“We were one, big happy family.”

From The Witches.

Orphaned by a car accident, a boy (Jahzir Bruno) goes to live with his grandmother (Octavia Spencer).  When a scary woman approaches the boy at the store, his grandmother realizes what the woman really is and tells her grandson the truths and dangers of witches.  His grandma tells him that witches wear wigs to cover their bald heads, long gloves to cover their clawed fingers, and their hatred of children pushes them to constantly try to destroy them.  His grandmother warns especially of one witch, the Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway), who’s terrible enough to terrify all the other witches into following her plans.  The boy, his grandmother, and his pet mouse, Daisy (Kristin Chenoweth), go to a hotel to hide from the store witch and when they check in they find a bustling hotel watched over by hotel manager, Mr. Stringer (Stanley Tucci).  Seeking a quiet place to train Daisy, the boy finds the marked-reserved ballroom, but since the room is empty, he decides to use the space.  When the room starts to fill up with women, he hides under the stage and waits for their meeting to end, but when the boy realizes that all women in attendance are all wearing wigs and gloves, he knows he’s been trapped in a secret witch meeting.  The boy overhears the High Witch’s plans to wipe out all children with her mouse-maker formula; he’s doubtful until the witches test out the formula on a greedy boy named Bruno (Codie-Lei Eastick) and he’s quickly turned into a talking mouse.  Before the meeting ends, the boy is found and turned into a mouse, but manages to escape with Daisy and Bruno.  The three mice tell the grandma about the High Witch’s terrible plans, but refusing to quit, the boy hatches a dangerous plan to steal the formula and use it on all the witches to save the world.

Narrated by Chris Rock, the newest adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic book blends nostalgia with impressive special effects to create a creepy story. While Hathaway is an impressive villain, Spencer’s endearing character is the film’s driving force. The Witches will be too much for young viewers, but it’s the perfect fun Halloween adventure for the rest of the family.

Rated: PG | Running Time: 105 minutes |Genre: fantasy/comedy|

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 1 of 10|Nudity: 0 of 10|Sexuality: 0 of 10|Gore: 3 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|