Sadly Over-hyped

One of my all time favorites.

Boring, long, and too preachy.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

I was a tremendous big fan of Roald Dahl's books as a kid (who wasn't?) and "The Witches" has always been a personal favorite. I began watching this film once before already, shortly after its release on rental video, but since I was only 9 years old back then, I sat completely petrified in the sofa and my mother switched off the tape because she considered me too young for the eerie make-up effects and the continuous talk about annihilating all children. Having re-watched the film now, at the age of 33, I can finally relate to my mother and admit that I probably wouldn't prefer my young offspring to be exposed to several of the nightmarish imagery, either. This doesn't mean, however, that "The Witches" isn't recommended! Quite the contrary, it's a fabulously entertaining and compelling adventure that benefices enormously from the talent and craftsmanship from all its main contributors. There's Roald Dahl's writing, evidently, but also the masterful direction of Nicolas Roeg and the trustworthy overview of producer Jim Henson. Together they are responsible for the film's main success elements, including the fantastic casting choices – among the best in cinematic history – and the stupendous special effects. Young Luke enjoys to spend time with his grandmother Helga (and remains to live with her when his parents suddenly die in a car crash) because she always narrates Norwegian folklore stories about witches. When they spend a vacation at a fancy British seaside hotel, Luke accidentally attends an annual witch coven's convention and learns that the evil Grand High Witch has invented a potion to turn all of Britain's children into mice. Luke and his buddy Bruno Jenkins are turned into mice first, but they still fight back, together with Grandma Helga. The choice of casting Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch was downright genius! She has the ideally natural looks, charisma and voice to depict the ultimately evil battle-ax and then she still adds a delicious heavy German accent to her monologues. Speaking of the genius casting choices, Rowan Atkinson is excellent as the nervous and slightly sleazy hotel manager and the traditional Swedish actress Mai Zetterling gives a lovable performance as the grandmother. The make-up art and special effects are amazing, most notably when the doors of the witches' convention close and they reveal their true and hideous faces. Jim Henson's crew also delivers great work with the puppet mice. If the film would be remade in this modern day and age – God forbid – all the sequences with the puppet mice and witchcraft would be replaced by computerized effects. "The Witches" is yet another movie example to prove that good old- fashioned handwork is much better. The happy ending of the film is a bit of a letdown, especially because it differs from Roald Dahl's book ending, but that certainly doesn't prevent "The Witches" from being a terrific and highly recommended fantasy/adventure movie!

While on vacation in Norway visiting grandmother Helga, she tells young Luke Eveshim about the existence of real witches who hate children. As a child, she lost a friend to a witch who put her into a painting. His parents are killed and Helga takes him to England where she owns a house. They vacation at seaside Hotel Excelsior. There is also a convention for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children with Chairwoman Eva Ernst (Anjelica Huston). Hotel manager Mr. Stringer (Rowan Atkinson) has it in for Luke and his pet mice. While hiding in the ballroom, Luke spies that the convention is actually for witches and she intends to transform every child into a mouse. Luke and another boy get caught and changed into mice.The first 30 minutes have a bit too much to cover. There's no real need to start in Norway. The parents dying would be a great place to go darker but the movie doesn't spend much time on it. The movie finally sets up in the hotel. Huston is delicious as the Grand High Witch. It has the dark ugliness and some edgy fun. There is a tacked on happy ending to the story which doesn't make much sense.

I really like THE WITCHES. It was a childhood favourite of mine back at the time - I was born in 1981, so was roughly the same age as the kid in it. In addition, I think it's the film that most authentically captures the spirit of Roald Dahl's book, more so than either of the CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY adaptations. The combination of Nic Roeg's outstanding direction (who thought of using an art-house director for a kid's film? It was a gamble that really paid off) and Jim Henson's great puppet work makes for a truly superlative movie.The storyline is deliciously dark and, although it's kept simple throughout, the film achieves a remarkable level of world-building in a short space of time. Then there's the cast: Anjelica Huston, completely sinister in THAT role (forget THE ADDAMS FAMILY, that's nothing compared to this), a deliciously deadpan Bill Paterson, a hilariously pompous Rowan Atkinson, and a sweet Mai Zetterling holding it all together as the kindly granny.I still love the mouse puppets they use in this film, and the effects really hold up even today. I consider the big reveal with Huston to be one of the best, and most shocking, ever put on film. Yes, the sugar-sweet ending may be off-putting to some - and a departure from the original - but it doesn't spoil what is, in many ways, a perfect little movie.

A PG-rated family-horror tale about witches, unlike THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK (1987, 5/10), this film affords a crystal-clear definition of the hidden witches among folks (wig, purple eyes and flat toes), adapted from Roald Dahl's children book, UK director Nicolas Roeg certainly taps a darker and eerier approach to visualize the images of witches (thanks to a vivd make-up feat and a grisly puppetry), which might scare off most tykes but as for an adult viewer, it has an eye-opening relish. However, up until the last moment, the adventurous rapture has come to a self-contradictory compromise, procuring a spot in the children-friendly zone, the film opts a rather arbitrary happy ending (overtly against Dahl's willingness) in order not to further upset its potential audience's feeble nerves, which cast itself out of the spectre of being an eccentric cult, a lame move with the benefit of hindsight and judging by its tepid box-office that year.The stellar Anjelica Huston has an uncanny brio to demonstrate a genuine grand high witch of Britain, the role, which instantly eclipses the 3D trinity in the TWOE (Cher herself was the original picking for the role) and would later stereotype hers in the impassive, ruthless, and alienated aura where she has been arguably hovering until today, unlike her contemporaneous Oscar- nominated role in THE GRIFTERS (1990, 7/10), where she exaggerates all her alluring poignancy in a shockingly sympathetic role, here she is the impeccable one-note villain. Mai Zetterling is well-suited in her benevolent granny role, although most of the time she is too composed in the tumultuous pandemonium as well as the rest human cast (sorry to see Atkinson and Blethyn are barbarously underused, the latter's only duty is to scream out of her lung).