As the first looks at the sequel to the 90s classic Hocus Pocus have appeared online, many fans noticed a very specific discrepancy between the original and the new chapter—actor Kathy Najimy's crooked mouth.
Specifically, fans noticed Najimy's character Mary Sanderson's crooked mouth is crooked in the wrong direction, a sort of mirror image of the original character.
Naturally, tons of speculation amongst fans ensued about what this all means.
But in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Najimy revealed the explanation couldn't be more simple.
\u201cMary Sanderson's crooked mouth switches sides for 'Hocus Pocus 2' \u2014 and Kathy Najimy explains why she made the shift and the hilarious scene meant to 'justify it.' https://t.co/JIdOHuB38w\u201d— Entertainment Weekly (@Entertainment Weekly) 1664575507
Speaking to EW, Najimy said Mary's crooked mouth was an improvisation she came up with while preparing to shoot the 1993 original about the hijinx three witch sisters played by Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker get into on Halloween night.
But there's nothing "amok" about her new mouth posture.
As she told EW:
"It's on the other side mainly because it's so hard for me to do it on the side I did it on 30 years ago. I'm sure the fans are going to go into deep detail about why it's on the other side."
"It's just something I came up with the first week. This is a big comedy, so you don't have to be subtle or have a 40-page Shakespearean backstory."
But if you're disappointed, don't worry.
The switch to the new side is justified in the sequel in a hilariously and quintessentially Hocus Pocus way.
"We can justify it because there's a scene at the beginning where Winnie [Midler] slaps me, and my mouth goes to the other side, and then she slaps me again and it goes to the other side, and sticks."
There are few things more canoncially Hocus Pocus than Better Midler's character smacking her sisters, so this sounds perfectly plausible.
On Twitter, people are loving Hocus Pocus 2.
Fans are celebrating the film's premier on Disney+ as if it's a national holiday regardless of what direction Najimy's mouth goes.
\u201cHappy Hocus Pocus night!\u201d— Lunar Lana Art \u263e\u2606\u2727 (@Lunar Lana Art \u263e\u2606\u2727) 1664578346
\u201cHappy Hocus Pocus 2 day to all who celebrate \ud83e\udd73\u201d— Alien Superstar\u2728\ufe0f (@Alien Superstar\u2728\ufe0f) 1664561141
\u201cHocus Pocus Pizza! #HocusPocus2 #HocusPocus #hocuspocusfood @joshlpcnc\u201d— Devon Schultz (@Devon Schultz) 1664597016
\u201c@HocusPocus2UK @DisneyPlus Just finished watching it. Made my heart smile\u201d— Hocus Pocus 2 | Streaming Now (@Hocus Pocus 2 | Streaming Now) 1664650363
\u201cHocus Pocus 2 was so good\u2026 the ending touched me a lil bit.\u201d— Tyren (@Tyren) 1664596527
\u201chocus pocus 2 was ADORABLE i was living! i didn\u2019t compare it to the original, i appreciated it for what it was AND it was nice to get the back story of the sanderson sisters \ud83e\udd79\u2764\ufe0f\u201d— Manny MUA (@Manny MUA) 1664655625
\u201cI wasn't expecting #HocusPocus2 to be that good. I laughed at so many moments. I really loved every moment of this film. I also wasn't expecting it to get that emotional. I was crying a little bit at one point. If you like the first #HocusPocus, watch this one. A perfect sequel.\u201d— Jeremy Wilkinson (@Jeremy Wilkinson) 1664597168
\u201cBette Midler so far in Hocus Pocus 2\u201d— \u2728 (@\u2728) 1664655342
\u201cOscars for Kornbread, Kahmora Hall, and Ginger Minj in Hocus Pocus 2\n\nhttps://t.co/j2CX7101sq\u201d— Joey Nolfi (@Joey Nolfi) 1664640643
In addition to its superstar trifecta of witches reprising their roles, Hocus Pocus 2 also features VEEP's Sam Richardson and Tony Hale, Ted Lasso's Hannah Waddingham and RuPaul's Drag Race alums Kahmora Hall, Kornbread Jeté and Ginger Minj.
@coyleray/Instagram