Pennywise and Mary Poppins occupy very different places in pop culture, but they’re also scarily similar to one another. On the surface, the comparison of an evil cosmic entity and a loving, magical nanny may seem like a stretch. After all, Pennywise just wants to devour and torment children, while Mary Poppins’ goal is to bring children joy and a sense of imagination. Yet their similarities are really apparent with their big-screen revivals.
Both Pennywise and Mary Poppins have been reimagined in recent years through new movies. Bill Skarsgård brought the evil clown to life in IT and IT Chapter Two, while Emily Blunt portrayed the nanny in Mary Poppins Returns. These versions of the character followed in the footsteps of Tim Curry’s Pennywise in the IT miniseries in 1990 and Julie Andrews playing Mary Poppins in 1964, after Pamela Travers created the character in 1934. But the latest Screen Rant video highlights how the similarities between them don’t stop there.
To start, let’s look at the origins and usual routines of Pennywise and Mary Poppins. Pennywise’s real origin has been revealed through King’s work in a complicated way, but he has also made a life for himself below Earth’s surface ever since arriving on this planet. He hides down there for decades at a time and only returns to the surface every 27 years. Mary Poppins also is absent from Earth for long stretches, as she was gone for 25 years. And while Pennywise comes from below the ground, Poppins always comes from the sky and ascends to the clouds when it is time to leave again.
When both Pennywise and Mary Poppins are on Earth and interacting with humans, they have similar abilities and techniques. Both of these characters are tied directly to children, and may even get their powers from them. We know Pennywise feeds on children’s fears for his lifeforce and some believe the reverse is true for Poppins and the joy she brings them is what keeps her alive and powerful. In both instances, these characters have similar tactics to make this possible. Pennywise is able to transform into the worst fears of someone, while Poppins can use their dreams and imaginations to take them on fun adventures.
Pennywise and Poppins have also both been shown to have ties to specific kids and their adult selves. Pennywise tormented the Losers’ Club as children and then had to fight them again when they were adults. Poppins similarly helped the Banks children and then returned to look after them and Michael Banks’ kids too. In fact, both of these instances even hold another strange connection, as kids named Georgie play big roles. Pennywise lured Georgie Denbrough during a storm with his paper boat to kill him, while Poppins lured Georgie Banks during a storm with his paper kite to be reunited with the Banks family.
In addition to all of these shared qualities, Pennywise and Poppins have also both shown a knack to be entertainers through song and dance. And, with one of Pennywise’s signature items being a red balloon, Mary Poppins using one to float in Mary Poppins Returns makes the similarities between them even stranger. We can only hope that this is all just one big coincidence, otherwise its possible that Mary Poppins may not be as sweet of a nanny as we’ve been led to believe.
