The Witches

The Witches is a fantasy adventure film. It is based on the book of the same name by Roald Dahl and was the final film to be worked on by Jim Henson. The film stars Anjelica Huston as the most evil head witch, with supporting cast including Jane Horrocks, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher and Rowan Atkinson.

The film was a moderate box office success but has proved so popular that even today it is a firm favourite of both children and adults. As with many of Dahl’s books the film adaptation is exceedingly close and viewers have found that they have enjoyed the film as much as the book.

The story can be very dark at times and some viewers thought some scenes would be too scary for smaller children hence the rating given. However, this is often the case with Dahl’s writing and children are often more prepared than adults think for the sadder side of life.

The performances of the actors was solid especially Huston as the evil head witch; she enjoys such a breadth of character that one can almost believe she is a witch in real life.

When a young boy goes to live with his grandma after the death of his parents he learns that the world is populated with a huge number of witches, and they want to kill all children. When the two go on holiday they accidentally stay at the same hotel as a meeting of all the witches of England.

Cinema release 1990

Certificate PG

Available on DVD