The Witches (2020)
Oscar-winning Forrest Gump director and filmmaking legend Robert Zemeckis adapts Roald Dahl's classic dark fantasy novel with Anne Hathaway starring as Miss Eva Ernst. Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci and Chris Rock co-star.
Back in December 2008, the idea for a new adaptation was hatched when Guillermo del Toro expressed interest in making a stop motion film. Ten years on when Robert Zemeckis became attached to the project as director and screenwriter, Alfonso Cuarón jumped in as a producer alongside del Toro, who gets a screenwriting credit.
- Director:
- Robert Zemeckis ('Cast Away', 'Contact', 'Forrest Gump')
- Writer:
- Robert ZemeckisKenya BarrisGuillermo del Toro
- Cast:
- Anne HathawayOctavia SpencerStanley TucciChris RockCharles EdwardsMorgana RobinsonEugenia CarusoSimon Manyonda
Reviews & comments
IndieWire
pressZemeckis has made some unsuccessful films over the last 20 years, but The Witches is the most frustrating of them all because it feels like it could’ve been made by somebody else. Anybody else.
Screen Daily
pressThe director doesn’t draw well-rounded performances from Bruno or Eastick, failing to capture the awe or confusion of youth. What we get instead are adrenalised chase scenes and needlessly showy special effects that lack charm.
IGN
pressZemeckis turns this beloved, dark story into a campy, weird, yet still fairly entertaining kid-friendly story of accepting oneself. The problem is that it pales in comparison to what came before.
Entertainment Weekly
pressThis Witches, alas, has the misfortune of doubling down on all the late writer's eccentricities, while somehow finding only a fraction of his magic.
A.V. Club
pressWhere is the Zemeckis who projected a cartoon-noir Christopher Lloyd into every child’s nightmares? The same director has thrown a softening, coddling filter over Dahl, preserving the shape of his source material while sanding down its edges.
Empire Magazine
pressA supernatural, effects-laden yarn like this is right in Robert Zemeckis' wheelhouse. Which makes it a little disheartening that it’s merely good, rather than great. Dahl's story still sings, but like a potion missing eye of newt, this new take is slightly undercooked.
Hollywood Reporter
pressI would love to have seen what a boldly idiosyncratic fantasist like del Toro could have done with this story. But there's plenty here for audiences looking for family entertainment that balances darkness with a buoyant sense of mischief. At the very least, it's a lively step up from Zemeckis' last two films, "Allied" and "Welcome to Marwen."
Total Film
pressIt’s ‘Hello Dahl-y’, as Anne Hathaway’s Grand High Witch brings camp not creepiness to Zemeckis’ entertaining fairytale.
Variety
pressAnne Hathaway’s performance provides the film with a sick-joke center of gravity, and Zemeckis, sticking to Dahl’s elemental storyline, stages it all with a prankish flair that leaves you buzzed.
IndieWire
pressZemeckis has made some unsuccessful films over the last 20 years, but The Witches is the most frustrating of them all because it feels like it could’ve been made by somebody else. Anybody else.
Screen Daily
pressThe director doesn’t draw well-rounded performances from Bruno or Eastick, failing to capture the awe or confusion of youth. What we get instead are adrenalised chase scenes and needlessly showy special effects that lack charm.
IGN
pressZemeckis turns this beloved, dark story into a campy, weird, yet still fairly entertaining kid-friendly story of accepting oneself. The problem is that it pales in comparison to what came before.
Entertainment Weekly
pressThis Witches, alas, has the misfortune of doubling down on all the late writer's eccentricities, while somehow finding only a fraction of his magic.
A.V. Club
pressWhere is the Zemeckis who projected a cartoon-noir Christopher Lloyd into every child’s nightmares? The same director has thrown a softening, coddling filter over Dahl, preserving the shape of his source material while sanding down its edges.
Empire Magazine
pressA supernatural, effects-laden yarn like this is right in Robert Zemeckis' wheelhouse. Which makes it a little disheartening that it’s merely good, rather than great. Dahl's story still sings, but like a potion missing eye of newt, this new take is slightly undercooked.
Hollywood Reporter
pressI would love to have seen what a boldly idiosyncratic fantasist like del Toro could have done with this story. But there's plenty here for audiences looking for family entertainment that balances darkness with a buoyant sense of mischief. At the very least, it's a lively step up from Zemeckis' last two films, "Allied" and "Welcome to Marwen."
Total Film
pressIt’s ‘Hello Dahl-y’, as Anne Hathaway’s Grand High Witch brings camp not creepiness to Zemeckis’ entertaining fairytale.
Variety
pressAnne Hathaway’s performance provides the film with a sick-joke center of gravity, and Zemeckis, sticking to Dahl’s elemental storyline, stages it all with a prankish flair that leaves you buzzed.
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