“My fear is that children will watch this film, unaware that it massively exaggerates the Roald Dahl original and that limbs differences begin to be feared.” But Witches are essentially monsters,” she continued. “Yes, I am fully aware that this is a film, and these are Witches. “It’s upsetting to something that makes a person different being represented as something scary,” she said. Marren explained that surgeons often try to build hands for children and adults with limb differences. Differences should be celebrated and disability has to be normalised.” and questioned if there “was there much thought given as to how this representation of limb differences would effect the limb difference community.” The official Twitter account for the Paralympic Games echoed Marren’s sentiments, writing “Limb difference is not scary. Paralympic athlete Amy Marren said she was “disappointed” in Warner Bros. Many people with disabilities pointed out that she appears to have Ectrodactyly, a limb abnormality that’s commonly referred to as “split hand.” Advocates fear that portraying villains with physical defects can perpetuate stereotypes that disabilities are abnormal or scary. In the recent Robert Zemeckis-directed adaptation, Hathaway’s villainous character, known as the Grand Witch, has missing fingers. has apologized after being criticized by people with disabilities over the depiction of Anne Hathaway’s character in “ The Witches.” In a statement, the studio said it “regretted any offense caused.” The Witches doesn’t need a blockbuster cast, and its ridiculous plot and bizarre imagery definitely were not meant to leave the ’80s.Warner Bros.
But in the end, the weirdness wins out, making it a movie that seems ok at first glance, but quickly devolves into repulsive strangeness.
The main character and his grandma are a wholesome duo, as well as the Stuart Little-esque mice characters. Though the movie definitely leans too heavily into the weirdness of the source material, there are some fun moments. None of the witches have toes except Anne Hathaway’s character, who gets one toe in the middle of each foot? Clawed hands with arms that dislocate like something from an X-Files episode? Joker-style mouths that split open for extra teeth? Sure it’s Roald Dahl, and he’s quirky, but who put this in a movie and rated it PG? The CGI, though likely trying to copy character descriptions from the book, is unsettling and completely baffling. Strong performances could have detracted from the strange imagery and outdated plot, but the script and special effects make it impossible to take the film seriously in any regard.
The impressive and capable cast only brings attention to the glaring issues in this strange and disorienting film. Aside from a more diverse cast and the updated graphics, the 2020 adaptation hasn’t grown much from the previous version, let alone the book. The Witches is a 2020 adaptation of the book of the same name by Roald Dahl, following the first adaptation in 1990. With performances from Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci, Anne Hathaway and Kristin Chenoweth, The Witches holds a lot of promise for people unfamiliar with the story but falls short of its star cast.
The last thing that some movies should have is a good cast, and The Witches is one such movie.