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The Witches

Play trailer Poster for The Witches PG 1990 1h 31m Kids & Family Fantasy Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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94% Tomatometer 50 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga (Mai Zetterling), young Luke (Jasen Fisher) inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) reveals a plan to turn all children into mice through a magical formula. When they find that Luke has overheard, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and the hotel manager, Mr. Stringer (Rowan Atkinson), Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.
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The Witches

The Witches

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Critics Consensus

With a deliciously wicked performance from Angelica Huston and imaginative puppetry by Jim Henson's creature shop, Nicolas Roeg's dark and witty movie captures the spirit of Roald Dahl's writing like few other adaptations.

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Critics Reviews

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Michael Upchurch Seattle Times 11/25/2013
4/4
It's not a film for small children. But for precocious first-graders with a warped sense of humor and an appetite for chills, thrills and spills, nothing could be better. Go to Full Review Michael Wilmington Los Angeles Times 11/25/2013
Real darkness seethes beneath the "Once upon a time" surface, mostly due to Henson's seemingly curious selection of the brilliant and audacious Roeg to direct. Go to Full Review Ada Calhoun Austin Chronicle 11/25/2013
Based on a Roald Dahl book, Nicholas Roeg's The Witches is a film surprisingly faithful to the creepiness of the original. Go to Full Review Rachel Wagner Rachel's Reviews (YouTube) Jun 9
One of the scariest films made for kids ever but a lot of fun Go to Full Review Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week 01/22/2025
The Witches (1990) is another level of beautifully demented cinema—pitched at children in theoretical genre terms but actually a fairy tale lensed so grotesquely that it would make Guillermo del Toro squirm. Go to Full Review Farah Cheded A Good Movie To Watch 10/28/2023
Finds a clever balance between being nightmare-inducing and deliciously fun, a tonal blend that harks back to the twisted appeal of traditional fairy tales. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Kaleb R @Kaleb361 Feb 1 Anjelica Huston Did A AMAZING JOB AT THIS ROLE SHE WAS BORN TO PLAY IT It Was A Little Scary But For Young Children This would be nightmares but I loved in when I was in 3rd grade I watched in 1990 October I was 10 It WAS TERRIFYING but when I came back to it it was amazing and Mai Zetterling and Jasen fisher did a fantastic job too See more Stephen C @bob25009 Oct 30 Success in 1 hour and 33 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dubbed and subtitled in worldwide studios!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Marie T @RT04799436 Oct 19 Angelica Huston: Legend. This movie's haunted me since I saw it as a kid See more thiago s @Thiagostone Aug 20 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas de terror são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Alexandro L @RT37291642 Jul 7 This movie is awesome! The witches are tremendously ugly, don't watch it with small kids! See more David G @RT95929972 Jun 15 The film is glorious! A nearly pitch perfect adaptation of the classic novel. It fires on all cylinders when it comes to creepiness of adult society. The scary elements only enhance the experience. All hail the queen Angelica Huston ,a classic performance. Highly recommend this grim fairytale. See more Read all reviews
The Witches

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Cast & Crew

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Nicolas Roeg

Director

Anjelica Huston

Miss Eva Ernst

Mai Zetterling

Helga

Jasen Fisher

Luke

Rowan Atkinson

Mr. Stringer

Bill Paterson

Mr. Jenkins

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The Witches

Poster Art The Witches (1990) The Witches (1990) The Witches (1990) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga (Mai Zetterling), young Luke (Jasen Fisher) inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) reveals a plan to turn all children into mice through a magical formula. When they find that Luke has overheard, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and the hotel manager, Mr. Stringer (Rowan Atkinson), Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.
Director
Nicolas Roeg
Producer
Mark Shivas
Screenwriter
Allan Scott, Roald Dahl
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co
Jim Henson Productions, Lorimar Film Entertainment
Rating
PG
Genre
Kids & Family, Fantasy, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 16, 1990, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 25, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$8.7M
Runtime
1h 31m
Sound Mix
Dolby, Surround
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