Back to trending
The Witches

The Witches

Fantasy · Family · Horror · 1990

While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, a young boy named Luke inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch reveals a plan to turn all children into mice via a magical formula. When they discover the eavesdropper, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and hotel manager Mr Stringer, Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.

Movie details

The Witches

“Saving the world from witches is a tall order for a boy they've turned into a mouse!”

1990 Fantasy · Family · Horror 1h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, a young boy named Luke inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch reveals a plan to turn all children into mice via a magical formula. When they discover the eavesdropper, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and hotel manager Mr Stringer, Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Witches?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Horror · 1949

The Wind in the Willows: Concise version of Kenneth Grahame's story of the same name. J. Thaddeus Toad, owner of Toad Hall, is prone to fads, such as the newfangled motor car. This desire for the very latest lands him in much trouble with the wrong crowd, and it is up to his friends, Mole, Rat and Badger to save him from himself. - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Retelling of Washington Irving's story set in a tiny New England town. Ichabod Crane, the new schoolmaster, falls for the town beauty, Katrina Van Tassel, and the town Bully Brom Bones decides that he is a little too successful and needs "convincing" that Katrina is not for him.

Mostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House

Mostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House

Family · 2016

Just one enchanted jewel stands between earth and an army of evil spirits led by the devious ghoul, Phears. With the help of his new girlfriend and ghost pals, Max Doyle races to find the crystal and save the world.

Mostly Ghostly

Mostly Ghostly

Family · 2008

Based on the successful book series by R.L. Stine, this spooky tale finds 11-year-old Max making a deal with the ghosts who haunt his home. If Max helps them find what was responsible for their parents' disappearance, they'll help him transform from a social nobody to the most popular kid in school.

Nightbooks

Nightbooks

Fantasy · 2021

Alex, a boy obsessed with scary stories, is trapped by a witch in her modern, magical New York City apartment. His original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping him safe as he desperately tries to find a way out of this twisted place.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Family · 1971

Three children evacuated from London during World War II are forced to stay with an eccentric spinster. The children's initial fears disappear when they find out she is in fact a trainee witch.

The Sword in the Stone

The Sword in the Stone

Animation · 1963

Wart is a young boy who aspires to be a knight's squire. On a hunting trip he falls in on Merlin, a powerful but amnesiac wizard who has plans for him beyond mere squiredom. He starts by trying to give him an education, believing that once one has an education, one can go anywhere. Needless to say, it doesn't quite work out that way.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit

Family · 1977

The story follows the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, a diminutive creative who resides in a place called Middle-Earth before he is compelled to go on a quest to find a treasure buried deep in the heart of the Lonely Mountain.

Cinderella and the Secret Prince

Cinderella and the Secret Prince

Animation · 2018

Cinderella discovers a secret that could shake their world: an evil witch turned the prince into a mouse and replaced him with a look-alike. Cinderella and her friends must save the real prince and help him defeat the evil witch.

The Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron

Animation · 1985

Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen, is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King. The villain hopes Hen will show him the way to The Black Cauldron, which has the power to create a giant army of unstoppable soldiers.

Coraline

Coraline

Animation · 2009

Wandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Nicolas Roeg

Written by

Allan Scott

Jasen Fisher

Jasen Fisher

Luke Eveshim

Mai Zetterling

Mai Zetterling

Helga Eveshim

Anjelica Huston

Anjelica Huston

Miss Eva Ernst

Charlie Potter

Charlie Potter

Bruno Jenkins

Rowan Atkinson

Rowan Atkinson

Mr Stringer

Bill Paterson

Bill Paterson

Mr Jenkins

Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Blethyn

Mrs Jenkins

Court is in session

Put The Witches on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.