The Witches (2020) review (HBO Max)

 

When it comes to some of the most prominent authors in literary history, one whose work has consistently stood the test of time is Roald Dahl. From 1942 up until his death in 1990, Dahl was responsible for penning a whole bunch of classics such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda. To date, his various novels and short stories have sold over 250 million copies worldwide and are widely touted for their creative imagery and their unabashed knack for dark humor to contrast with their primarily whimsical nature. Many of his works have been adapted to the big screen over the years although it is worth noting that, when he was alive, Dahl was usually quite critical about them for the various changes that were made to his stories. This included the last adaptation that was released before his death, 1990’s The Witches, which was directed by Nicolas Roeg and notably produced by none other than Jim Henson. Dahl, however, was not too pleased with this adaptation of his 1983 novel, namely due to its drastically different ending. Nevertheless, the film was well-received by critics and while it wasn’t exactly a box-office hit, it has since gone on to become a cult classic of its time. But now there’s a new adaptation of The Witches upon us, and just like the 1990 film, this one is star-studded on both sides of the camera. For starters, the cast is headlined by a pair of Oscar winners in Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer. And as for the behind-the-scenes crew, the film serves as the latest outing from director Robert Zemeckis, AKA the man who’s given us films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, and this reviewer’s favorite film of all-time, Back to the Future. However, Zemeckis isn’t the only big-name filmmaker attached to this project as it was originally proposed as a stop-motion film directed by Guillermo Del Toro, who instead serves as a producer alongside his good friend Alfonso Cuaron while also being one of the credited screenwriters alongside Zemeckis and Black-ish creator Kenya Barris. And while it may be far from being the best project that any of these men have ever worked on, it still manages to be a decently charming family flick that delivers a solid new take on Roald Dahl’s classic story.

In 1968, a young boy (Jahzir Kadeem Bruno) loses both of his parents in a car crash. He’s then sent to live with his grandmother (Octavia Spencer) in Alabama, and while it does take a while, she does help him start to overcome his grief. However, their idyllic lifestyle is soon threatened when the young boy has his first encounter with a witch. And since his grandmother is quite familiar with witches after seeing one when she was a child, she tells him everything that he needs to know about them; namely, that witches are really demonic creatures and are notorious for hating children and doing anything they can to get rid of them. Thus, to avoid any further witch-based encounters, the young boy and his grandmother promptly decide to take a vacation and stay at a prestigious hotel. Unfortunately, they end up arriving at the exact same time as a whole group of witches led by the most powerful witch in the world, the Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway). The young boy ends up eavesdropping on their meeting, where the Grand High Witch reveals her newest scheme to get rid of all the children in the world by using a special potion to turn them into mice. And to make matters worse, the young boy is then discovered by the Grand High Witch, who immediately uses her potion to turn him into a mouse. Now stuck in mouse form, the young boy crosses paths with two other kids that were recently turned into mice, food-loving Bruno (Codie-Lei Eastick) and a girl named Mary (voiced by Kristin Chenoweth), who is revealed to be the mouse that the young boy had been keeping as a pet for the past few months. With both their help and his grandmother’s, the young boy now finds himself in a time-sensitive situation as he and his friends work to stop the Grand High Witch’s sinister plan before anyone else ends up suffering the same fate as them.

While it may be easy to simply call this film a ‘remake’ of its 1990 counterpart, this new version of The Witches does manage to avoid being a straight-forward retelling of its classic story, whether it’s by having African-American protagonists or revealing that the kid’s pet mouse was a transformed kid as well. Plus, if there’s one advantage that this film has over the previous film, it’s that its ending is a lot more faithful to the book since, as noted earlier, Dahl took significant issue with the 1990 film for having a more traditional ‘happy ending’. Granted, the changes that this film makes does mean that it takes a lot more liberties with its source material than even the 1990 film did, but at the very least, this isn’t a case like Artemis Fowl where the changes that were made significantly alter the story beyond recognition. At the end of the day, most of these changes are simply from a cosmetic standpoint, and for the most part, the film does an excellent job of maintaining Roald Dahl’s whimsical style that delivers a good-natured adventure where the kids are the heroes but is still allowed to have the delightfully twisted dark humor that Dahl was well-known for. And while I’m aware that the film has gotten some criticism for supposedly being ‘too scary for children’, I’d argue that it’s relatively tame compared to all the other family-friendly films over the years that have gained notoriety for their darker moments (and yes, this includes the 1990 adaptation of The Witches). All this makes up for the fact that the film ends up feeling like a routine affair for the filmmakers who are attached to it, especially Robert Zemeckis. It’s not that the film is ‘bad’ or anything since, if Zemeckis’ past work wasn’t enough of an indication, he’s not that kind of director. It’s just that, like what happened when Tim Burton made his remake of Planet of the Apes in 2001, this is one of those instances where, if you didn’t know that this was directed by the guy who made Back to the Future, you probably wouldn’t have figured that out until the credits because it could’ve been done by anybody.

For many people, one of the best aspects of the 1990 film was Angelica Huston’s standout turn as the Grand High Witch. But while that may have been an undeniably tough act to follow, Anne Hathaway proves that she’s more than capable of taking on that daunting task. With an over-exaggerated accent that’s matched by an equally over-the-top performance, Hathaway is clearly having a lot of fun as the main antagonist. And sure, it’s completely understandable if some may find her performance to be a bit too campy at times, but at the end of the day, she’s still one of the best parts of this film. This strong performance from Hathaway is then perfectly matched by Octavia Spencer’s equally terrific turn as the main protagonist’s grandmother. Spencer has always been well-known for playing characters like this who are very much good-natured protagonists but can still dish out some tough love when necessary, usually through some delightfully spunky snark. And while he’s not in the film too much, we also get the always-reliable Stanley Tucci as the manager of the hotel that all the main characters end up at who mostly spends his time trying to deal with the eccentric gestures of the Grand High Witch. Finally, to close out the main cast, we have newcomer Jahzir Kadeem Bruno as the main protagonist who, just like in the original novel (and not the 1990 film where he was named Luke), is unnamed. He is credited as ‘Hero Boy’, however, which is rather ironic because that makes him the second main character in a Robert Zemeckis film to be called that since that’s also what the main protagonist of The Polar Express was credited as. Nevertheless, while this may only be his first leading role in a film (that and his character is a mouse for half of it), Bruno instantly makes a strong first impression with some solid charisma for his age.

While it’s admittedly been a while since I’ve done so, I did read The Witches when I was younger. It was one of many Roald Dahl books that I read growing up alongside other classics such as Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. However, you may be surprised to learn that I never watched its 1990 film adaptation. Simply put, it was just one of those films that was never on my radar back then. As such, it goes without saying that I don’t have the kind of connection to it that many others from my generation have, which has clearly had a major influence on folks’ thoughts towards this new adaptation. I mean, if the usual reception towards Disney’s recent string of live-action remakes wasn’t enough of an indication, folks are always a lot stricter when it comes to remakes. And yet, from the perspective of someone who hasn’t seen the 1990 adaptation of The Witches, I’d argue that this new version of the story is a genuinely harmless affair. It avoids being a direct carbon copy of its predecessor and even manages to deliver a more faithful take on the novel’s ending… even if the changes that it makes everywhere else are more prominent than those from the 1990 film. Really, at the end of the day, the worst thing that I can say about this film is that it’s arguably the most by-the-numbers feature that Robert Zemeckis has ever directed. To be fair, his direction is solid as always, but at the same time, I will admit that I’m curious about how this film would’ve turned out had it been the Guillermo Del Toro-directed stop-motion film that it was originally planned to be. Ultimately, though, the film does manage to be a nice showcase of Roald Dahl’s brilliant storytelling and could very well serve as a gateway for younger generations to experience the rest of his work.

Rating: 3.5/5

Onward (2020) review

What’s this? Two Pixar films in one year? And they’re both original stories? “Huzzah!”, the internet proclaimed. Yes, it’s safe to say that 2020 marks a new era for one of the most revered animation studios in the industry. For starters, it’s the first feature in the studio’s history to not involve one of its most prominent figures, John Lasseter, after he left the company in 2018 due to the various sexual misconduct allegations directed against him, with fellow Pixar mainstay Pete Docter now serving as the studio’s Chief Creative Officer. But the change that has excited the internet the most is that following the release of Toy Story 4 last year, Pixar announced that it would be their last ‘sequel’ film for the foreseeable future in favor of doing more original stories like the ones that made them famous in the first place. For fans of the studio, this was a very big deal given the arguably mixed run that Pixar has had over the past few years when it came to doing follow-ups to some of their most beloved works. Personally, though, I’ve loved most of the films that came out during that time, which means that the demand for Pixar to do more original stories wasn’t that big of a concern for me, especially given how the internet often has intense expectations for Pixar films either way. Nevertheless, here we are with the first Pixar film of 2020, Onward, which serves as the second feature-length directorial effort of Dan Scanlon. Since joining Pixar in 2001, Scanlon served as a storyboard artist for the first Cars and was the co-director of that film’s direct-to-DVD short, Mater and the Ghostlight. Scanlon would ultimately make his feature-length directorial debut with the company via Monsters University, the 2013 prequel to the studio’s 2001 masterpiece Monsters’ Inc. But as for Onward, Scanlon’s main source of inspiration for this suburban fantasy adventure was his own personal experiences of losing his father at a young age and the relationship that he formed with his older brother in the wake of that moment. And with that personal backstory in mind, it’s easy to see why Onward ends up being yet another classic (and devastatingly emotional) outing from Pixar. 

In the old days, the world was full of beings who could conjure powerful magic. However, these magical abilities proved to be incredibly difficult to learn, and in due time, this world of fantastical creatures began to rely more on technology instead, thus paving the way for a more modern lifestyle. In the present day in the town of New Mushroomton, a teenaged elf named Ian Lightfoot (voiced by Tom Holland) celebrates his 16^th birthday. During this time, Ian begins to wonder about what his father Wilden was like since he unfortunately passed away before he was born. And as luck would have it, his widowed mother Laurel (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) gives him and his older brother Barley (voiced by Chris Pratt) a gift from their father, which turns out to be a mythical wizard’s staff. Almost immediately, Barley, who’s a massive fan of fantasy role-playing games, deduces that their dad had studied magic and the brothers discover that he had collected a rare Phoenix gem that would allow them to cast a Visitation spell that would bring him back to life for one day. Ian soon discovers that he possesses the rare ability to conjure such magic, but unfortunately, his attempt to use the spell isn’t a complete success, resulting in only the lower half of their father’s body materializing into existence. And since the powers of the Phoenix gem that their father found were used up during this attempt, Ian and Barley head out on a quest to find a new gem in the next 24 hours so that they can complete the spell and reunite with the father that they never got the chance to know.

Onward certainly crafts a fun fantasy world that combines its cast of mythical creatures with the visual aesthetic of modern-day suburbia. However, for those fearing that this means that Pixar has just made a film that relied entirely on modern references like several of its competitors tend to do, that’s not even remotely the case here. Sure, you do have some characters using cell-phones here and there and other bits of modern technology, but moments like these never overtake the key narrative points of the story while still resulting in plenty of fun visual gags that are brought to life by Pixar’s always-stellar animation. Admittedly, I wouldn’t call this the ‘best-looking’ Pixar film to date, but since this is still Pixar we’re talking about, the animation is top-notch regardless. And given the nature of the plot in which the main characters are guided by Barley’s extensive knowledge of role-playing games, this film is filled with tons of references to the genre. While I’m personally not too familiar with the likes of Dungeons and Dragons and other popular fantasy RPG’s, those who are will surely love all the nods that this film contains and how, from what I can tell, it perfectly captures the spirit of these adventures. But, of course, Pixar also knows how to deliver on the emotional depth of their stories, and Onward is no exception. After all, this is a story in which two brothers are trying to bring their father back to life (even if it’s just for one day) that’s based heavily on writer/director Dan Scanlon’s own life. Thus, it goes without saying that Onward hits hard when it comes to its emotional beats.

Onward also happens to be quite special in the fact that it serves as an unexpected crossover between Spider-Man and Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord… all joking aside, it’s kind of funny how Tom Holland and Chris Pratt’s characters in this film end up mirroring their respective superhero roles in the MCU to a tee. Ian’s the socially awkward teenager with something to prove while Barley’s the boisterous rogue who, despite his goofy nature, has experienced quite a bit on an emotional level. With that in mind, Holland and Pratt do phenomenal jobs in their respective roles. The brotherly camaraderie between them is superb and just like they’ve done for years now over in the MCU, these two brilliantly handle all the film’s big emotional moments. Holland and Pratt are then backed nicely by the duo of Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Ian and Barley’s mother Laurel and Octavia Spencer as Corey, a manticore who the brothers seek out given the significant role that her species often plays in fantasy RPG’s. And while the fact that the film focuses primarily on Ian and Barley means that Laurel and Corey admittedly don’t get that involved in the action until the climax, they also form a fun partner dynamic once the two of them meet up. Julia Louis-Dreyfus brings just as much heart to her role as Tom Holland and Chris Pratt do to theirs as a mom who’s fully dedicated to keeping her boys out of trouble while Octavia Spencer has a lot of fun with Corey’s arc of rediscovering her adventurous spirit after several years of being in an unfulfilling job as the owner of a local family restaurant.

As I’ve pointed out several times over the years, I’m not exactly part of the crowd who continues to have incredibly high expectations for Pixar films to the point where any Pixar film that isn’t an outright masterpiece ends up getting ignored. It’s a tragic fate that has, unfortunately, affected quite a few of the studio’s films over the years such as Brave, Monsters University and The Good Dinosaur. And while Onward technically hasn’t been a flop with critics and audiences (although that pesky coronavirus will certainly do a number on it at the box-office), I also wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up getting completely overshadowed by Soul, Pixar’s other 2020 release that will be coming out in June. It’d be quite the sad scenario if that did happen, though, since I would argue that Onward is another masterpiece from the legendary animation studio. Like many of Pixar’s classic outings, Onward is a delightful fantasy adventure that delivers an excellently written story full of highly endearing characters. The fantastical world that it creates is a lot of fun to explore and the main adventure that its heroes go on is so well-handled that you don’t need to be an expert in the lore of Dungeons and Dragons to appreciate it (although it would make the journey even more satisfying). But, of course, the best Pixar tradition that Onward dutifully maintains is its impeccable ability to tug at the heartstrings with a story that’s just as much about brotherhood as it is about two brothers hoping to get the chance to have a connection with the father that they never knew. Because of all this, it’s easy to see real growth in Dan Scanlon’s talents as a director and how he’s shaping up to be a major standout amongst Pixar’s next generation of filmmakers. And while I again recognize the fact that this film will undoubtedly be impacted by the global pandemic that we’re all dealing with right now, I also hope that it’s ultimately the main reason why since that’d be a much easier pill to swallow than the fact that this is another Pixar film that isn’t being regarded as a ‘15/10 masterpiece’.

Rating: 5/5!

Pixar films have almost always been accompanied by one of the studio’s shorts that precede the main feature… however, while I’ve been reviewing Pixar films on this site for the past 8 years now, I’ve realized that I don’t usually talk about the shorts that they’re paired with. The only instance where I have addressed one of them was in my review of Coco when I also reviewed Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, and that was just due to the unique situation of it being a Frozen short instead of something that came directly from Pixar. Thus, I’ve decided that starting now, every Pixar review that I do from this point on will conclude with a brief discussion about the short that accompanies it (if there is one). This new tradition begins with, of all things, a Simpsons short.

PLAYDATE WITH DESTINY

The most famous animated family in pop culture recently joined the Disney universe following Disney’s purchase of 20^th Century Fox (now 20^th Century Studios) last year. This fact is well-reflected in this short, as it opens with a shot of Mickey Mouse’s iconic silhouette… before being revealed to be an image of Homer Simpson holding two donuts and then cutting to a title card proclaiming that ‘Disney welcomes The Simpsons’. And at the end of the short, Mickey can be seen in the production logo for producer James L. Brooks’ company Gracie Films as one of the theater patrons. Anyway, Playdate with Destiny is the second theatrical short to come from The Simpsons; the first was The Longest Daycare, which ran with 2012’s Ice Age: Continental Drift. Both shorts revolve around the youngest member of the Simpsons family, Maggie, with this new short consisting of her meeting a boy named Hudson, the adventures that they go on together, and her efforts to see him again the next time she’s taken to the park, which becomes rather complicated when Homer’s the one taking her instead of Marge. Keeping in line with the fact that Maggie usually never speaks on the show, this short is almost entirely dialogue-free and instead opts for visual humor. And while there’s been plenty of debate over the years regarding the quality of a show that’s been on the air for three decades now, this is a genuinely cute little short that develops a whirlwind romance out of an innocuous playdate between two babies. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this is one of the best things to come out of The Simpsons (which, admittedly, I can’t say much about anyway since I haven’t watched a lot of it), but it’s still a pleasant watch nevertheless. And if that wasn’t enough, the events of this short will be addressed in an upcoming episode of the show that’s set to air on April 19^th.

Hidden Figures (2016) Short Review

(Only a short review today due to the fact that I'm currently working on a different review at the moment)

Hidden Figures tells the true story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, three African-American women who worked for NASA in the 60’s. In a time of heavy segregation, each of these three women made major advancements in their careers as they helped America during the intense ‘Space Race’ between the U.S. and Russia. Specifically, they helped John Glenn become the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. Admittedly, there’s not much that I can say about this film, hence why this review is so short. It’s just an enjoyable and solidly-made film that highlights some unsung heroes from a time in U.S. history that was dominated by racism and prejudice. It features some solid music from Hans Zimmer as well as some nice tunes from Pharrell Williams, who also serves as one of the film’s producers. But, through it all, the key to this film’s success is the lead trio of Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe. These three very much succeed in making Johnson, Vaughan, and Jackson an endearing trio of women, so much so that the moments where they achieve some form of success are incredibly satisfying; Johnson became a key contributor to calculating the numbers behind Glenn’s launch, Vaughan became the primary supervisor in charge of the programming and maintenance of NASA’s new IBM computers, and Jackson successfully petitioned for the right to attend classes at the University of Virginia to further her career as an engineer. Backed by an equally solid supporting cast that includes Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, and Mahershala Ali, Hidden Figures is not only a highly appealing crowd-pleaser but also one of significant cultural relevance. Because, again, this is a story about three African-American women overcoming all sorts of odds in a time when most underestimated them.

Rating: 4/5