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The Witches is 1990 British/American dark fantasy horror film based on the children's novel of the same title by Roald Dahl. It was directed by Nichoas Roeg and produced by The Jim Henson Company for for Lorimar Film Entertainment and Warner Bros, starring Anjelica Hutson, Mai Zetterling, Rowan Atkinson, and Jasen Fisher. It is the last theatrical to be produced by Lorimar before the company shut down three years later in 1993.
Plot[]
During a vacation with his grandmother Helga in Norway, eight-year-old American boy Luke Eveshim is warned about witches, female demons who immensely hate children and use various methods to destroy or transform them. Helga tells Luke that real witches, unlike ordinary women, have claws instead of fingernails which they hide by wearing gloves, bald heads which they cover by wearing wigs that give them rashes, square feet with no toes which they hide by wearing sensible shoes, a purple tinge in their pupils and a powerful sense of smell which they use to sniff out children. To a witch, clean children stink of dog's droppings; the dirtier the children, the less likely she is to smell them. Helga says her childhood friend, Erica, fell victim to a witch and was cursed to spend the rest of her life trapped inside a painting, aging gradually until finally disappearing a few years earlier.
After Luke's parents are killed in a car accident, Helga becomes Luke's legal guardian and they move to England. While playing outside in a treehouse, Luke is approached by a witch trying to lure him with a snake and a chocolate bar, so he stays in his treehouse for protection and the witch walks away. On Luke's ninth birthday, Helga falls ill with diabetes. Her doctor advises they spend the summer by the sea. At the seaside Hotel Excelsior in Bournemouth, Luke meets and befriends a gluttonous but friendly boy, Bruno Jenkins. Luke unintentionally antagonizes the hotel manager, Mr. Stringer, after his pet mice frighten his maid girlfriend. Also at the hotel is a convention of witches, masquerading as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (RSPCC). The Grand High Witch, the all-powerful leader of the world's witches, is attending under the name Eva Ernst.
Luke hides inside the ballroom and spies on the witches' meeting. The Grand High Witch unveils her latest creation: a magic potion to turn all the world's children into mice, which will be used in confectionery products in sweet shops and candy stores to be purchased using money provided by the Grand High Witch. Bruno, who was given the potion earlier, is brought into the room, turns into a mouse, and flees. Luke is discovered and, after a chase, runs to Helga in their room but finds her in a diabetes-induced dizzy spell. The Grand High Witch, who somehow snuck into the room, appears and captures Luke and takes him back to the ballroom, where he is forced to drink the potion and turned into a mouse before escaping. He finds Bruno and reunites with Helga, who has since recovered. Luke devises a plan to defeat the witches by sneaking into the Grand High Witch's room to steal a bottle of the potion, then sneaking into the kitchen, despite the undercover presence of one of the Grand High Witch's underlings working there, and leaking it into the cress soup for the special RSPCC party. Luke and Helga try to get Bruno to his parents, but they do not believe the story and are frightened by the mouse.
At dinner, Mr. Jenkins orders the soup, though Helga stops him from consuming it. The Jenkinses finally realize what the witches did to their son when he speaks up. As the witches enter the banquet, Miss Susan Irvine, the Grand High Witch's long-suffering and mistreated assistant, quits upon being banned from the celebration. The formula turns all the witches into mice, and the staff and hotel guests join in killing them, unknowingly ridding England of its witches. Amidst the chaos, Helga spots the transformed Grand High Witch and traps her under a water jug before helpfully pointing her out to Mr. Stringer, who chops her in two with a meat cleaver. She then returns Bruno to his bewildered parents. Luke and Helga return home to where the Grand High Witch's trunk full of money and an address book of all witches in the United States is delivered, allowing them to plan an operation to wipe out all the witches in the US. That night, Miss Irvine, now a good witch (having reformed after the Grand High Witch's death), drives to Luke and Helga's house and returns Luke to human form, as well as his pet mice and glasses. She leaves to pay Bruno a visit, as Luke and Helga wave goodbye.
Cast[]
- Anjelica Huston as Miss Ernst/Grand High Witch
- Jasen Fisher as Luke Eveshim
- Mai Zetterling as Helga Eveshim
- Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Stringer
- Jane Horrocks as Miss Susan Irvine
- Charlie Potter as Bruno Jenkins
- Anne Lambton as Pamela (The Woman in Black), a witch who tries to entice Luke with chocolate and a snake.
- Anabel Brooks as Nicola Cuttle
- Sukie Smith as Marlene
- Bill Patterson as Herbert Jenkins
- Brenda Blethyn as Rebecca Jenkins
- Jenny Runacre as Elizabeth "Elise"
- Emma Relph as Mildred "Millie"
- Rose English as Doreen "Dora", a witch who is incinerated by the Grand High Witch
- Nora Connolly as Beatrice
- Rosamund Greenwood as Janice
- Darcy Flynn as Luke's mother
- Vincent Marzello as Luke's father
- Ola Otnes as Erica's father
- Jim Carter as Andre the chef
- Roberta Taylor as Jacqueline (Chef witch)
- Angelique Rockas as Henrietta
- Stella Tanner as Loisette "Lois" Leffour
- Barbara Hicks as Regina
Production[]
The Witches is based on the book of the same name by British author Roald Dahl. It was the final film that Jim Henson personally worked on before his death, the final theatrical film produced by Loriormar Productions, and the last film made based on Dahl's material before his death (Both Henson and Dahl died that year)
Release[]
Theatrical[]
The movie was slated to distributed by Lorimar but when the company dissolved their theatrical distributation operation, it wound up sitting up on the shelf for more than a year after filming was completed. The movie was completed on May 25, 1990, in London and scheduled to open the same day in the United States. but following Flordia test screenings earlier that year Warner Bros. delayed the American release until August.
Home Media[]
Warner Home Video released the film in 1991. The second release and first re-release was on VHS and for the first time on DVD in 1999. Both versions and TV screenings use the original open matte negative of the film. The film was released in the Netherlands in 2009, with the DVD shown in its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1.
Soundtrack[]
The film contains an orchestral score composed by Stanley Myers. To date, a soundtrack CD has not been released, and the entire score remains obscure. Throughout the score, the Dies Irae appears, highly reminiscent of Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique Mvt. V, "The Witches Sabbath."
Reception[]
The Witches was well received by critics and audiences alike, but performed poorly at the box office. The film holds a rare 100% in the film critics site Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews from 32 critics. The site's consensus states: "With a deliciously wicked performance from Anjelica Huston and imaginative puppetry by Jim Henson's creature shop, Nicolas Roeg's dark and witty movie captures the spirit of Roald Dahl's writing like few other adaptations." Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, calling the film "an intriguing movie, ambitious and inventive, and almost worth seeing just for Anjelica Huston's obvious delight in playing a completely uncompromised villainess." Roald Dahl himself regarded the film as "utterly appalling" because of the ending that contrasted with the book.
Awards[]
- Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (1991)
- Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Actress (Anjelica Huston)
- Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Make-up (John Stephenson)
- Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Music (Stanley Myers)
- Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor (Jasen Fisher)
- Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress (Mai Zetterling)
- BAFTA Awards (1991)
- Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair (Christine Beveridge)
- Boston Society of Film Critics Awards (1991)
- Won – Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress (Anjelica Huston)
- Fantasporto (1991)
- Nominated – International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film (Nicolas Roeg)
- Hugo Awards (1991)
- Nominated – Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (1990)
- Won – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress (Anjelica Huston)
- National Society of Film Critics Awards (1990)
- Won – National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress (Anjelica Huston)
Remake[]
- Main article: The Witches (2020 film)
In 2017, Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón expressed interest in making a remake of The Witches starring Anne Hathaway. The film was released on October 22, 2020 on HBO Max.
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
External links[]
- The Witches at AllMovie
- The Witches at Muppet Wiki
- The Witches at Rotten Tomatoes
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