Kick off your shoes, pop out your fangs, and take off your wigs as we discuss the darling new telling of Roald Dahl’s The Witches.
The HBO Max release is truer to the original source material with a new setting, thanks to writers Guillermo Del Toro and Kenya Barris. This new, colorful world crafted by Director Robert Zemeckis is less terrifying than its 1990 counterpart starring Anjelica Huston. Octavia Spencer and Anne Hathaway give warm and fun performances, even when challenged with distracting CGI elements. This time around, the witches are a little too glamorous but deliciously awful nonetheless.
Chris Rock joins this retelling as our narrator, which helps bring energy to more dragged-out sequences involving CGI mice. The film’s heart is ultimately its biggest strength as it leans in heavily to feel-good themes amid commentary on grief. While it might be a hit-or-miss for adults familiar with the 1990 film, this is a must-watch for families celebrating Halloween at home