The Witches (1990)
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An orphaned boy and his grandmother must outsmart a secret society of witches who plot to turn all the world's children into mice.
The story
After the death of his parents, a young boy named Luke Eveshim is cared for by his grandmother, Helga, in Norway and later England. Helga warns him about the existence of 'witches'—dangerous women who masquerade as ordinary people while plotting to eliminate children. When the pair travels to a seaside hotel, they discover a convention of these witches is taking place under the guise of a charitable organization. Luke must navigate the dangers of their presence and their secret plot to transform children into mice, while trying to protect himself and his new friend from their sinister magic.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Luke Eveshim is told by his grandmother, Helga, about the existence of witches who masquerade as ordinary women and seek to eliminate children. After moving to England, they stay at a seaside hotel where a convention of witches is being held. Luke discovers the Grand High Witch's plan to use a potion to turn all children into mice. After being caught and transformed into a mouse himself, Luke manages to escape and eventually infiltrates the witches' banquet. He manages to swap the potion with a harmless substance (or ensures the witches consume the potion), causing all the witches to turn into mice. The hotel staff and guests then exterminate the witches. The film ends with the Grand High Witch being trapped and the children being restored to human form by a reformed assistant, while Luke and his friend Bruno are reunited with their families.
- First release year
- 1990
- Runtime (minutes)
- 91
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Nicolas Roeg
- Writers
- Allan Scott · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Anjelica Huston · Grand High Witch; Mai Zetterling
- Genres
- dark fantasy; children's film
- Themes
- Good vs. Evil; Protection of Innocence
- Tone and mood
- dark; witty
- Premise and plot tags
- fantasy; supernatural; transformation; witchcraft
- Source material / true-story basis
- Roald Dahl's novel of the same name
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics and developed a cult following, despite being a box-office failure and being disliked by the author Roald Dahl.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 94% · scale: percentage · review count: 50; Metacritic · score: 78 · scale: 100 · review count: 25
- Awards and nominations
- Boston Society of Film Critics Award · Best Actress · Won; Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award · Best Actress · Won; National Society of Film Critics Award · Best Actress · Won
- Production trivia
- The film was the last project executive producer Jim Henson worked on before his death.; The elaborate makeup effects for Huston's Grand High Witch took six hours to apply and another six to remove.; The green vapour used at the end of the film was oil based and required the actress's contacts to be regularly flushed.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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