Roald Dahl's The Witches

"Witches are real!"

2020 1h 44m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 3,065

ComedyFantasyFamilyHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In late 1967, a young orphaned boy goes to live with his loving grandma in the rural Alabama town of Demopolis. As the boy and his grandmother encounter some deceptively glamorous but thoroughly diabolical witches, she wisely whisks him away to a seaside resort. Regrettably, they arrive at precisely the same time that the world's Grand High Witch has gathered.

“Witches are real!”

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Cast

Anne Hathaway
Grand High Witch
Octavia Spencer
Grandma
Stanley Tucci
Mr. Stringer
Jahzir Bruno
Hero Boy
Chris Rock
Older Hero (voice)
Codie-Lei Eastick
Bruno Jenkins
Kristin Chenoweth
Daisy / Mary (voice)
Charles Edwards
Mr. Jenkins

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Kenya Barris, Guillermo del Toro
Languages: English
Countries: Mexico, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 6 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Mexico, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

309+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, shot by Don Burgess. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jeremiah O'Driscoll shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer and Stanley Tucci carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Witches are real!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Zemeckis directs. Don Burgess behind the camera. Alan Silvestri scores. Jeremiah O'Driscoll cuts. Produced in Mexico, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 6 years ago.
2International production across 3 countries: Mexico, United Kingdom, United States of America.
3309+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Robert Zemeckis, shot by Don Burgess. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jeremiah O'Driscoll shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer and Stanley Tucci carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Witches are real!".
9IMDB entry: tt0805647 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 14 themes, including "hotel", "witch", "based on novel or book", "alabama".
11Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Don Burgess
Original score: Alan Silvestri
Editing: Jeremiah O'Driscoll
Production design: Gary Freeman
Costume design: Joanna Johnston
Makeup / hair: Paula Price
VFX supervisor: Kevin Baillie
Sound: Randy Thom
Stunt coordinator: Tolga Kenan
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $29,303,571
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Roald Dahl's The Witches (2020)

Also by

Robert Zemeckis

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Community reviews

What people are saying

TinyLilRobot2020-10-30
★ 1/10
A lot was changed in this remake and I thought it would irk me. After about twenty minutes I thought I had been wrong, the opening had some originality and it seemed like something fresh. then they arrived at the Hotel and Anne Hathaway came on the scene like a wrecking ball. Any potential that this movie had was suffocated by Hathaways incredibly poor performance. Watch Anjelica Huston's performance in the original and you will see the MASSIVE difference in ability. Hathaway's performance is akin to an amateur impressionist. It feel more like an insult than an homage by Hathaway, she put zero effort or spirit into this character. Her accent is atrocious and her presence is almost nonexistent. Also the CGI already looks cheap, c'mon they had better puppets in the 80's. All witches now have joker smiles and shark teeth? This could've really been a good movie and it is just marred by an extremely poor performance from the lead villain, an overuse of cheap effects, poor pacing, lack of originality in the second half and a horrendous ending. The only highlights of this movie are Octavia Spencer and Jahzir Bruno who do a fantastic job of filling and updating their roles. Unfortunately as most fans know, Jahzir spends the second half of the movie as a poorly CGI'd mouse. Leaving Octavia Spencer to carry the entirety of the movie from there on out almost seems like a cruel prank. Tucci is decent as is Codie Eastwick as Bruno but there characters are so poorly written and used they practically add nothing. The addition of a third mouse is also meaningless and changes nothing in the story. Ultimately this movie is a far worse version of the first one. They actually managed to tell less of the story, give characters less development, and have worse effects than a movie made over 30 years ago. Some of this may have been forgivable if they added any decent original concepts but again this is a poor retread with no added substance. Its disheartening to see so many big names attached to this film. Guillermo Del Toro should not put this on his IMBD page. Of course your children will like it, they like Peppa Pig.
SWITCH.2020-10-31
★ 4/10
When you hear the names Robert Zemeckis, Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron, you expect something visually engaging. These three names paired with Dahl's work could have been something really special, but this is just another bland adaption. The more you compare it to both the source material and previous adaptions, it comes across as bland and missing the mark. The same could be said about the star-studded cast led by Hathaway and Octavia Spencer, with Stanley Tucci playing the forgettable hotel owner. This team really could have made something unique, but this is not it, witch. - Chris dos Santos Read Chris' full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-witches-horrifying-for-all-the-wrong-reasons
MihaiADobre2020-12-17
★ 8/10
Is a good movie for family. The end is unexpected and Anne Hatheway is always a good choice in distribution.