Hocus Pocus: 5 Times Mary Was The Strongest Sister (& 5 Times She Was The Weakest)

In 1993, Disney released Hocus Pocus starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy. The story focused on the Sanderson sisters and their need to stay young and live forever when they’re brought back from the dead after being away for 300 years. The three sisters all have their own special powers but they’re nothing without each other.

In the movie, Kathy Najimy portrays Mary Sanderson. Like her sister Sarah, Mary is twisted in her own way and would do anything to support the head witch of the group, Winifred. But Mary doesn’t only have strong suits, she’s done things throughout the movie that could have jeopardized her life in the present day.

10 Strongest: She Can Smell Out Children

Mary’s biggest power is the ability to smell children. At the beginning of the movie, the Sanderson movies are preparing to suck the soul out of a little girl named Emily. When Emily’s brother Thackery sneaks into their house to save her, Mary smelled him immediately and the sisters stopped what they were doing to find him.

We see her powers at work again when they’re brought back from the dead and she smells Dani, Max, and Allison. On Halloween night, she also smells children but is confused when everyone is dressed up as monsters and the like. Regardless, without Mary’s scent, the Sanderson sisters would be in trouble.

9 Weakest: Is She The Idiot In The Group?

Winifred may have called Sarah idiotic but Mary isn’t too far away. Mary is constantly mumbling to herself and a tad confused when Winifred explains their mission.

If it weren’t for Winifred’s gameplans and Sarah’s voice, Mary’s gift for smelling children wouldn’t even matter. We’re not even sure she would know what to do with herself if she didn’t have Winifred to listen to.

8 Strongest: She’s An Intimidating Force

Mary isn’t as intimidating as Winifred but she’s a top second. She does anything Winifred asks of her and knows how to scare children into listening to them.

Throughout the movie, there were multiple instances when she growled at children. The growl was enough to startle the children and get them to do whatever she wanted. That in itself is an intimidating force to deal with.

7 Weakest: She’s Naive

Mary and Sarah are more naive than Winifred but Mary may have Sarah beat. Although life 300 years in the future is surprising for Mary, she’s thrown off by everything. This proves that she’s not as strong as a witch as she thinks. She had no idea kids were dressed in costumes, she was totally confused by the idea of commercials, she tried muting Satan’s wife with a remote, and she loses faith when Winifred does.

She also got tossed around by Allison at the beginning of the movie, forgetting that she might not be as strong as she thought she was. The Sanderson sisters are also naive to the fact that life in the ’90s is a faster pace than it was in 300 years ago and everyone is smarter.

6 Strongest: She Thought Of The Calming Circle

When the Sanderson sisters are chasing Max, Dani, and Allison throughout Salem, Mary senses how stressed everyone is. To calm her sisters, she suggests forming a “calming circle.”

Winifred is instantly against the idea but changes her mind at the thought of their parents. The three get together in a circle and begin taking deep breaths. She’s also very caring and takes care of Winifred when she’s down. Without calming Winifred, who knows how many more things could have gone wrong.

5 Weakest: She Wasn’t A Strong Flyer

When the women grab their brooms out of retirement and fly into the night, Mary is the only one who seems rusty. It may have been different in the books but Sarah and Winifred flew with ease as Mary accidentally sat on her broom too roughly.

It happens again after the sisters’ brooms were stollen and the Sanderson sisters had to take different brooms. Winifred took a dusty broom, Sarah took a mop, and Mary took a vacuum. Unfortunately for her, Mary couldn’t fly a vacuum and the cord ended up being the easiest thing for the kids to grab on to.

4 Strongest: She’s Literally The Strongest

We wouldn’t say that Mary is the strongest mentally but she sure is the strongest physically. She manhandles everyone in her path and is able to wrangle anyone they need for their spells.

With Dani and Emily, It’s Mary who grabs them and throws them in the chair while Winifred quickly finds the perfect spell to use against them. Without her strength, Winifred and Sarah would be lost. The bond between these sisters is what separates the movie from other Halloween-themed movies. 

3 Weakest: She’s A “Yes Man”

Are the Sanderson sisters as close as they appear or are Sarah and Mary just afraid of Winifred? Will this be discussed in the movie’s hopeful sequel? It’s out of fear that Mary yesses Winifred to death and does whatever she needs. Sadly, Mary doesn’t do anything for herself. She just sort of floats in the background until Winifred gives her a mission to accomplish.

She continues as Winifred’s fateful henchman when Winifred thinks they failed and will disappear forever as soon as the sun rises. Mary stayed by Winifred’s side and tried to console her while Sarah was dancing around in the background.

2 Strongest: She Was The Last Sanderson Sister Alive

When the Sanderson sisters fail to get the souls of children in time, the sun begins to rise and destroys the sisters. Winifred is the first to turn into stone before exploding, Sarah was next in line disappearing into the light, and Mary was the last one to detonate and said “Buh-bye” before blowing up.

With Mary being the lasting impression of the sisters, it makes fans wonder if she was stronger than they realized. Maybe the supportive, underappreciated sister was the secret weapon all along.

1 Weakest: She’s Not As Evil As Winifred Wishes

Thanks to the sisters abducting children and sucking the souls from them, many associate them with being evil (and they are), but perhaps Mary isn’t as evil as Winifred had hoped.

After all, Mary is the one who suggested the calming circle, catered to Winifred when she thought they were dying, and compliments her sisters constantly. At her core, Mary is kind and gentle. She’s only dark because she needs to be for Winifred.

About The Author

Lynn Gibbs
(1645 Articles Published)

Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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