Chicago Sun-Times
Far too disturbing for young children and not edgy enough to captivate adults.
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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.
Less2020Rating: M, Supernatural themes & violence104 minsUSA
ComedyKids & FamilyFantasy
- Director:
- Robert Zemeckis ('Cast Away', 'Contact', 'Forrest Gump')
- Writer:
- Robert ZemeckisKenya BarrisGuillermo del Toro
- Cast:
- Anne HathawayOctavia SpencerStanley TucciChris RockCharles EdwardsMorgana RobinsonEugenia CarusoSimon Manyonda
The Witches (2020) | Reviews
49%183 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Vanity Fair
The film, at its best, is gross and silly and amiably unsettling, which may be all that counts.
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Slant Magazine
A sleek-looking vehicle that's eager to be scary but not comfortable being ugly.
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The Age
Who could improve on the regal fury of Anjelica Huston? Certainly not Anne Hathaway, whose performance in this remake, by comparison, has more than a tinge of the high school drama club.
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IndieWire
Zemeckis 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.
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Screen Daily
The 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.
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IGN
Zemeckis 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.
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Entertainment Weekly
This Witches, alas, has the misfortune of doubling down on all the late writer's eccentricities, while somehow finding only a fraction of his magic.
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A.V. Club
Where 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.
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Empire Magazine
A 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.
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Hollywood Reporter
I 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."
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Total Film
It’s ‘Hello Dahl-y’, as Anne Hathaway’s Grand High Witch brings camp not creepiness to Zemeckis’ entertaining fairytale.
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Variety
Anne 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.
Full reviewThe Witches (2020) | Release Details
The Witches (2020) is available to stream in New Zealand now on Google Play and Apple TV and Neon and Neon Rentals and Academy On Demand and AroVision.