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- With Hocus Pocus 2 now out, Disney fans are living for the Sanderson sisters on their screens again. While Winifred and Sarah are hilarious and interesting in their own way, there’s something special about Mary. In a lot of ways, Mary is the forgotten sister. She’s not as powerful as Winnie and not as seductive as Sarah, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t important. Because of this, there were moments fans felt bad for Mary, but they shouldn’t feel too sad. She was a witch after all.
In the unforgettable cult classic Hocus Pocus, audiences were graced with the Sanderson sisters: Winifred, Mary, and Sarah. The Sanderson sisters are an incredibly witchy trio, but out of all the three, Mary Sanderson is completely unforgettable. From the mole above her lip to any time she said “Winnie” in a shaky and timid voice, Mary would steal the scene, sometimes even from the iconic Winifred.
But as unforgettable as she was, she was also the one that viewers couldn’t help but have mixed feelings for. Specifically, it was easy to feel bad for Mary, and other times it was completely okay with hating her.
Updated on October 1, 2022, by Lynn Gibbs:
With Hocus Pocus 2 now out, Disney fans are living for the Sanderson sisters on their screens again. While Winifred and Sarah are hilarious and interesting in their own way, there’s something special about Mary. In a lot of ways, Mary is the forgotten sister. She’s not as powerful as Winnie and not as seductive as Sarah, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t important. Because of this, there were moments fans felt bad for Mary, but they shouldn’t feel too sad. She was a witch after all.
Fans Hated Mary
She Sucked On Emily’s Life Force
Right from the beginning of the movie, the Sanderson sisters sucked the life force from Thackery Binx’s sister, Emily. Like any piece of media inspired by the Salem Witch Trials, it’s a common trend for witches to consume children.
However, it’s horrifying to think of Mary sucking out the life force of a little girl, especially when it was later revealed that Mary would sniff out children whenever they were near. As a witch who has the ability to hunt through smell, Mary had some of the more badass quotes from the Sanderson sisters, but she was still intimidating.
She Was Bull-Headed At The Devil’s House
On Halloween night, the Sandersons were shocked to find the Devil’s house. In reality, it was a man dressed as the Devil for Halloween, but the sisters thought he was the real Devil. Mary quickly made herself at home when she entered, which was funny, but things took a turn for the worse when they met the Devil’s “little woman.”
His “little woman” was actually his wife, and she wanted nothing to do with Mary or her sisters, naturally. Mary took her seat and played around with the remote control while she ate her snacks. While this was one of the funnier scenes in the movie, many would agree that if a woman came into their home and made herself comfortable without an invitation, it would not turn out well.
She Was A Suck-Up
There's no secret that Winifred Sanderson is the strongest sister in the bunch. She had the strongest connection with their spell book and was in charge of their youthful futures. Because of this, Mary was a suck-up to her older sister because she wanted to please her and do right by her.
She’d fall at Winnie’s feet and is always at her side whenever she was in the room. As funny as it was that Mary and Sarah would do anything for Winnie, fans would have loved to see a stronger, more confident Mary instead of a brown-noser.
She Wanted To Barbecue Thackery But Helped Turn Him Into A Cat
Out of all the sisters, Mary was the most vicious. When the sisters captured the human form of Thackery, one of the options Mary gave when Winnie asked what they should do with him was to barbecue him. Albeit, this is one of the more hilarious quotes in Hocus Pocus, but it was still a dark moment.
Sucking the life force out of a child is one thing, but grilling a human alive? In the end, they opted to turn him into a cat, but Mary is far more ruthless than fans realize.
Whenever She Randomly Barks
Each Sanderson sister had their own quirks that made them the enchanting individuals that they were. Winifred was theatrical and dark, Sarah was sensual and dimwitted, and Mary was whimsical with a touch of kookiness.
As an antagonist already, it’s hard to say that Mary was one of the more likable characters in Hocus Pocus. To intimidate those around her, she would bark and snarl at them, as if she was a dog. If being a witch with powers wasn't intense enough, Mary was even more intense when she'd growl at people.
When She Targeted Dani
If fans thought turning Thackery into dinner was bad, Mary got worse when she was willing to kill Dani for her own youth. Fans felt bad for Dani because she was one of the more beloved characters. Although she was young, Dani was wise beyond her years and more mature than her brother Max.
Because Dani was such a beloved character and Mary wanted to kill her for youth, it was easy to hate Mary. The Sanderson sisters could have chased any child on Halloween to get their fix, but they focused on Dani instead.
Fans Felt Bad For Mary
She Was Controlled By Winifred
Sometimes being a witch is hard, and sometimes being sisters with an assertive witch is even harder. One of the things that fans need from the Hocus Pocus sequel is for Mary to have a more active role, especially when comes to storylines with her sister.
It’s easy to see that Winnie, Mary, and Sarah all love each other, but the way that Winnie bossed Sarah and Mary around sometimes made it hard to watch. Mary was evil, but she deserved to be respected for her part in the sisterhood.
Mary’s Powers Are Underused
While Winifred and her powers appear to be the strongest because of her connection to the spell book, Mary's gifts are severely underused and underappreciated.
Mary was born with supernatural smell, allowing her to smell out children. Winifred and Sarah also have strong powers, but they're useless in that department. Without Mary's nose, the sisters wouldn't have known Thackery or Dani were hiding in their home. Mary can also brew potions, cast spells, and fly on brooms (and vacuums). The Sanderson sisters had their scary moments, but viewers pitied Mary because her skills were underused in the first movie.
She Wasn’t Aware What Was Going On
At one point in Hocus Pocus, Mary forgot why she was even tagging along with Winifred and Sarah. Winnie had to ask Mary questions to make sure she understood the game plan for revenge. Since Winifred spoke quickly and did most things without running them past Mary, fans felt bad for her.
Fortunately, Mary would eventually catch on to what they were doing and remember why she tagged along in the first place. This short-term memory episode Mary had made Winnie look like the antagonist and Mary the victim.
Whenever Winnie Bossed Her Around
Whether it was verbally or physically, it seemed like Mary was always the punching bag for Winnie’s frustration. At one point in the movie, Winnie called her an idiot, and later on, Winnie would randomly swipe at Mary’s face or arm.
Even though they're witches and sisters, Mary didn't deserve that kind of hate. Aside from sucking the souls from children, one of the worst things Winifred did to the Sandersons was treat them like they were worthless. Because of this, it was easy to feel bad for Mary.
When She Was Trapped In The Oven
Even though Mary was technically an antagonist in Hocus Pocus, fans of hers felt bad when Allison, Max, and Dani trapped the three sisters inside the school's furnace. With every intention of burning the sisters to the ground, the three locked them inside and set them ablaze.
As the three students laughed and danced in celebration of finally killing the Sanderson sisters once and for all, the sisters actually survived the fire. Fans of Mary's were happy she survived the flame, since many hated Max's attitude throughout Hocus Pocus.
She Had To Fly On a Vacuum Instead Of A Broomstick
Because the sister’s brooms were taken by children while they were occupied inside a house, the witches were left without their brooms. So, when it came time to head out to where the spell book was, all that was left in the cupboard were one good broom, a mop, and a vacuum.
Winifred, of course, snagged the broom while Sarah grabbed the next closest thing, a mop. As suspected, Mary was left with a vacuum. While comical, it could be viewed as sad that she always had the last pick.