Taking an old classic childrens story and reimagining it on the big screen along with being a remake of a previous film adaptation of the same novel, is an extremely dicey task for any filmmaker who takes the challenge of meeting both standards head on. Not only does the new version of the story have to do the original concept justice, it also must manage to be a superior film than the one that came before it. Not every director is up to the challenge with it taking a true visionary filmmaker with a firm grip on his craft to make it happen. In the case of The Witches, director Robert Zemeckis whose famous for crafting classics such as Back To The Future, Forrest Gump, What Lies Beneath, and Cast Away, proves to be the one up to task with handling both the films imaginative and directorial duties. Based on the 1983 best-selling Roald Dahl novel and a remake of the 1990 cult-classic, Zemeckis 2020 live-action adaptation of The Witches aims to bring Dahl's work to the big screen in a different style that's fun-spirited and visually appealing, while also proving to be effective in both entertaining and scaring young audiences. Does Robert Zemeckis succeed in meeting both requirements for The Witches living up to the expectations placed upon it? The answer is both a yes and no. The Witches delivers a fairly solid reimagining of Roald Dahl's story with Anne Hathaway's performance being both charming and charismatic enough to make up for any shortcomings the films script possesses, though the newest version never outdoes its previous effort.
Based on the classic Roald Dahl children's book, the plot for The Witches takes place in 1960's Alabama with the story centering around a young orphan named Hero Boy (Played by Jahzir Kadeen Bruno), who moves in with his grandmother (Played by Octavia Spencer) after his parents are tragically killed in a car accident. Together, they encounter a coven of evil witches led by a powerful Grand High Witch (Played by Anne Hathaway), whose determined to turn all children into mice and kill them. The plot for The Witches is one that's charming and allows enough room for Zemeckis to breathe new life into the story, while remaining true to Dahl's work. The films target audience is catered towards young children and families, with it working best when not being compared to its classic 1990 version as the two are completely different approaches of the same story. The film takes a more dark tone in comparison to some of the previous work Dahl and Zemeckis have done that's aimed at kids, but never loses its sense of wicked fun with Hathaway carrying the film with her best Zsa Zsa Gabor voice impersonation. The film works most effectively when it doesn't try to remake the 1990 version, but instead opts to tell its own version of the story. While it doesn't surpass the work of that film, The Witches manages to stand on its own as being a charming yet flawed reimagining of Roald Dahl's work with its heart and creativity being the main aspects, which elevate it into ultimately being an effective effort. Whereas Robert Zemeckis both dazzled and enchanted audiences with his classic Christmas tale The Polar Express, he takes a more darker route with creeping out young children with Hathaway's witch while driving home a heartfelt message, which emphasizes that regardless of how the darkest of tunnels appear, there's always light at the end of it. Although the film may feel a bit old-fashioned in regards to telling its story as well as recycling elements from previous Roald Dahl stories, The Witches still manages to bring a freshness to its concept without relying on the previous film for comfort.
One of the films strongest aspects is its performances from the main cast with Anne Hathaway being the main reason to see the film as she brings much needed enthusiasm and energy to the new version of the story. She's manages to be both terrific and intimidating in her role as the Grand High Witch, an evil and powerful witch whose the leader of all witches in the world. Hathaway's performance is game with her being able to leave a strong presence throughout the film with the latter being at its most effective when her character shows up. The second strongest performance in the film goes to Octavia Spencer as the boys loving grandmother, whose revealed to be a long-time rival of Hathaway's character. Spencer turns in a beautifully heartfelt performance with her being able to completely slip into character like Hathaway, with both actresses sharing some terrific moments together on screen. Stanley Tucci does well in his supporting role as the hotel manager Mr. Stringer. Although his character doesn't carry as much depth as Hathaway's or Spencer's, he still manages to leave an impression with audiences. One of the more impressive performances in the film goes to Jahzir Kadeem Bruno as Hero Boy, who goes to live with his grandma after his parents are killed and is later turned into a mouse by the Grand High Witch. Bruno does well with playing both the human form of his character, as well as providing his voice in mouse form. He brings the right amount of empathy, charm, and heart to his character which ultimately makes the audience connect with his characters dilemma. Other notable supporting cast performances includes Codie-Lei Eastick as English boy Bruno Jenkins, whose also turned into a mouse with Jenkins providing the latter forms voice. The same is said about Kristen Chenoweth as the voice of the boys pet mouse Mary/Daisy, whose later revealed to be a young girl turned into a mouse. Chris Rock lends his voice talents as the older version of Hero Boy, who gives audiences a firsthand account of his experience as a child with the films narration. The cast for The Witches does a solid job of bringing Roald Dahl's classic tale to the big screen with them not only making it engaging, but adding both realism and heart to it. Everyone does their best job in bringing their characters to life along with making audiences connect with them. Despite them succeeding in doing so, the best performance hands down goes to Anne Hathaway as both her presence and the level of depth she puts into her role, makes the film as fun and entertaining as it ends up being. 
The films directing by Robert Zemeckis is steady-handed with him once again utilizing CGI, as well as impressive costume and set design to tell his story. Zemeckis really aimed to make this version a more children's oriented tale in comparison to the original, and it shows with him also throwing in more diversity with the remake such as the ethnicities of Hero Boy, his grandma, and fellow sidekicks who were transformed into mouses. The films cinematography makes it appear to be well-shot with creepy visuals accompanying the rich visual flare that Zemeckis brings to the story (Hathaway's characters teeth will prove to be genuinely disturbing for young viewers). The films makeup design is effective in making the witches appear to be weird and deformed looking figures in disguise that'll frighten young children. Much has been said about the physical look of Hathaway's character with the Grand High Witches overall appearance being slammed by the disability community for her having missing fingers. While their arguments appear to be ones that are valid, there doesn't appear to be any cruel intent behind the filmmakers in evoking any kind of misguided stereotype suggesting that disabled people are inherently evil nor should be looked upon with suspicion. The physical appearance of Hathaway's character along with the rest of the witches work in regards to being effectively creepy while finding a way to differentiate from the look of the previous ones in the 1990 version. The films editing moves the story at a relatively slow pace with the first part establishing the characters of the young Hero Boy and his grandmother with the film truly coming alive when Hathaway's Grand High Witch enters the frame. The music score by Alan Silvestri proves to once again be well-crafted with his work carrying gentle beats which enhance the films quieter and emotional moments, while adding thrills to the films multiple action set-pieces that standout. The films main theme is enjoyable and gives it an orchestral feel that calls back to some of Silvestri's past familiar works which turned out to be gold. In terms of the films overall directing, Zemeckis pulls through in crafting a bizaree children's tale that's visually appealing while manuevering like a typical Roald Dahl film storywise. Even though his work here proves to be a fairly solid effort, the films world building doesn't quite impress as it did with his previous work on The Polar Express. The world that the main characters find themselves surrounded by doesn't quite strike out with audiences the way a Tim Burton or Guillermo Del Toro style story would despite the films impressive cinematography and makeup design. Zemeckis does a noteworthy job with handling the films numerous action set-pieces, even if it feels at times that he tends to rely on an overuse of CGI.
The films screenplay by Zemeckis along with Kenya Barris, and Guillermo Del Toro is serviceable though feels at times like a check off list of all the essential things required for bringing a classic Roald Dahl story to the big screen. The script follows the blueprint of bringing a Dahl book to the big screen with the main character being a young child who lose their parents at an early age and endures wild experiences that prove to be both magical and life-changing. With The Witches, Dahl's story takes a darker turn in comparison to most of his novels with the films central character being transformed into mice by witches with no way of being switched back to human form. One of the films strongest pieces of writing is the relationship between grandma and Hero Boy. Their arc serves as being the heart and soul of the story with the audience finding their bond to be heartfelt. The side characters including Bruno and Mary are well established for the audience to become connected with them, though other characters such as Stanley Tucci's feel a bit dry and only serve to help move the plot along. The script does well with placing heavy emphasis on and exploring themes pertaining to the death of one's parents, the experiencing of grief over the loss, the presence of witches, the power and strength of friendship, and the use of magic and potions. The screenplay works when driving home the films message which says that one should never give up what they are on the inside. This message is driven home by the subplot involving Hero Boy and his friends being transformed into mouses and remaining as such in a climactic twist that detours from the ending of the original film. While some audiences might consider this to be a dark and depressing ending that the young kids are never switched back after beating the witches, the new ending helps to drive home the sentimental message that Zemeckis and the writers aspire to convey to young viewers. On a scriptwriting front, The Witches follows the basic formula of adapting a classic Roald Dahl story onto film while adding new surprises to the story. It's not as meaty of a script as some of the other Dahl films, but it works well enough in giving audiences an updated version of the classic novel, even if it never reaches the cinematic heights of its 1990 predecessor.
In the end, The Witches doesn't end up being a dud but it also doesn't serve as being a slam dunk either. It's ultimately a remake that audiences didn't ask for given that the original film told the story pretty well. The newest effort is certain to divide up fans of both the book, as well as the 1990 version with many begging the question of why Hollywood even bothered to do an unrated version if they weren't going to outdo the work prior. While The Witches doesn't come anywhere close to matching or surpassing its predecessor, it also doesn't prove to be a failure and manages to work as its own standalone retelling of the classic story, that happens to be both entertaining and charming in its presentation. The film is at its strongest when Anne Hathaway appears on screen with her going all in with the character. The story operates like any traditional Roald Dahl plot though certain plot elements may come across as feeling a bit familiar or repetitive. The film might not bring anything new or groundbreaking to the table in regards to storytelling but it still manages to be a fun family-friendly experience, that's bound to spark debate on whether certain aspects of the film are too intense or frightening for kids. One can appreciate the newest versions desire to be different, as well as adding diversity to its storyline. Although it may not present audiences with a thrilling justification for the story needing to be redone as the original film was near perfect, the newer films overall message with its story is one that's powerfully moving, and ultimately needed for today's generation of young audiences. The Witches doesn't outdo nor exceed any of the previously established versions of the story that came before it, but it has quite a bit to offer in the realm of providing sweet and innocent fun without undoing the legacy of Dahl's work or the original film. Those who are hardcore fans of the 1990 version should watch the newest version out of curiosity, or just stick to rewatching that film as the new version doesn't top it. If one can separate the different film adaptations of the book and judge the modern version of The Witches on its own merits, they'll see that there are more positive elements that outweigh the negative ones as the film is fairly well-written, directed, and acted with the amount of criticism being directed towards it being a bit excessive. As both a remake and reimagining of the iconic children's tale, it serves as being an honorable effort. If anything else, the film is worth watching for Hathaway's performance with the end result being an entertaining though average effort from legendary filmmaker Robert Zemeckis at adapting an authors work, which continues to remain a timeless story about not giving up on oneself from within.
Final Verdict: For those who are fans of Roald Dahl's story or the 1990 version, the newest version of The Witches doesn't surpass the one that came before it but manages to work on its own terms without dishonoring that film, or its original source material.
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