The Witches

If I hadn't seen the original film, then I may have scored this higher. There's nothing overtly wrong with it but to me it feels just a little flat vs the original, and only improves once the cgi kicks-in. People new to the book may even prefer this version but for me the original is far better.

I was surprised to the reaction to this film... It's completely inoffensive and does everything it needs to with the charm of grandma, the malice of the Grand High Witch, etc. I'm getting the feeling that these are reactionary responses to yet another 'bland and unoriginal Hollywood' trend even though this is an adaptation of Roald Dahl's book, just like the 1990 version is.

It's alright if people don't like this movie I suppose but acting like it's the worst thing to come to screens is an exaggeration to say the least. Kids are most definitely going to enjoy it, it is for them after all, not the adults comparing it to the 1990 adaptation, so I'd say this film was a success in what if wanted to do.

In 1968, a young Hero Boy is forced to go live with his grandma (Octavia Spencer) after losing his parents in a car accident. She tells him that witches are real and they hate children. As a child, she lost her friend when a witch turned her into a chicken. She gives him a white mouse. She takes him to a seaside hotel for an escape hoping that witches would not search there since black children are rarely at the luxury hotel. Unfortunately, the Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway) has gathered her followers to present a potion to turn all children into mice.

This is the second film adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's book. The 1990 adaptation stars Anjelica Huston and is a fan favorite. It's probably a fool's errand to try to do another. The only reason is to upgrade the mice with CGI and that's often a bad idea. The charm of the old animatronics is actually more timeless than CGI which ages over time. It does inject some American racial divide into the story but the movie drops that interesting take rather quickly. The one awful thing it does is to replace the greatness of Huston with a terribly weird Joker-smiling Hathaway. It is bad. There is no good reason for this movie and watching it proves that.

I enjoyed this movie. Won't win awards, but still a good remake . If you read all the negative reviews they are mostly from those who think one race or color can do abetter job and question the cast. Who cares!! Watch it, smile, enjoy and go on with your lives! Don't rate a movie lower because a character is not of the race in the original or what YOU wanted. The rest reviewers who are asking why the movie was even made? Here's the truth about those nonsense reviews, MOST of them did NOT watch the movie so their reviews are biased and inappropriate. Nothing wrong with remakes and this is a great story to remake. It's a kid's movie, but we see old angry folks sitting behind a keyboard and trashing a good story.

Is the movie, the best ever 10/10 Well, not really... Is it good? Yes it is! Is the movie better than the original( I watched the original 3 times)? No it is not,but it has a great flare and spins. It a nice refresh and a story you want to experience again. Not to mention the fact, millenials often don't want to see 30-year old movies and they would connect better. So if you are 50, and angry, it is YOU who is a problem. Young teens really enjoyed this one and the actors they like. It's as simple as that so take it easy!! It's a great story and I was delighted to see another angle of it. That is all. It was cool to see how the creators of the 2020 changed it.

PS. Anne did a great job in the movie. She is a shining star anything she does. Chris was ok in his narration, but I am not sure he was even needed.

Oh Dear,

This should have been good, it needed to be good, sadly it just isn't. It's one of those films where a remake didn't seem to be necessary, but as someone that loved Roald Dahl as a child my interest was peaked.

It's inconsistent throughout, did they perhaps rush it because of Covid? The special effects look decent in parts, and woeful in others, Anne Hathaway displays personality it's fair to say, but her accent..... If anyone remembers Rentaghost, think Miss Popov, she spans countries from Ireland to Russia, it had me chuckling.

Once again, please, please try and give us something new and original, stop taking things that have already been made, and making them ten times worse. An extra point for casting the wonderful Josette Simon.

It made me want to watch Anjelica Huston.

I paid to download it, that money could have gone on something less awful, like a Donny Osmond cd.

Naff, 3/10.