty of Aron’s death is debated. Alex and Camryn start to see visions of Aron, or at least their father’s crest, making them think that Aron is alive, living in the Shadowlands, like Thantos. Miranda, who perhaps does believe this, at least to a point, doesn’t want to risk bringing back Thantos from the Shadowlands, and says the Vanquishing Spell will simply have to destroy everything in the shadows; she understandably wants to protect her daughters and her people from Thantos returning. It turns out that the girls were right though and Aron did survive the attack by Thantos on the night they were born all those years ago, and has seemingly been hiding out in the shadows on Earth to watch over them. But it was also correct that Thantos was returning, and he immediately went after his brother to end him once and for all. Luckily, Aron’s daughters performed the Transfer Spell, allowing him to regain human form, defeat his brother, and return to his loving family.
Aron in Twitches Too was technically recast, because the character was played by actor David Ingram in the first film. However, in Twitches, Aron did not speak and was not really seen, only appearing in scenes showing his twin daughters being protected from the Darkness; he took them to a hall and gave them his magic. In the sequel, although Aron does not appear as a human for too much of the film, he does have more of a role to play. Aron was played by Kevin Jubinville in Twitches Too. Prior to working on Twitches Too, Jubinville had been cast in the recurring role of Captain Stephen Doss in the medical drama Doc (2001-04), which starred Billy Ray Cyrus. He then went on to play Principal “The Shep” Sheppard in Seasons 8 and 9 of Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-15).
Ileana and Karsh are also characters that returned in this sequel. For the most part, the two continue their roles as the girls’ protectors, being told to teach them how to control their magic sufficiently, and training them to perform the Vanquishing Spell in just a couple of days. They are basically in charge of ensuring Alex and Camryn show up in Coventry at the right time, to either confer with their mother Miranda, or to perform the spell. The couple are also busy planning their wedding in Twitches Too, with this wedding being the final moment in the story. They are quite an awkward couple but they seem happy together!
Pat Kelly reprised his role as Karsh here; however, Ileana was another recast. This was apparently due to the fact that Jennifer Robertson, who played Ileana in Twitches, was pregnant at the time of filming Twitches Too so was unavailable. The role went to Leslie Seiler, another Canadian actress. Around the time of Twitches Too, in 2007, Seiler was also working on the Canadian sketch comedy series Comedy Inc. (2003-07). She later played the part of Jaime in the comedy series 24 Hour Rental (2014).
Camryn’s best friend Beth is another character who reappeared in the sequel. In the first film, Beth was shopping with Camryn on the day she met Alex, and then turned up again at Camryn’s birthday party. She didn’t seem to realise the intensity of Camryn’s day, and believed that Camryn dancing with a boy at that party would fix all of Camryn’s problems – it didn’t. In Twitches Too, Beth’s main focus is on figuring out why Alex is getting close to Camryn’s ex-boyfriend Marcus. She interrogates both of them, and keeps Camryn updated with the details, probably because she wants to be a loyal friend to Camryn, but potentially because she likes to gossip! Towards the end of the story, Beth, alongside Marcus, thinks she sees a door fly into the sky, but both of them pretend not to have seen it, not wanting to believe it. They both must have been told about Camryn and Alex’s magical lives shortly after this moment though, as they later attend Karsh and Ileana’s wedding in Coventry.
After playing the part of Beth in Twitches, Jackie Rosenbaum came back to play her character again in Twitches Too. Before her role in Twitches, Rosenbaum had played Caitie Roth in the Canadian drama series In a Heartbeat (2000-01), which also aired on Disney Channel in the US, and voiced the part of Talia in the animated children’s series Girlstuff/Boystuff (2002-03). She was later cast as the voice of Scarlett Vance in the Canadian animated series Delilah & Julius (2005-08).
Camryn’s ex Marcus Warburton first meets Alex on their college campus, assuming she must be Camryn, as he hadn’t met her twin before. Alex is confused but soon twigs that Marcus, as well as others at college, clearly think she is Camryn. Eventually, Marcus is told by Beth that Alex is Camryn’s identical twin sister. He becomes close to Alex, trying to ask her out on a date, but Alex wants to keep a distance between them since he is her sister’s ex-boyfriend after all. Alex has been told by Camryn that she dumped him, however, Marcus clarifies that he broke up with her, because they didn’t have much in common. Alex doesn’t end up going out with Marcus during the course of Twitches Too, although he does attend Karsh and Ileana’s wedding, so must know about Camryn and Alex’s magic, and Camryn has her own love interest, so this potentially opens up a route to Alex and Marcus becoming a couple. Another thing I want to mention about Marcus is that he seems to be hit by a shadow at one point in the story, becoming highly protective of Alex for the rest of the day, to the point where he is watching her house from the street and won’t leave. This plot point was then dropped and not referenced again, which is strange. Was this Thantos or Aron controlling Marcus? I guess it wasn’t important enough to tell us!
Nathaniel Stephenson was cast as Marcus, having previously starred as Robbie McGrath in the teen series Radio Free Roscoe (2003-05), which aired on Family Channel in Canada. Stephenson had also been cast in the recurring role of Emmett in teen fantasy series Dark Oracle (2004-06) around this time. After Twitches Too, Stephenson appeared as Griffin Pierce-Taylor in Season 7 of Degrassi: The Next Generation. He went on to voice Jasper in the children’s animated series Pearlie (2009-11) as well.
As Marcus is Alex’s love interest in Twitches Too, it wouldn’t be fair to leave Camryn out so she has her own love interest, Demitri. Camryn meets Demitri whilst she attempts to practise her magic, accidentally breaking a vase in the process. Demitri helps her to fix it and after this moment Camryn simply deduces that Demitri must be a prince with magic. Demitri doesn’t want to correct her, liking the fact that he has managed to catch the attention of one of the princesses of Coventry, I suppose! It is not long before Demitri is rumbled though, as he is soon discovered to be a servant working in the castle kitchens. This embarrasses both Camryn and Demitri, with Demitri feeling bad for not telling Camryn who he really was when they first met. They keep their distance for a while, until Demitri ends up saving the day by finding a way for Camryn, Alex, Miranda, Ileana, and Karsh to get back into the castle after Thantos locks them all out, by using a door in the kitchens. We also see that Demitri, along with other citizens of Coventry, were given their magic back, after Miranda took it away from the majority of those in her kingdom on the night her husband died and her daughters were born, fearing it was not being controlled properly. Demitri is a guest at Ileana and Karsh’s wedding, but he and Camryn do not have a conversation to clear the air. I can only assume they would do after her and Alex’s lives have calmed down again.
Demitri was played by Christian Gallinger, who had played the role of French exchange student Phillipe in the DCOM Cow Belles (2006). After this, Gallinger was cast as Beau Beecham in Season 1 of drama series The Best Years (2007-09).
Another new character in Twitches Too is Mrs. Norseng, Camryn’s family housekeeper. She is apparently a different one from the one seen in Twitches, who freaks out when the Darkness comes to Camryn’s family home; she was played by Kathryn Haggis. Mrs. Norseng tries her best to keep the house in good order and the girls in line but she does struggle given the fact Camryn in particular wants to use her magic all the time, which more often than not leads to spells going wrong and messing up parts of the house, like when Camryn attempts to clear the family’s breakfast things, but her magic instead causes all the plates to fly around the kitchen, which Mrs. Norseng, no doubt, had to clean up. She also finds herself being unwittingly involved in the feud between Thantos and Aron, as Aron hides inside Mrs. Norseng’s shadow. Thantos threatens Mrs. Norseng because of this, causing her to run off screaming, saying to the family that she quits! But she must calm down quickly, as Mrs. Norseng is seen at Ileana and Karsh’s wedding, and even starts a book club with Karsh’s mother, who is in fact a donkey.
Jayne Eastwood was cast as Mrs. Norseng. Before Twitches Too, Eastwood had played Norma in Dawn of the Dead (2004) and Mrs. White in My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), going on to reprise this role in the 2016 and 2023 sequels. She also played Mrs. Borusewicz in the film adaptation of Chicago (2002). Around the time of Twitches Too, Eastwood was playing Maxine Bingly in the Canadian comedy series Billable Hours (2006-08). For Disney, Eastwood may be recognisable for her role as Judy, the Denny’s waitress, in The Santa Clause (1994) and later appeared as Ms. Elson in Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars (2010), which is not technically a DCOM but did air on Disney Channel. More recently, she was cast as Ruthie in the Netflix film Work It (2020) which starred Sabrina Carpenter.
The final character to mention is actually Karsh’s mother. She was apparently turned into a donkey by Ileana after one of her spells went awry, something that Karsh has still not forgiven her for! Mrs. Karsh was credited as being played by Chico the Donkey.
MUSIC
Whereas Twitches had two main noticeable songs in the film, Twitches Too only has one.
The main song heard in Twitches Too is “So Bring It On”, performed by the Cheetah Girls, consisting of band members Adrienne Bailon, Sabrina Bryan, and Kiely Williams. “So Bring It On” was released as a single on 25th August 2007, and is a track on their TCG album, released on 25th September 2007. It was written by Shelly Peiken, David Norland, Leah Haywood, and Luther Rabb. This song appears in Twitches Too during the scene of Alex going to Waverly University campus for the first time.
But there is also a song playing at the end of Twitches Too, shortly after Ileana and Karsh’s wedding ceremony has ended and the party is getting started. I haven’t been able to work out what this song is, despite a few audible lyrics, and it was not credited. Online, it states that this song is “You Can Be Anything”, performed by Jessa, and written by Michèle Vice-Maslin, Larry Treadwell, and Jessica Frith. But I cannot confirm this as I cannot find this song to listen to. It was reportedly written specifically for Twitches Too.
The score of Twitches Too was composed by John Van Tongeren, who returned to Disney after composing the music for Twitches. I wouldn’t normally comment on the score for Disney Channel movies, since I like to know what track titles are, and usually DCOM scores are not released on an official soundtrack, however, I did note that some parts of Twitches Too’s score did appear to sound quite similar to some of the music in the Harry Potter films, particularly in the scene where Ileana and Karsh are trying to train Alex and Camryn to complete the Vanquishing Spell, when the spellbook is flying around the room.
PRODUCTION
For any major Twitches fans who had watched the DVD bonus features, they were likely aware that the deleted alternate ending had shown that an idea for a sequel was in place for Twitches at the time of filming, showing that Thantos was not fully defeated and could return.
Perhaps this alternate ending was removed from the final cut of the film so as not to give away any clues for what a sequel to Twitches might involve – or it could be that Disney did not want to leave the first film on a cliffhanger with a sequel not guaranteed.
There was no need for concern though, because Twitches was going to get a sequel, to be released during the 2007 Halloween season. It is unclear exactly how far after the events of Twitches its sequel Twitches Too is set, but it doesn’t seem to be too much later.
The sequel was confirmed as being in production in April 2007, with filming taking place until May 2007. Much of the same cast were returning, as I’ve already mentioned, but many of the crew also came back to work on Twitches Too. This included director Stuart Gillard and screenwriter Dan Berendsen, who penned the screenplay for Twitches Too on his own, having co-written Twitches with Melissa Gould. Characters from the original T*Witches book series, of which there are ten books, published between 2001 and 2004, were obviously used, however, new and original plot points were included in Twitches Too which did not appear in any of the books. It has been said that only the first novel, The Power of Two, was used as source material anyway, and even the story of that was barely used in the first film. The book series were written by H.B. Gilmour and Randi Reisfeld.
Filming also returned to Toronto, Canada, with the same filming location, Casa Loma, being used as the exterior of Coventry castle. Coventry castle features even more in Twitches Too than it did in Twitches, therefore, new sets of the castle interior are shown to viewers, such as the North Tower, where the battle between Thantos and the royal family take place; Aron’s study; and the conservatory where the girls practise the Vanquishing Spell. We also see the grounds and gardens of the castle, such as in scenes where Miranda discusses the threat of Thantos returning with her daughters, and when Ileana and Karsh get married. The filming location for these moments was the Parkwood Estate in Oshawa, Ontario. Parkwood Estate was officially designated a National Historic Site in 1989.
Aside from Coventry, much of the story of Twitches Too is contained within either Camryn’s house or the Waverly University campus. In Twitches, we clearly saw the exterior of Camryn’s home, which was a huge mansion. In Twitches Too, although most of the interior sets seem to be the same, when we see an outside shot of Camryn’s house, it is no longer that same mansion. I don’t know if the exterior shot is of a real house or was CGI.
For Waverly University, I wondered if Disney would’ve used an actual university campus to film these specific scenes of Alex and Camryn on campus. I don’t believe that was the case and areas of Toronto city centre seem to have been used instead. I think that the Metro Hall and Metro Centre buildings are in the background of most of these university scenes, meaning they must take place in the plaza in front named David Pecaut Square.
As well as filming locations and sets making up the world of Twitches and Twitches Too, special effects are a major part of these Disney Channel Original Movies, considering they do have many sequences with magic. Green screen once again built up the world of Coventry, and there were many more moments of the girls performing magic in Twitches Too and this meant lots of humour was created through spells going wrong, by the use of special effects and CGI. This time, there was a small amount of stunt work as well, particularly during the final battle between Alex and Camryn, and Thantos. Thantos suspends the girls in midair, meaning this was created with the actors in harnesses. If Tia and Tamera Mowry had already been excited at the idea of making a DCOM with magic when they signed on for Twitches, I’m sure there was just as much fun to be had whilst making Twitches Too.
There are a couple of throwbacks to the first Twitches film that exist within Twitches Too, giving the fans something to spot. One of these is that, although Tia filled in for Tamera for a birthday party scene in Twitches, basically swapping their roles, this actually happened deliberately in Twitches Too, as Camryn morphs into Alex to try and get information from Marcus on what he thinks about Camryn. Alex then morphs into Camryn just to get back at her. Another is that in the first Twitches film, a man crashes his bike after getting distracted by seeing Camryn and Alex magically switch outfits whilst in Camryn’s car. In Twitches Too, two men crash their bikes after seeing Alex and Camryn change back into themselves after swapping identities to mess with each other.
RECEPTION
Twitches Too premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 12th October 2007. It premiered as part of the channel’s Hauntober Fest programming block for that year, specifically during Witches and Wizards night, which saw Twitches Too and the first-ever episode of Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-12) air. It is unclear exactly when Twitches Too reached other international channels, although it does seem that it came to Disney Channel in the UK in November 2007, but may’ve been weeks or months later elsewhere.
Twitches Too was viewed by 6.96 million viewers on its premiere, which is ever so slightly less than the 7 million who had turned in to watch the US premiere of Twitches two years before. Twitches Too was the most-watched programme on basic cable that night, with Wizards of Waverly Place being the most-watched series episode on basic cable that night as well. More than one third of all kids aged between 6-11 and tweens aged 9-14 in the US were watching Twitches Too on this night[1].
But viewership was down on the 2006 Halloween DCOM premiere Return to Halloweentown, which was watched by 7.5 million on its premiere. Twitches Too was also not the most-watched DCOM premiere of 2007, whereas the first Twitches film was in 2005. To be fair, the 2007 summer premiere of High School Musical 2 was a very hard act to follow, as it was watched by a record-breaking 17.2 million. However, Jump In!, which premiered in January 2007, was seen by 8.2 million, making Twitches Too the third most-viewed DCOM premiere in 2007, with Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board the only other release that year.
Both Twitches and Twitches Too received similar ratings, so this was not the case where the sequel was seen to be as infinitely worse or infinitely better than its original. I have seen audiences saying that they thought Twitches Too was slightly better than Twitches in fact, but there have been others saying that Twitches was just ahead of Twitches Too.
For positive reviews, the return of Tia and Tamera Mowry to lead the sequel meant that their acting talent and dynamic continued to shine through on screen. Some said that Twitches Too successfully added to and explored the kingdom of Coventry and its magical secrets. Others enjoyed seeing more magic in this sequel, and the ending was also good. Much like with Twitches, the ending of Twitches Too did redeem the film somewhat for me.
On the negative side though, some said the plot was simply predictable and obvious. I will admit that it was quite obvious that Alex was going to have freed Thantos and not Aron when she did that Transfer Spell, but Aron’s return was a bit of a surprise to me. I thought it was just going to be Thantos tricking the girls into thinking Aron was still alive when he was not. Some viewers said that the characters seemed too different to how they had behaved in the first. It’s not clear exactly what characters these reviewers were specifically mentioning, however, in my opinion, I felt that it was odd to have Alex being super focused on college when she hadn’t mentioned going at all in the first film, and that Camryn did seem quite ditzy in this film, by being obsessed with dressing up like a princess and being terrible at magic. I thought at the end of Twitches she had had a breakthrough and wasn’t going to be like that anymore. I thought Miranda was also quite harsh to her daughters in this film, and also kind of demanding of them, despite the fact that not much time seems to have passed between the events of Twitches and Twitches Too, so in actuality, she still doesn’t know Alex or Camryn all that well. There were also comments on the sub-par special effects, which I partly disagree with, feeling they matched a standard television movie budget.
There were also comments around plot holes and unexplained moments. For example, there was little explanation of exactly what the Shadowlands are, and how both Aron and Thantos could’ve ended up there. I also personally disliked many of the jokes in Twitches Too that came about through magic spells going wrong, or the girls using magic as payback on each other. It just felt like the humour of the film was being forced through those moments. I also didn’t like the back and forth between Earth and Coventry, already not liking it happening so much in Twitches, and feeling like it happened even more in Twitches Too.
LEGACY
Twitches Too ended up being the final film in the series, so only two Twitches films were made by Disney Channel, although perhaps not intentionally.
Although Twitches Too finishes with a happy family reunion at Ileana and Karsh’s wedding, there was actually an alternate ending that was filmed and later released as a DVD bonus feature. Here, the viewers learn Miranda has a long-lost evil twin sister called Minerva. She appears after Alex, Camryn, Miranda, and Aron are having a moment of family bonding after the wedding. Minerva appears to be back for revenge for something, stating that one of the twins takes after her and that it won’t be so easy to get rid of her this time[2]. This would’ve been the perfect set-up to a third Twitches film, and would’ve taken the story in a new direction, however, for whatever reason, this sequel idea did not progress further.
Following this, there was not a Halloween or October DCOM premiere again until 2012, when Girl vs. Monster was released, on 12th October 2012, exactly five years after the premiere of Twitches Too. Since 2012, Halloween DCOMs have been even more sporadic, with Invisible Sister premiering in 2015 and the remake of Under Wraps airing in 2021. A sequel followed the next year. This is a shift from the late 90s and early 00s, when Disney Channel appeared to pride themselves on releasing a new Halloween DCOM most years.
However, all is not lost for Halloween on Disney Channel, or Disney+ for that matter, as the Twitches franchise could always return with a third film. Tia and Tamera have spoken for years about having a personal interest in making a Twitches 3, but they do understand the pressure of getting a reboot or a late sequel right for the fans, not wanting to disappoint them or ruin the franchise by making a bad movie. They are waiting for the story to be perfect, signalling that perhaps it could focus on Alex and Camryn’s children. With the advancements in CGI, the special effects would, hopefully, be better now as well[3].
Twitches Too celebrated its 15th anniversary in October 2022, leading to some fans and independent sellers releasing some unofficial limited-edition memorabilia and products to mark the occasion. This included handmade replicas of Camryn’s Sun necklace, Alex’s Moon necklace, and Miranda’s combined Sun and Moon necklace.
Although loved by loyal fans, Twitches Too rarely makes lists ranking the best Disney Channel Original Movies. In one ranking of all 105 DCOMs released up to 2020, Twitches Too only reached No. 83, with its predecessor featuring much higher at No. 33[4].
FINAL THOUGHTS
With Disney Channel anything is possible, and even film franchises that we thought were definitely over and done with have since made a comeback in recent years.
Who would’ve ever thought that sixteen years after Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010) that we would get a Camp Rock 3? I would never have guessed that almost twenty years after the premiere of The Cheetah Girls: One World in 2008 that we would be getting a fourth Cheetah Girls film in 2027. To top it all off, it looks like a fifth Halloweentown film is even in early development, this being announced in October 2026, so this new movie will come out over twenty years after Return to Halloweentown did in 2006.
That means a Twitches 3 is probably more likely than we think. It would appear that Tia and Tamera are on board to return, so perhaps it is only a matter of time. It may be Twitches 3 that we are discussing being in development by Halloween 2027.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: John Dempsey, ‘Audience ‘Twitch’ for Disney’, Variety.com, 15th October 2007.
[2] Credit: Jim Korkis, The Vault of Walt Vol. 9: Halloween Edition (2020), ‘Twitches (2005)’, pp. 217-18.
[3] Credit: Alexandra Hurtado, ‘Exclusive: Tamera Mowry reveals why there hasn’t been a ‘Twitches 3’ or ‘Sister, Sister’ reboot’, HelloMagazine.com, 30th October 2025.
[4] Credit: Rebecca Alter, ‘All 105 Disney Channel Original Movies, Ranked’, Vulture.com, 4th May 2020.