In a surprising turn of events, Warner Bros. has given the Robert Zemeckis-directed film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s ‘The Witches’ a streaming release exclusively on HBO Max. Anne Hathaway plays the evil Grand High Witch, who gathers her fellow witches for a Witch’s convention at a local Alabama hotel. There she unveils her latest plan to rid the world of children by using a magic potion that would turn all of them into mice. The film was supposed to hit theaters later this month but was pulled off the schedule due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
‘The Witches’ is the second feature-length reimagining of the novel, which follows the 1990 film of the same name. Nicholas Roeg directed the 90s version, which was also a Jim Henson production. It starred Anjelica Huston as the High Grand Witch, who concocts a magic potion that would turn little children into mice. Flashforward 30 years later, the new film is now helmed by Zemeckis and produced by Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron.
Flashforward 30 years later, and WB took a different approach, but it still has the same magical feel, along with some CG upgrades. There’s Zemeckis’s penchant for using CG, in the mice, and Del Toro’s aesthetics come alive through the script, love for witches, and production design.
Hathaway looks as though she is having a blast playing as the evil Grand High Witch. Jahzir Kadeem Bruno will play as The Boy who moves to Alabama to live with his grandmother (Octavia Spencer) after his mother dies.
Here’s the official plot synopsis for ‘The Witches:’
Reimagining Dahl’s beloved story for a modern audience, Zemeckis’s visually innovative film tells the darkly humorous and heartwarming tale of a young orphaned boy (Bruno) who, in late 1967, goes to live with his loving Grandma (Spencer) in the rural Alabama town of Demopolis. As the boy and his grandmother encounter some deceptively glamorous but thoroughly diabolical witches, she wisely whisks our young hero away to an opulent seaside resort.
Regrettably, they arrive at precisely the same time that the world’s Grand High Witch (Hathaway) has gathered her fellow cronies from around the globe—undercover—to carry out her nefarious plans.
And if you still want to have a fun Halloween while also practicing social distancing, then visit WWW.HOWTOSPOTAWITCH.COM on your mobile device to find out if you or someone you know is a Witch!
‘The Witches’ is scheduled to be released on October 22, 2020, by HBO Max.
