Villains Profile: The Sanderson Sisters (with Les)

Moviefan12:  Witches are one of the most common creatures associated with the autumn season.  One can find depictions of witches hanging alongside paper skeletons and plastic vampires all over the place for Halloween decorations.  However, witches have quite a tragic history if one stops and looks at them as they can be more than just the boogeyman that is used in stories to teach children a lesson.  Consider the town that is known for its witches and its trials, the Salem Witch trials.

The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft.

A thing that one should keep in mind here is that many of the women (and men) that were accused of witchcraft were innocents that other people held a vendetta against and wanted them out of the way. One needs to look no further than what an 11-year-old Abigail Williams did by spearheading many of the accusations.  


And this ties into how media has depicted witches and how society views witches as we are now seeing more stories that show a human side to the witches (think Wicked)  and I bring this all up because this Halloween for Villains Profile, I will be looking at live-action Disney Witches. Observing the usual categories that appear in this series but also looking at what the witches say (if anything) about how the era the film they appear in viewed witches.  We starting today with perhaps the most famous Witchy trio from the '90s as we look at Winifred, Mary, & Sarah aka The Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus.

However,  I will not be doing this alone as joining me to look at these delightfully campy witches is one of my oldest blogging friends, Les.  


LES: Hi, Moviefan12. Thanks for having me over to your blog, and Greetings, Manic Fans. Yeah, The Sanderson Sisters are unique in the lexicon of live-action Disney Witches. On the one hand, they’re a genuine threat, and diabolically menacing. But, then, on the OTHER hand, they’re a goofy laugh riot! It makes them a bit unpredictable and endlessly interesting whenever they’re on the screen.



Moviefan12:  Indeed, the three Sanderson Sisters are unique in that they're comical and terrifying.  The closest comparison that one could perhaps find from Disney's animated canon might be Mad Madam Mim.

Now, the biggest thing that makes these three witches work is the actresses that play them and with that, let's take a look-see.


Actresses


Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, & Sarah Jessica Parker

Moviefan12: There's a reason that the iconography of this film revolves around The Sandersons and that's because of all the actors in this movie,  Midler, Najimy, & Parker have the most chemistry.  Without these three playing these roles, this movie would not be as well-remembered as it is today and it would be a footnote in Kenny Ortega's career as his second directorial outing after (the admittedly better)  Newsies.  These three ladies when onscreen demand the audience's attention and chew so much scenery that they probably went to the dentist as much as the kids that overindulge on Halloween candy.   For many, the standout is Middler as you can see how much fun she is having in this role.   For goodness sake,  Bette Midler dressed up as Winnie in 2016 for a charity event, it was just delightful.  And Middler has noted that Winifred is her favorite role that she's ever played.

Something interesting to note regarding Parker and this role is that she has a connection to the trials.  

In real life, Sarah Jessica Parker is a descendant of Esther Elwell, a woman who was put on trial for being a witch in Salem in the late 1600's. The witch craze ended only a month before her trial.

Now for years, there have been talks about either a sequel or a TV remake (funny considering that this was originally supposed to be a Disney Channel Movie)  but I fear that trying to recapture what made The Sandersons work with new actresses is just as bad an idea as when they remade Rocky Horror because much in the same way that Tim Curry is Dr. Frank-N-Furter,  these three ladies are The Sanderson Sisters.  





First Appearance

Moviefan12:  As a fan of witch lore and history, I appreciate that this film takes advantage of American's history with witches and uses Salem to its advantage with the opening for as the Disney Wiki states.

In 1693 Salem, Massachusetts, Thackery Binx is awakened and notices that his little sister, Emily, is being lured into the woods by an old woman while his best friend, Elijah, shows that the witches in the woods are conjuring. He gives chase, arriving at a cottage as Emily is led inside by one of the three women. It is home of the Sanderson Sisters. Inside, they are brewing a potion with which to suck the life force out of young children to use as their own

It's actually rather clever in how the movie sets this up by showing it's a history lesson that is being taught at Jacob Bailey High School and truly gives the feeling of Halloween as soon as the movie starts.   


Moviefan12:  Now, we should also look at how they brought back into the year 1993 and it's really quite simple and involves a Black Light Candle and a virgin.  

In 1993, a teenager named Max Dennison, his sister Dani, and Allison visit the Sanderson Sisters' cottage, now a former museum, on the night of Halloween. While there, Max finds the Black Flame Candle and lights it, which causes the house to suddenly come to life; this culminates in the sisters reentering the front door for the first time in 300 years

I know that some people have stated that they an issue wit the whole virgin thing being in a Disney movie but well,  it fits witch lore.  One of the biggest fear that people had regarding witches dealt with sexual desires.  Consider for one moment, this quote from a 2008 piece. 

Newes from Scotland genders the sabbath through its descriptions of sexual activity and by linking fetishistic sexuality with political subversion

Now, this is a quote I used in an essay I wrote about The Three Witches in Macbeth but it applies here as well.  This movie may be a silly comedy for around this time of year but the sexual aspect actually makes sense for witches.  And yeah, it's played for laughs and I'll dive deeper into this in my review of the movie later this month but I feel that this is a neat way of introducing this aspect of witch lore to a young audience as in all, this movie is a good primer for a kid that wants to get into witches.  



Personalities


Moviefan12:  As Les pointed out, these three are comical yet threatening.   Almost akin to an old act like The Three Stooges.   Winifred is the leader and the smartest of the three, so I'll start with her.  She has a huge temper, has a love for drama and is quite the sadist.  Though never call her ugly.



Moving onto Mary, she's the sweet one of the group so to speak and is always trying to calm her older sister down such as with one of my favorite moments when they do a calming circle.  And she's perhaps the most comical, I mean she flies on a vacuum cleaner during the climax.  

Now, onto my favorite of the three witches.  Sarah Sanderson.   


Sarah is just fun, she owns her body and loves boys and probably loves sex. She is so flirtatious and doesn't care what others think.   You get to see that she loves boys and boys love her.   There's no subtext there, it all out in the open.  Just think back to the scene where she is sitting on the bus driver's lap.  He was aroused. 

That is just so fun and of course, Sarah has one of the most quotable lines from this movie. 

As silly as the repetition of amok is, it's just so fun.  And yeah, Sarah is probably the most hairbrained of the three Sisters but that's what makes her so delightful.



LES: Absolutely. When they’re fooled by a Halloween costume to think one man(Garry Marshall) is Satan, Sarah gives in to her desires and literally dances with the Devil in the pale moonlight!

Moviefan12:  Now let's move onto Grand Desire.  

Grand Desire

Moviefan12:  Once again, their grand desire ties into fears that people had of witches.  They wished to remain immortal and to do so, they had to feed off the souls of young children.  Again,  for a silly comedy that is quite dark but it aligns with how many people feared that witches would harm children.  Now, classic stories such as Hansel & Gretel have indeed shown witches endangering children long before this movie.

However,  this idea of witches harming children for their benefit has a basis in reality considering the historical fears that are attached to this notion.  Moreover, we can look past the historical side of the fear and more look at the emotional aspect.  For many people, the worst thing that a villain could do is harm a child (or a dog)  and The Sandersons to achieve their immorality lure the children of Salem to feed on their lives.  






LES: Oh, it’s quite diabolical in both time periods they portray. It lets you know that these witches are funny, but still a very real threat to the innocent lives they’ll endanger. It makes for a really layered story and unpredictable turns in the plot.

Moviefan12:  This is quite true as we see that there is a threat hidden behind the humor with these three.  

Lackey

Moviefan12: Now this is admittedly difficult to describe as while The Sanderson Sisters do have someone that does their dirty work for them, it's against his will.  And that brings us to Billy Butcherson played by Doug Jones.

Billy is the ex-boyfriend of Winifred, who broke up with him after he had an affair with Sarah.  And well, things got awkward.

An angry Winifred poisoned him and sewed his mouth shut with a dull needle so he could not tell her secrets, even in death. He died on May 1st, 1693.

While he does at first work for Winnie after he is resurrected on that fateful Halloween night,  he ultimately allied himself with the kids to stop the Sandersons.   I'd be remiss if I didn't share diatribe against Winifred.

Wench! Trollop! You buck-toothed, mop riding firefly from hell!

Now,  that is just fun and shows that there is no love-loss between Billy And Winifred.   Doug Jones has actually gone on record saying that he'd love to play Billy again.  Which,  would be cool to see. 



LES: I love how when he finally gets to open his mouth, he coughs out moths, dust and then spews out that great line. It’s like he’s been building up that insult for hundreds of years and it just burst out of him with such delightful ferocity. Billy is a fantastic side character who absolutely earns his place in the film.

Songs

I Put A Spell On You

Moviefan12:  I was shocked to learn that this is a cover as it was originally recorded by artist, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and later covered by artists such as Nina Simone and Credence Clearwater Revival.  

Having said all that,  I love this song in this movie as it's just so delightfully fun and you can see and hear that Midler is having a blast singing this number.  Which makes it all the more enjoyable to listen to.  And going back to Midler's love for this movie for a moment in 2015 as a part of her Divine Intervention tour at the Staples Center, she came out dressed as Winnie and performed this number.


That had to be a delight to behold and it speaks to something, this song is one that was not written for this movie, it's part of the movie's history now. Beyond Midler performing this at concerts, it's now been performed at Disney World since 2015 as a part of the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular in front of Cinderella Castle.  

This speaks to how this song existed long before the movie but for many people of my generation, the song and the movie go hand-in-hand. 




Come Little Children







Moviefan12: As fun as the first number is,  there's an eeriness that is found within this number and feels much more like a villain number.  It has this demented Pied Piper feeling to it and for how short it is, that makes it quite impactful.  Interestingly,  there is a long debate over really wrote it and you can read about it more in this article.





LES: I like how they limit the show to the 2 songs. I think going full ”Musical” would’ve been a mistake(although, just watch Disney recycle this film and turn it into a musical and reap huge success to prove me wrong, LOL!). The 2 songs are quite effective and appropriate for where they are and why they’re sung….OH, those poor parents cursed to dance until they died!



Most Evil Deed




Moviefan12:  Hmm,  this is a hard one.  It's not that they don't do evil things as they do a lot of underhanded deeds but I'm having a hard time pinpointing to one singular evil deed.  Perhaps,  if one asked me,  it might be when Winifred is about to make Dani take the potion. 

I understand that technically the witches do worse deeds but Dani is the child character that the film spends the most time with and seeing one of the main characters in danger is frightening especially for a young me when I first saw this movie.  For goodness sakes, I was four when this movie came out and had a hard separating fiction from reality at that age, so I thought that Dani was really gonna die there.  






LES: Yeah, that was pretty hardcore, alright….. hmmm. When I was 4, my parents took me to see ”Pinocchio” in the theater during a re-release….for me, it was Monstro and seeing Lampwick turn into a donkey that freaked me out back then! Disney is really good at shocking little kids.

Demise

Moviefan12:  The defeat of The Sanderson Sisters is quite fun and does take us back to witch history and lore.   As our big climax takes place at a cemetery and Winifred stepping onto the hallowed ground and is turned to stone.   Which again ties into the idea that witches can't step onto sacred grounds in part because they're devil worshippers.  

Without even having this outside knowledge of witches, this is set up rather well from the beginning of the movie.  However, Mary & Sarah's is set up much better as the whole movie is a bit of a ticking clock and they have until the sun comes up and that'll cause the sisters to explode.  And that is something we see the younger sisters.  

 



By the by, I'm currently reading the book sequel involving Max and Allison's daughter and they've changed the rules of how to defeat The Sandersons s the sun will not cause them to explode and the spells to go back to normal but rather,  it'll make everything they do become permanent.  Which really but that's the sequel and not this movie.    



LES: It’s suspenseful, as it looks like Winifred is going to suck down Max’s lifeforce and beat the sun to live again past the 24 hours she had when he lit the black candle. A nice bit of edge of your seat action to tie up the story.

Are The Sanderson Sisters Good Villains?

Moviefan12:  Before I tackle this question, I want to look at another question that I posed at the beginning of this blog.  What do the Sanderson Sisters say about the early '90s?  That's a hard question to answer but considering that this is a mainstream movie, we were still seeing witches portrayed as evil in the mainstream for the most part.  Obviously, there were good witches before this such as Bewitched and my beloved Sabrina but her sitcom rocketed her to stardom was still three years off.






This is a stretch but I think that the depiction of witches that we see here in Hocus Pocus is that there was an interest in the historical aspect of witches and moving beyond the fantasy element.   



Now, onto the bigger question.  I do believe that The Sanderson Sisters are good villains.  They are comical but that hides their diabolical nature.  This goes back to another cult comparison I made earlier.  

The Sandersons much like Frank are fun and the highlight of the film they're in.  You look at these characters and think, "Yeah, I wanna hang with them."  And it's not so much that the audience forgets that they are evil.  Instead, we see these characters that revel in being evil and that is one of the biggest appeals of these characters.  They make being evil look like a lot of fun.  



LES: Agreed. It’s been said that the true measure of a hero is the villain he/she faces. The better the villain, the more heroic the protagonist(s) needs to be to prevail. To have a villain, or villains, that are not only threatening but make it look like fun elevate their status as good villains to great villains.

Moviefan12:  I'd like to thank Les for joining me here today to kick off the Halloween season by looking at these three witches.  Join me next time as we head to the land of Oz and see how Sam Raimi tackles one of the most famous witches of all time when I'm joined by another special guest to look at...

Theodora