Today’s quick review: The Witches. After the death of his parents, Luke (Jasen Fisher) goes on the road with his grandmother Helga (Mai Zetterling), who tells him all about witches and their habits. By sheer coincidence, Luke and his grandmother run into a witches’ meeting at the hotel where they are staying, giving Luke one shot to stop the Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) from using a potion to turn England’s children into mice.
The Witches is a family fantasy adventure based on the book by Roald Dahl. A boy and his grandmother stumble upon an evil plot by a convention of witches and must risk life and limb to put an end to it. The Witches features the bizarre, freewheeling style Roald Dahl is known for. Fans of the surreal side of family fiction will find something to like, but more straight-laced viewers are likely to find it too far afield.
The Witches is cartoonish and distorted, even by the standards of family films. The movie bends over backwards to make the witches look as vile as possible, while the mouse transformations are played up to a similar degree. Tonally, The Witches is just as off-kilter. Macabre subject matter, a flippant approach to a high-stakes story, and seemingly arbitrary rules to the universe all contribute to the impression of a fever dream.
Still, The Witches holds a specific sort of appeal that will attract some viewers. The story is largely true to the content of the book, for better or for worse, and it has the same flavor of adult-tinged family adventure as movies like Time Bandits or The Pagemaster. But even with this niche, the unusual story structure, relatively undeveloped characters, and general strangeness of the premise are a large ask.
How much you get out of The Witches will come heavily down to taste. Fans of the wilder side of Roald Dahl and the riskier kids’ films of the 80s and 90s may want to give it a shot just to try a unique adventure. But be aware that The Witches is not as nicely scoped, heartfelt, or robust as some of its competition, and skeptical viewers should approach with caution.
For a more balanced Roald Dahl adaptation, try Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or Matilda. For a similar style of fantasy adventure, try Time Bandits. For one with a neutral protagonist and a greater emphasis on animation, try The Pagemaster.
[6.9 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100944/). I give it a 5.5 for a messy story; your score will vary.