This movie HORRIFIED me as a child 😭, I had nightmares because of the scene at the beginning. Also I really hope you're doing well Sophia, sending well wishes and love 🖤
This is a good example of a movie I was delighted to be horrified by as a kid. People these days worry about "exposing" their kids to scary and "inappropriate" things in movies and shows, when, kids actually LIKE to be scared or disturbed some of the time.
Its also important for kids to experience these emotions. Its a safe way for them to learn to deal with them before having to face real dangers in real life. This story in particular is good about how you can't tell if a person is good person just at first glance. Even seemingly upstanding people who (on the surface) are doing "good works" could have an evil core, like with the witches' "children protection" organization.
3:44 she also eventually vanished from the painting altogether, essentially dying trapped in the painting. And just so you get how horrifying it was: she was 80 years old!
From this to the Addams Family a year later…oh Angelica owned my heart 💜 As a child I used to be terrified of being kidnapped off of the street by kidnappers and murders and then I had to add witches to the mix!
Fun fact, about half of the witches in the convention scene were played by bald men in drag because the makeup team didn’t have to apply bald caps for them! They sit in the back rows of the ballroom so most of the time they’re out of shot, but occasionally some shots feature them!
11:19 it means that overexcited witch nearly planned to blow their cover. She was suggesting dump the formula on the sweets all at once. But if she'd done so, the children would've immediately turned to mice and their cover would've been blown. The idea is to pace themselves with the formula so the child has no idea what happened until they're a fair distance away from them, ergo nobody is pointing the finger at them.
SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK: Actually there is a difference in the books and the movie in the end. Luke at the end stayed as a mouse forever, he never changed back, and he died with his grandma after 15 or 25 years (I dont remember), because of his mouse life expectancy.
God I loved this movie as a kid. I've always been a fan of Roald Dahl's books. We watched this film in school when I was about 10 I think, and I was the only one that had seen it. Because of how shocking the makeup effects and puppets/anamatronics were, my class had to have permission slips signed by their parents to be able to watch it. The horrified looks on everyone's face during the transformation scene has stuck in my head ever since. That and how everyone exclaimed "Mr. Bean!" When Rowan Atkinson appeared on screen 🤣. We actually adapted it into a school play that we performed right before the summer holidays, which is why we watched the film, and I played the Grand High Witch. It was really fun and watching this reaction has brought back memories
He stays a mouse forever in the Book. The movie originally had the same ending but the producers didn't like it in screenings and made them record a new ending. Roald Dahl hated that they changed the ending because he thought it ruined the message
The book was a all about confronting the idea that life, in any shape or form, can be altered or taken away inconsequentially. The author wanted to showcase to the reader that not everything in the world is black and white.
Ok, Angelica Houston is the QUEEN of goth camp. I love her so much. And the practical effects are so much more disturbing than smooth CGI. And I tell you what, this has got to be terrifying when you're flying higher than a kite on a blustery day
I’m convinced that Roald Dahl actually hated Children and wanted to traumatise them with his stories….unfortunately for him, Children are messed up little buggers and loved his stories, thus making children love him and perpetuated his own Hell.
I don't think I would've been the same if I sat down and watched this as a child. From this, to Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and Matilda, Roald Dahl film adaptations used to MESS ME UP.
I used to live in Venice Beach, where Angelica still lives. One day I saw her on the bike path coming towards me - she was on a pink bike, wearing pink clothes, pink gloves and in a pink hat. Her face was unmistakeable and even in all that soft pink she still had that aura of badass power!
Roald Dahl himself once admitted he simultaneously admired and envied children. While his stories spotlight children’s vulnerability to trauma, his child protagonists show how childhood can be an isolating but ultimately triumphant experience. P.s. love the color of your hair.
In the book, Luke stays a mouse and dies in just a couple of years (mice have very short lifespans), but he is happy about it because it means he won't outlive his grandmother.
13:39 The book explains that most of the witches didn't smell Luke because he hadn't bathed in several days and had been playing outdoors a lot. That's why it took a witch being super close to his hiding place to smell him. Also, for all his faults, Bruno is much nicer in this movie than he was in the book. Book Bruno had a fistfight with Luke because Luke stopped Bruno from burning ants with a magnifying glass, and they were bitter enemies, whereas in the movie, Bruno is gross, and acts somewhat entitled when demanding the chocolate he was promised by the witches, but he is fairly friendly toward Luke. Also, the book doesn't have Luke get turned back into a human, and it's explained that he has about 9 years to live as a "mouse-person", which means he will likely pass away around the same time as his grandma. The book ends with Luke and his grandma planning to use their remaining years to hunt down and deal with the rest of the witches in the world (and that's not very many, as England only had about 100 before they got turned into mice).
I watched this movie during quarantine and this movie freaked me out lol Straight up nightmare fuel. The glowing eyes creeped me out! Makeup design did their thang
I was 8 when this came out. It holds the distinction of being the first movie to scare the ever living crap out of me. The girl trapped in the painting, getting older, the parents forced to watch… what a freaking nightmare of an idea. And such a simple, creepy visual.
i watched this school in elementary school after my class finished reading the book. I remember being fascinated/confused by the differences between the book and film adaptation. Funny enough the Bruno transformation scene did spook me as a kid but I was waaaay more scared of the Grand High Witch's real form.
This was one of my favorite movies as a child. I even named my cat Luke after the main character. I was a weird kid I loved all things spooky and witchy. I even loved the Witches book by Roald Dahl. This movie deserves more attention. Anjelica Huston is incredible! I also loved her in Ever After. Thanks for reacting to this movie. Also your hair looks fantastic! I hope you have a wonderful day.
Love The Witches! Always loved Roald Dahl. In elementary school I picked this to read aloud to the class. When we were done, I brought my copy of the movie to have the class watch it. I hope I scarred some of my classmates. The ballroom/transformation scene is such a perfect translation from the book (the 2020 Zemeckis film is such a let down). The practical effects are fantastic and it’s for sure another great goth queen performance from the Anjelica Huston.
As a British kid I had to read Roald Dahls autobiography "BOY" at 13 for school. Its a great book and also explains his literature very well. namely, that as far as he saw it most adults hated kids and made them feel bad which stemmed from his terrible time at a private all boy school he attended where for the first day every boy was beaten on the bum with a stick till they could not sit. Done so kids knew exactly what there punishment would be for any misbehaving
I'm pretty sure he stays as a mouse in the book, and if I remember correctly he has a very short lifespan but much longer than a regular mouse would live. Also I didn't know there was a remake of this movie! I don't think I'll watch it tho XD
Yes. He was a mouse in the book. And it is pretty much mentioned that he does age a bit quicker. The 2020 version kept that ending but that wasn't enough to keep it from being awful. Dahl actually hated the ending of the film version. The story goes that he stood outside at the premiere with a megaphone begging people not to see it. He did like Angelica Houston as the Grand High Witch though.
I absolutely loved this movie as a kid!! Me and my siblings still quote "grandma! Grandma!" "She caaaan't heearrrr you" to this day and we're all in our late 20s now 😂
In the book, it says the reason why the Witches didn't smell him in the meeting room at first, is because he hadn't had a bath in a while. Being dirty makes it harder for the witches to smell a child.
Part of the reason that so many kid adventure movies star kids without parents and/or friends is because the kid has to work without a support network, forcing them to grow. If they had their parents and friends then its harder to give a reason for them to leave their safe space. I remembered that from when a film critic was explaining why Bambi's mom died. P.S. I am not sure if the witches had anything to do with Luke's parents' death. Dahl was a big believer in being honest with children, especially about the fact that life just sucks sometimes.
17:00 Even growing up in the 1980s and 90s, I usually only heard the word "pussy" used as meaning a cat, not the other, more recent meaning, as I read a lot of older children's literature and didn't hang out with the "wrong crowd". When I was first called that by some kid who was trying to pick a fight with me, I just shrugged it off, figuring he was calling me a cat. I could tell by his tone he meant it as an insult, but I didn't see how it could be insulting. He seemed very confused that it didn't make me mad...
So this was one of my favs as a child because it was such a trip and adventure as a kid, but it wasn't until a recent rewatch that I noticed that a number of the "witches" were actually men AND I think one or two of them might have in fact been Pythons of the Flying Circus variety. :) This one definitely solidifies me as a new sub!
I only noticed that fact when I watched Nostalgia Critic's review of the movie a couple of years back and he pointed out that the background characters were mostly men. Then again, I don't pay a ton of attention to small background details in films very often.
My mother and I would watch this when I was a kid around the fall. I remember my mom told me that her boss would transform into one of the Witches and to stay away from her office or you'll be turned into a mouse. Come to find out it was because she hated kids and my mom didn't want me running around like Dennis the menace and get her fired lol.
I love this movie. One of my favorite Ronald Dahl movies. Angelica Houston plays the grand High Witch. She also plays Mortica in the Addams Family movies.
My fourth grade English read the book to us in October, and showed us the movie at the end of the month. She even dressed up as the Grand High Witch for Halloween lol
I forgot how horrifying Bruno's transformation was. On one hand I don't know how I wasn't traumatized by this movie and on the other I say massive props to the special effects team.
We had rain last night with a little tiny bit of lightning. I LOVE THIS MOVIE AHHHH watched it constantly as a kid. And yes. It is horrific. I'm so excited! 💜
as a kid watching this movie i thought that the witch leader was the scariest part but i guess i overlooked the mouse transformation bc that shit is disgusting and terrifying
The way the magic works is they turn the children into something weaker, and easier to kill or destroy, and let the fallout do the rest. You saw the painting one, where she aged in the painting and then vanished. But with the others, one witch just took a kid away from his friends, and no one ever saw him again. Until a few days later when he appeared as a petrified statue. Another boy was turned into a porpoise, so he spent the whole day playing with his family at the beach, then swam away and vanished altogether.
I tried to watch this movie a while ago to heal from the 3 years of fear the book caused for me as a kid (window locking, baseball bat next to the bed, checking the closet and under the bed obsessively kind of fear), and I couldn't get past when the witches reveal themselves 😭 it made me so nauseous
It's been a while since I read it, but the film ending was a cop-out to make a happy ending, in the original book I think it was more that they were unable to transform him back, so he & grandma decided to spend the few years they had left hunting down as many witches as they could before they died.
From what I've heard, Roald Dahl was upset that they changed the ending of this movie to make it happy. Then again, Dahl seems to have hated every film adaptation of his works that was released during his lifetime.
@@SophiaPhannnThis could also be that Luke didn’t want to be alone in a world he sees as dangerous. And since his parents are out of the picture, it is implied that, for Luke, life is too short anyway.
My mom really wanted to take me to movies in 1985, when I was 2. Unfortunately, the two she chose were Return to Oz and that year's re-release of Disney's Pinocchio, both of which I found terrifying at that age, though I enjoyed both when I was a few years older (at around 8-9)
I remember watching this movie as a child, though *how* I was able to watch it... I dunno. Not sure if it was airing on TV back in the day, or rented by my mum ('cause she also remembers watching it with me), but the part of him turning into a mouse is still burned into my brain despite not seeing it in YEARS. I do remember thinking the main witch was super pretty (yet scary once she takes off her mask). XD
For some reason the girl being trapped in the painting was always far more disturbing to me than anything else in this movie. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think part of the reason was the way she was abducted, just snatched off the street while running a simple errand, going down an alley she'd probably gone down a hundred times before. That always felt a little too real. The other part was her family having to see her there in the painting everyday but being completely unable to help her, touch her, or even talk to her (and I can only imagine myself in their shoes, my rational brain struggling to comprehend an incomprehensible situation). She essentially becomes a ghost, one whose presence casts a bleak shadow over her family long after she's gone and prevents them from moving on with their lives. I always wondered, too... can she see *them?* Is she aware and conscious of what her family is doing, like the painting is a window she can look through? Either way, the idea of a seeing a missing loved one appear in a painting is unsettling enough, but then add in the fact they change position from day to day, and can even age... it's just so creepy yet tragic at the same time.
you should watch Little Monsters for another spooky but not Halloween movie lol. even if it’s not for the channel, i feel like you would like the humor in it :)
Great suggestion. The Witches and Little Monsters are both 90s classics (even though Little Monsters was released late 1989). Little Monsters had a great blend of humor x darkness x suspense.
I loved movies like these as a kid that scared and disturbed you. I remember I watched Starship Troopers when I was 6 with my family, it's this old sci Fi war movie with some epic practical effects. It became my FAVORITE movie
Just re-watched your Avatar reaction and have been watching several other videos you've made while I've been super sick, thank you for making it somewhat tolerable.
Blue hair just suits you a lot, looking amazing. I kinda like how older "children's" movie, doesn't really seem like its made specifically for kids. The trauma that comes with some of them tho, not really a favorable side effect.
Omg i love your videos sophie and i remember watching this movie when i was 10 i was scared of my mom lol but i would love for you to wacth IT next lol it is terrifying
My older cousins introduced me to this movie when I was 12. That was back in the mid 1990s, a few years after it came out. I found it somewhat scary, but not terrifying, and loved it.
AM I THE FIRST COMMENTER?! EEEE!! Ok so here is my chance to tell you how much I adore your singing and I always sing along and am envious of your effortless perfection. Gurl I hope you're going somewhere with talent like that uh. Cuz you should. I love your channel (and your hair!) And yes. I love Anne Hathaway but dear God that movie smells like dog's droppings hahahaha
This one I definitley loved as a a kid. I always had a thing for the darker kids movies. Stuff like The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Return to Oz, Little Monsters, and Ernest Scared Stupid. Everything is great about this movie but especially Anjelica Huston and the effects work by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
19:35 in defense of the witch chef, she's tasting the soup with a wooden spoon and the stirring spoon is metallic so most likely she left the tasting spoon over the table 😅
Word Of Advice: try watching Pinocchio 1996 i'm sure that movie scared everybody who was born in the 90s and grew up watching that Horror Flick in 2000s.
I was gonna say at some point a reaction to the 1940 Disney Pinocchio considering that there is a remake that came out recently that received awful reviews and, like The Witches 2020, was also directed by Robert Zemeckis. (Seriously, the guy directed Back to the Future and Roger Rabbit. Wth happened?)
Another great horror movie for children is The Lady in White. A boy gets trapped in his school in Halloween night. Meets a ghost of a little girl and a connection between her and another ghost haunting his area The Lady in White. There is a mystery behind her that needs to be solved to put the two spirits to rest.
I was a kid in the 90's and i watched the shit out of this movie, i do remember the first time i saw the witch take off her mask it scared the crap out of me but after that i really loved watching it, also the story about Erica scared me so much but that was my favorite part.
I knew this film because I was a big Roald Dahl reader when I was young; he was huge in the UK. The film's alright; not up there with the best Dahl movies, but it's fun and weird Random 'I like practical effects' spooky season recommendation: The Blob (1988)
I read the book, and once the movie came out I thought it would be fine because the book wasn't bad (obviously I don't know visuals) and watched it. Terrified me. I don't even know how it's a kids movie. 😰
sophias hair changing colors like a mood ring
LOL MY ROOTS WERE GETTING TOO LONG 😩
She looks gorgeous, no matter what hair color!
This movie HORRIFIED me as a child 😭, I had nightmares because of the scene at the beginning. Also I really hope you're doing well Sophia, sending well wishes and love 🖤
Aww thank you!! 💙💙💙
This is a good example of a movie I was delighted to be horrified by as a kid. People these days worry about "exposing" their kids to scary and "inappropriate" things in movies and shows, when, kids actually LIKE to be scared or disturbed some of the time.
Kids horror lets them learn to deal with fear in a safe environment.
Its also important for kids to experience these emotions. Its a safe way for them to learn to deal with them before having to face real dangers in real life. This story in particular is good about how you can't tell if a person is good person just at first glance. Even seemingly upstanding people who (on the surface) are doing "good works" could have an evil core, like with the witches' "children protection" organization.
@@takkycat My favorite exchange:
Mr. Jenkins : Thought I'd like to say hello to a fellow philanthropist.
Miss Ernst : You collect stamps?
Exactly being sheltered is horrible as well
It's all about scary stuff you expose them to. There's a difference between Goosebumps and Halloween
3:44 she also eventually vanished from the painting altogether, essentially dying trapped in the painting.
And just so you get how horrifying it was: she was 80 years old!
OMG! How terrifying!
Yea she spent her whole life almost in the painting
From this to the Addams Family a year later…oh Angelica owned my heart 💜
As a child I used to be terrified of being kidnapped off of the street by kidnappers and murders and then I had to add witches to the mix!
Fun fact, about half of the witches in the convention scene were played by bald men in drag because the makeup team didn’t have to apply bald caps for them! They sit in the back rows of the ballroom so most of the time they’re out of shot, but occasionally some shots feature them!
I’m literally watching it now and I’m like lord forgive me but these are some hard women they look like men then I’m like no that’s def a man 😅
11:19 it means that overexcited witch nearly planned to blow their cover. She was suggesting dump the formula on the sweets all at once. But if she'd done so, the children would've immediately turned to mice and their cover would've been blown.
The idea is to pace themselves with the formula so the child has no idea what happened until they're a fair distance away from them, ergo nobody is pointing the finger at them.
SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK:
Actually there is a difference in the books and the movie in the end. Luke at the end stayed as a mouse forever, he never changed back, and he died with his grandma after 15 or 25 years (I dont remember), because of his mouse life expectancy.
Roald Dahl hated this change in the movie….
@@osmanyousif7849 And his wife went outside the theatre,telling people not to see it.
@@phousefilmslol
Bruno also died off screen in the book
God I loved this movie as a kid. I've always been a fan of Roald Dahl's books. We watched this film in school when I was about 10 I think, and I was the only one that had seen it. Because of how shocking the makeup effects and puppets/anamatronics were, my class had to have permission slips signed by their parents to be able to watch it. The horrified looks on everyone's face during the transformation scene has stuck in my head ever since. That and how everyone exclaimed "Mr. Bean!" When Rowan Atkinson appeared on screen 🤣. We actually adapted it into a school play that we performed right before the summer holidays, which is why we watched the film, and I played the Grand High Witch. It was really fun and watching this reaction has brought back memories
You’re lucky being able to play the Grand High Witch. I’d be the one who got exterminated at the start lmao
He stays a mouse forever in the Book. The movie originally had the same ending but the producers didn't like it in screenings and made them record a new ending. Roald Dahl hated that they changed the ending because he thought it ruined the message
The book was a all about confronting the idea that life, in any shape or form, can be altered or taken away inconsequentially.
The author wanted to showcase to the reader that not everything in the world is black and white.
Even the 2020 film kept that ending
Ok, Angelica Houston is the QUEEN of goth camp. I love her so much. And the practical effects are so much more disturbing than smooth CGI. And I tell you what, this has got to be terrifying when you're flying higher than a kite on a blustery day
The girl growing up in the painting HAUNTED me as a child. Reading the comments I am so glad to know I wasnt alone.
I’m convinced that Roald Dahl actually hated Children and wanted to traumatise them with his stories….unfortunately for him, Children are messed up little buggers and loved his stories, thus making children love him and perpetuated his own Hell.
Her moving her hips to Bruno is basically her getting very “excited” turning him into a mouse to kill him which is symbolizing child predators
This movie scared a lot of kids back in the 90's, and it's still pretty terrifying to this day.
I don't think I would've been the same if I sat down and watched this as a child. From this, to Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and Matilda, Roald Dahl film adaptations used to MESS ME UP.
I used to live in Venice Beach, where Angelica still lives. One day I saw her on the bike path coming towards me - she was on a pink bike, wearing pink clothes, pink gloves and in a pink hat. Her face was unmistakeable and even in all that soft pink she still had that aura of badass power!
I love that, that is icon behavior
Okay let's all take a moment to appreciate THE HAIR 😍😍😍 now that is just gorgeous on you 😭
Thank you!!! 🥰💙
Roald Dahl himself once admitted he simultaneously admired and envied children. While his stories spotlight children’s vulnerability to trauma, his child protagonists show how childhood can be an isolating but ultimately triumphant experience. P.s. love the color of your hair.
He also wanted to showcase adults confronting mortality while children confront maturity.
In the book, Luke stays a mouse and dies in just a couple of years (mice have very short lifespans), but he is happy about it because it means he won't outlive his grandmother.
I love how we are all collectively scarred by the transformation scene. It's mentioned in every commentary/review. That's cinema baby
Definitely a part I look forward to
I love the dark blue hair. It’s so cute!!!❤
Thank you 💙💙
Fire Lord Ozai: I once burnt half my son's face off for interrupting a meeting.
Grand High Witch: Hold my broomstick!
13:39 The book explains that most of the witches didn't smell Luke because he hadn't bathed in several days and had been playing outdoors a lot. That's why it took a witch being super close to his hiding place to smell him. Also, for all his faults, Bruno is much nicer in this movie than he was in the book. Book Bruno had a fistfight with Luke because Luke stopped Bruno from burning ants with a magnifying glass, and they were bitter enemies, whereas in the movie, Bruno is gross, and acts somewhat entitled when demanding the chocolate he was promised by the witches, but he is fairly friendly toward Luke. Also, the book doesn't have Luke get turned back into a human, and it's explained that he has about 9 years to live as a "mouse-person", which means he will likely pass away around the same time as his grandma. The book ends with Luke and his grandma planning to use their remaining years to hunt down and deal with the rest of the witches in the world (and that's not very many, as England only had about 100 before they got turned into mice).
I watched this movie during quarantine and this movie freaked me out lol Straight up nightmare fuel. The glowing eyes creeped me out! Makeup design did their thang
I was 8 when this came out. It holds the distinction of being the first movie to scare the ever living crap out of me. The girl trapped in the painting, getting older, the parents forced to watch… what a freaking nightmare of an idea. And such a simple, creepy visual.
i was simultaneously scared and absolutely in love with this movie when i was younger
i watched this school in elementary school after my class finished reading the book. I remember being fascinated/confused by the differences between the book and film adaptation. Funny enough the Bruno transformation scene did spook me as a kid but I was waaaay more scared of the Grand High Witch's real form.
Same absolutely terrified of it
This was one of my favorite movies as a child. I even named my cat Luke after the main character. I was a weird kid I loved all things spooky and witchy. I even loved the Witches book by Roald Dahl. This movie deserves more attention. Anjelica Huston is incredible! I also loved her in Ever After. Thanks for reacting to this movie. Also your hair looks fantastic! I hope you have a wonderful day.
Love The Witches! Always loved Roald Dahl. In elementary school I picked this to read aloud to the class. When we were done, I brought my copy of the movie to have the class watch it. I hope I scarred some of my classmates. The ballroom/transformation scene is such a perfect translation from the book (the 2020 Zemeckis film is such a let down). The practical effects are fantastic and it’s for sure another great goth queen performance from the Anjelica Huston.
I loved this movie and stayed at that hotel, it's in Cornwall England and it's very nice, it's still there today I think
11:24 well in this case, it's based off of his own childhood experiences with adults. The grandmother is even based off of his own mother.
Anjelica Huston gave us this and morticia addams in the same year and she still looked fabulous
This children's movie is scarier than most adult horror movies today.
Like "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang;" the Child Catcher
As a British kid I had to read Roald Dahls autobiography "BOY" at 13 for school. Its a great book and also explains his literature very well. namely, that as far as he saw it most adults hated kids and made them feel bad which stemmed from his terrible time at a private all boy school he attended where for the first day every boy was beaten on the bum with a stick till they could not sit. Done so kids knew exactly what there punishment would be for any misbehaving
“It’s a relatively old movie” me who was born in 92 and has no idea what this movie is. I feel hurt being called old 😂
LOOOOL happy 30th this year 🤪
@@SophiaPhannn hahah thank you, I turn 30 on Saturday and honestly not ready lol
I'm pretty sure he stays as a mouse in the book, and if I remember correctly he has a very short lifespan but much longer than a regular mouse would live. Also I didn't know there was a remake of this movie! I don't think I'll watch it tho XD
Yes. He was a mouse in the book. And it is pretty much mentioned that he does age a bit quicker. The 2020 version kept that ending but that wasn't enough to keep it from being awful. Dahl actually hated the ending of the film version. The story goes that he stood outside at the premiere with a megaphone begging people not to see it. He did like Angelica Houston as the Grand High Witch though.
For another Jim Henson production with scary puppets - Dark Crystal
The Skeksis might give you nightmares.
the scene where he turns to a rat has haunted me for twenty years...
I absolutely loved this movie as a kid!! Me and my siblings still quote "grandma! Grandma!" "She caaaan't heearrrr you" to this day and we're all in our late 20s now 😂
In the book, it says the reason why the Witches didn't smell him in the meeting room at first, is because he hadn't had a bath in a while. Being dirty makes it harder for the witches to smell a child.
this was one of my FAVORITE movies as a kid!! always fun seeing other peoples reactions to it🥰
Part of the reason that so many kid adventure movies star kids without parents and/or friends is because the kid has to work without a support network, forcing them to grow. If they had their parents and friends then its harder to give a reason for them to leave their safe space. I remembered that from when a film critic was explaining why Bambi's mom died.
P.S. I am not sure if the witches had anything to do with Luke's parents' death. Dahl was a big believer in being honest with children, especially about the fact that life just sucks sometimes.
Exactly!
Sophia: Talks about how disgusting Bruno is.
Me: "We don't talk about Bruno."
Lol yeah Jim Henson didn’t hold back. I think that and Angela Houston’s performance really have let this movie stand the test of time
17:00 Even growing up in the 1980s and 90s, I usually only heard the word "pussy" used as meaning a cat, not the other, more recent meaning, as I read a lot of older children's literature and didn't hang out with the "wrong crowd". When I was first called that by some kid who was trying to pick a fight with me, I just shrugged it off, figuring he was calling me a cat. I could tell by his tone he meant it as an insult, but I didn't see how it could be insulting. He seemed very confused that it didn't make me mad...
9:09 these acting choices lol that made me laugh when I watched it for the first time
Loving the violet, blue, and black aesthetic. It's an awesome mix of beauty & spookiness.
The book made me so sad and so scared so you can only imagine how much the film terrified me
So this was one of my favs as a child because it was such a trip and adventure as a kid, but it wasn't until a recent rewatch that I noticed that a number of the "witches" were actually men AND I think one or two of them might have in fact been Pythons of the Flying Circus variety. :) This one definitely solidifies me as a new sub!
Oh wow I didn't notice! I guess it's easy to get away with when you have no close ups or speaking lines 😂
I only noticed that fact when I watched Nostalgia Critic's review of the movie a couple of years back and he pointed out that the background characters were mostly men. Then again, I don't pay a ton of attention to small background details in films very often.
My mother and I would watch this when I was a kid around the fall. I remember my mom told me that her boss would transform into one of the Witches and to stay away from her office or you'll be turned into a mouse. Come to find out it was because she hated kids and my mom didn't want me running around like Dennis the menace and get her fired lol.
Might as well have been a witch since they hated children 😂
@@SophiaPhannn To be fair, I was always accidentally breaking things 😂
I love this movie. One of my favorite Ronald Dahl movies. Angelica Houston plays the grand High Witch. She also plays Mortica in the Addams Family movies.
I've always loved this movie! Angelica Hustun was perfect for this role.
My fourth grade English read the book to us in October, and showed us the movie at the end of the month. She even dressed up as the Grand High Witch for Halloween lol
the mouse transforming is scary in the dining room in 21:25
I forgot how horrifying Bruno's transformation was. On one hand I don't know how I wasn't traumatized by this movie and on the other I say massive props to the special effects team.
We had rain last night with a little tiny bit of lightning. I LOVE THIS MOVIE AHHHH watched it constantly as a kid. And yes. It is horrific. I'm so excited! 💜
YOU LOOK STUNNING SOPHIA
THANK YOU 🥰💙
I member berries this when i was a child. How Hollywood got away with rating this for children is beyond me.
I'm glad that you got around to watching this movie. It used to scare the crap out of me as a kid!
BRO my mom showed me this movie when I was 8/9 and bro the transformation had me scared for weeks 😭😭😭
as a kid watching this movie i thought that the witch leader was the scariest part but i guess i overlooked the mouse transformation bc that shit is disgusting and terrifying
Alot of those extras were men which was so normal back then BUT now it’s looked at as a crime🙄
The way the magic works is they turn the children into something weaker, and easier to kill or destroy, and let the fallout do the rest.
You saw the painting one, where she aged in the painting and then vanished. But with the others, one witch just took a kid away from his friends, and no one ever saw him again. Until a few days later when he appeared as a petrified statue.
Another boy was turned into a porpoise, so he spent the whole day playing with his family at the beach, then swam away and vanished altogether.
I tried to watch this movie a while ago to heal from the 3 years of fear the book caused for me as a kid (window locking, baseball bat next to the bed, checking the closet and under the bed obsessively kind of fear), and I couldn't get past when the witches reveal themselves 😭 it made me so nauseous
The 2020 one wasn't as horrifying as this one. Everytime the scene came on with Anjelica Huston removing her mask it crept me out .
If I recall correctly, Luke stays a mouse in the book because he didn’t want to outlive his grandmother. Which is so sweet but so sad!
Omg wait that's so sad :( I guess since his grandma was the only person he had, there was nothing else to live for 😭
It's been a while since I read it, but the film ending was a cop-out to make a happy ending, in the original book I think it was more that they were unable to transform him back, so he & grandma decided to spend the few years they had left hunting down as many witches as they could before they died.
From what I've heard, Roald Dahl was upset that they changed the ending of this movie to make it happy. Then again, Dahl seems to have hated every film adaptation of his works that was released during his lifetime.
Wait what about if in the future he could meet more people throughout his lifetime if he’d had a human life span
@@SophiaPhannnThis could also be that Luke didn’t want to be alone in a world he sees as dangerous.
And since his parents are out of the picture, it is implied that, for Luke, life is too short anyway.
One of only two movies I couldn't make it through as a kid because I was too freaked out (the other being Return To Oz).
My mom really wanted to take me to movies in 1985, when I was 2. Unfortunately, the two she chose were Return to Oz and that year's re-release of Disney's Pinocchio, both of which I found terrifying at that age, though I enjoyed both when I was a few years older (at around 8-9)
I remember watching this movie as a child, though *how* I was able to watch it... I dunno. Not sure if it was airing on TV back in the day, or rented by my mum ('cause she also remembers watching it with me), but the part of him turning into a mouse is still burned into my brain despite not seeing it in YEARS. I do remember thinking the main witch was super pretty (yet scary once she takes off her mask). XD
Sophia really out here with the Coraline vibes with that blue hair💙
For some reason the girl being trapped in the painting was always far more disturbing to me than anything else in this movie. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think part of the reason was the way she was abducted, just snatched off the street while running a simple errand, going down an alley she'd probably gone down a hundred times before. That always felt a little too real. The other part was her family having to see her there in the painting everyday but being completely unable to help her, touch her, or even talk to her (and I can only imagine myself in their shoes, my rational brain struggling to comprehend an incomprehensible situation). She essentially becomes a ghost, one whose presence casts a bleak shadow over her family long after she's gone and prevents them from moving on with their lives. I always wondered, too... can she see *them?* Is she aware and conscious of what her family is doing, like the painting is a window she can look through? Either way, the idea of a seeing a missing loved one appear in a painting is unsettling enough, but then add in the fact they change position from day to day, and can even age... it's just so creepy yet tragic at the same time.
omg your hair looks so good!!!
OH MY GOD YOUR HAIR LOOKS AMAZING WHAT
THANK YOOOU 💙💙
@@SophiaPhannn YOURE WELCOMEEE
To me this movie is up there with Coraline on the list of freaky kid's movies. But I actually like the recent remake with Anne Hathaway
The ending of the book is still happy, but not as happy as the movie ending.
Tom & Jerry clip killed me😂😂
the beginning of this movie scared me so much as a child that i quit my first job
the witch turning into a mouse at the end sort of looks like my dog...
As early as they start doing Christmas stuff seems perfectly fine to start Halloween early as well.
you should watch Little Monsters for another spooky but not Halloween movie lol. even if it’s not for the channel, i feel like you would like the humor in it :)
Great suggestion. The Witches and Little Monsters are both 90s classics (even though Little Monsters was released late 1989).
Little Monsters had a great blend of humor x darkness x suspense.
I loved movies like these as a kid that scared and disturbed you. I remember I watched Starship Troopers when I was 6 with my family, it's this old sci Fi war movie with some epic practical effects. It became my FAVORITE movie
Just re-watched your Avatar reaction and have been watching several other videos you've made while I've been super sick, thank you for making it somewhat tolerable.
Blue hair just suits you a lot, looking amazing. I kinda like how older "children's" movie, doesn't really seem like its made specifically for kids. The trauma that comes with some of them tho, not really a favorable side effect.
Thank you!
Adults can enjoy children’s movies and shows
This movie was definitely a nightmare-inducer during my childhood.
I remember I used to watch this since I was 7 years old and was scared but still I wanted to repeat the movie over and over again.
Omg i love your videos sophie and i remember watching this movie when i was 10 i was scared of my mom lol but i would love for you to wacth IT next lol it is terrifying
My older cousins introduced me to this movie when I was 12. That was back in the mid 1990s, a few years after it came out. I found it somewhat scary, but not terrifying, and loved it.
AM I THE FIRST COMMENTER?! EEEE!! Ok so here is my chance to tell you how much I adore your singing and I always sing along and am envious of your effortless perfection. Gurl I hope you're going somewhere with talent like that uh. Cuz you should. I love your channel (and your hair!) And yes. I love Anne Hathaway but dear God that movie smells like dog's droppings hahahaha
No there's been other comments on videos before
🥺🥺🥺 what a sweet comment 💙💙💙
@@SophiaPhannn thanks 😁
@@the98themperoroftheholybri33 she's talking to me lol How is what you said sweet...?
@@pyrettablaze86 when I was a baby I was dropped in a tub of Syrup, so I'm very sweet
For some more fun witch make-up for spooky season - Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
This one I definitley loved as a a kid. I always had a thing for the darker kids movies. Stuff like The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Return to Oz, Little Monsters, and Ernest Scared Stupid. Everything is great about this movie but especially Anjelica Huston and the effects work by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
19:35 in defense of the witch chef, she's tasting the soup with a wooden spoon and the stirring spoon is metallic so most likely she left the tasting spoon over the table 😅
Word Of Advice: try watching Pinocchio 1996 i'm sure that movie scared everybody who was born in the 90s and grew up watching that Horror Flick in 2000s.
I was gonna say at some point a reaction to the 1940 Disney Pinocchio considering that there is a remake that came out recently that received awful reviews and, like The Witches 2020, was also directed by Robert Zemeckis. (Seriously, the guy directed Back to the Future and Roger Rabbit. Wth happened?)
Another great horror movie for children is The Lady in White. A boy gets trapped in his school in Halloween night. Meets a ghost of a little girl and a connection between her and another ghost haunting his area The Lady in White. There is a mystery behind her that needs to be solved to put the two spirits to rest.
it should be a crime to be this early but i’m a bisexual with a crush so 👩🦯
24:03 No fuck Bruno 😂😂😂😂
The transformation scenes DID scar me as a child. I can barely sit through them now as a grown ass adult lmao
Also, haven't watched one of your vids in a while. LOVING the hair.
I remembered watching this as a child when I was at my grandmas I was more confused then scared lmao
I was a kid in the 90's and i watched the shit out of this movie, i do remember the first time i saw the witch take off her mask it scared the crap out of me but after that i really loved watching it, also the story about Erica scared me so much but that was my favorite part.
I knew this film because I was a big Roald Dahl reader when I was young; he was huge in the UK. The film's alright; not up there with the best Dahl movies, but it's fun and weird
Random 'I like practical effects' spooky season recommendation: The Blob (1988)
Oh yeah it definitely doesn't compare to Matilda, but I love the campiness of it!
I read the book, and once the movie came out I thought it would be fine because the book wasn't bad (obviously I don't know visuals) and watched it. Terrified me. I don't even know how it's a kids movie. 😰