The Worst Witch (The Movie)
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| The Worst Witch (The Movie) | |||||||||||||||
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| Based on Jill Murphy's book, this charming movie is set in an English boarding school for witches--complete with orange and black school uniforms, broom-flying exercises, and potion assignments for lab. The incompetent student of the title, Mildred, is played by a fetching young Fairuza Balk. Diana Rigg is the nasty head teacher, Tim Curry the (oddly) idolized Grand Wizard, and TV's Facts of Life maven Charlotte Rae does double duty as the school's kindly dean and her evil witch twin, who's bent on taking over the school. Directed by Robert Young, this 68-minute video features less than state-of-the-art effects and several songs that stop the action--most bizarrely an outdoor assembly performance by Curry that turns into a weird music video. Still, preteen girls will identify with the beleaguered heroine who overcomes her wickedly snooty rival, a teacher who doesn't believe in her, and a band of dastardly witches and, of course, saves the day. (Ages 6 and older) --Kimberly Heinrichs |
No details are available for this product The Spirit of Halloween Past for Children of the `80s! |
| Review Date: November 5, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Monty Moonlight, TX |
| Imagine if "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was made in the mid-eighties, for television, with almost no budget. Also, imagine the hero is a misfit young witch rather than a wizard prodigy, attending an all-girl school for witchcraft. Replace Maggie Smith with Diana Rigg, Richard Harris with Mrs. Garrett from "Facts of Life," and Lord Voldemort with... Mrs. Garrett from "Facts of Life," and you have the 1986 classic television Halloween special, "The Worst Witch."
Fairuza Balk plays Mildred Hubble, the absolutely worst witch at Miss Cackle's International Academy for Witches. No matter how hard she tries, Mildred screws up everything, from her potions to her broomstick flying, and being tormented by school bully Ethel Hallow doesn't help her any either. As Halloween approaches, Mildred does her best to improve, especially at flying, knowing that this year's Halloween guest of honor will be the Grand Wizard himself! To her joy, Mildred manages to make her way onto the team of students who will fly in formation for the Grand Wizard's visit. Sadly, good ol' Ethel manages to make Mildred look bad again, and right in front of the Grand Wizard (Tim Curry). Her heart broken, Mildred gathers her belongings and her cat, Tabby, and sets out to run away the following morning, but encounters a group of evil witches plotting in the woods as she makes her getaway. Now, Mildred will have to face her fears and conquer her low self-esteem if she is going to save her friends and school from Miss Cackle's wicked sister, Agatha, and her plot to take over! Despite the no-budget special effects, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer-like plot, campy...everything, and a disturbing Halloween night music video performance by Tim Curry himself, "The Worst Witch" is an annual must-watch film at the very least! In fact, it is because of all those reasons, and the fantastic cast, that this film should not be overlooked! It is the best at being the worst! As enjoyable as a cheesy Halloween special can be, and as cheesy as a cheesy Halloween special can be! I'm so glad this is finally on DVD and wish "The Night Dracula Saved the World" (AKA "The Halloween That Almost Wasn't") would follow suit. I'm dying to see that ol' chestnut again! If you're a fan of Halloween and have strong feelings for 80's childhood nostalgia, if you are a die-hard Tim Curry or Fairuza Balk fan, or if you just want to know what Harry Potter would have been like on a shoe-string TV budget, "The Worst Witch" is a must see! Based on the popular children's books by Jill Murphy, "The Worst Witch" was more recently revitalized through a TV series (that I've yet to see) which is also available here on Amazon, but for your first look at Mildred Hubble, make sure you see this Fairuza Balk/Tim Curry classic! The Curry video alone is worth the price! Also highly recommended: The Harry Potter film series, "Hocus Pocus," "The Night Dracula Saved the World," "The Witches," "Bewitched," "Return to Oz," the Casper film series, "Labyrinth," and "The Wizard of Oz." Extra info about the DVD: While it is great to finally have this classic on DVD, it was clearly produced on a budget to equal the film itself, relatively speaking. The picture quality is about the same as the VHS (without VHS problems), and some DVD players might not play the film properly. For example, I can't play this at all on my Samsung player. However, it should be noted that, in my experience, Samsung players stink and won't play an awful lot of DVDs, and I need to replace my player at the first opportunity. The DVD probably plays fine on most other stuff. It plays perfectly on my family's Sony. Anyway, in addition to that, there are 3 extra feature sections. Two are run of the mill text extras: Cast Bios and Cast Trivia. The third is something to be more aware of, especially if you buy this DVD for your children. The third text extra (actually, on the menu it is the first) is basically a brief schooling on Wicca. That's right, not the fantasy, Harry Potter style witchcraft of the film, but several pages of basic info on various spells, tools one needs (including a dagger), etc... Yeah, shocking and inappropriate for this particular DVD, since the film is about Halloween style witchery, not the Wicca religion. So, there's the information, just so you parents can be aware and decide for yourselves whether or not to buy the DVD without an unpleasant surprise. As an adult who grew up with this children's classic, the extras are not a problem for me to ignore, but I can see how some parents would be very concerned to find such information on a DVD they've bought for their small children. If this is a problem for you and you don't think talking to your kids about it will be enough (or controlling the remote), I recommend seeking out the VHS version. The film by itself is such a wonderful treat that it would be a shame for them to miss it! |
| This is the greatest Halloween movie ever!!! |
| Review Date: July 5, 1999 |
| Reviewer: , |
| Ever since I was a little kid, I've loved this movie. I would look forward to Halloween, because I knew that "The Worst Witch" would be on TV. Now that I'm 20 years old it's still my favorite Halloween movie, and it's not just me. My roommate also loves this movie, so she and I bought a copy and watch it all year round. Our favorite part is still when The Grand Wizard does his little song and dance. Also when Mildred turns Ethel Hallow into a pig! I would highly recomend this movie to anyone whether they're 6 or 96. |
| A bit dated, but still charming |
| Review Date: August 7, 2004 |
| Reviewer: J. Hanna, San Diego, CA |
| Before "Harry Potter" there was "The Worst Witch". Let me start out by saying that the effects in this film are not the greatest, but if you grew up watching this movie like I did it really doesn't make a difference. The story more than makes up for it. Every Halloween I looked forward to watching this movie and was very disappointed the years I missed it or it didn't air. I finally bought a copy on VHS for myself and watched it repeatedly. I am now looking forward to purchasing the DVD, as it is a definite must-have for Halloween. Tim Curry also does a great job adding a bit of campiness to the film, along with many of the other actors and it's a great followup to Fairuza Balk's first film "Return To Oz", which I also grew up watching. |
| Growing Up Isn't Easy ... |
| Review Date: February 25, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Melissa, Dallas Tx |
| Especially for first year student Mildred Hubble. Not only is she having trouble with her studies and flying lesson's, but she has to deal with trouble maker Ethel Hallow and a very hard teacher Miss Hardbroom. As she tries to prove herself again and again she keeps getting herself into sticky situations and a boat load of trouble.
I loved this movie since I was very little and I remember it in the 80's which is my favorite decade. So this movie has very fond memories for me that I enjoy watching and loving today. The graphics are a bit cheesy as well as the music. But I'm sure that children and adults will love this fun classic film based on the popular books by Jill Murphy. It was also made into a popular and fun TV series. I mainly adore and love the cast: Fairuza Balk (Return To Oz/The Craft) as Mildred Hubble, Diana Rigg as Miss Hardbroom, Charlette Rae (The Facts Of Life) as Miss Cackle and as her evil sister Agatha, Anna Kipling as Ethel Hallow, Danielle Batchelor as Maud Warlock (Mildred's best friend) and most of all my all time favorite Tim Curry as The Grand Wizard who does a fun singing performance of a Halloween number! I was really excited to see this finally arrive on DVD. I have the Video which I found through Amazon and I also was very happy to get the DVD from Amazon as well. The DVD itself is very clear as well as the sound. Again the graphics are cheesy for that time, but I believe it was made for TV. I also remember first seeing this movie on HBO. It has jump to scene, cast biographies/trivia all in the extra's section plus a really fun menu to navigate through. Besides I think we all feel a little like Mildred growing up ... |
| My Childhood Fav! |
| Review Date: January 25, 2000 |
| Reviewer: , |
| This movie is so clever and original! I love the part where they're in the chemistry lab trying to create something and it's this pretty bright green color 8) and the part where Mildred gets her cat (all witches have black cats, so when the girls get they're cats passed out, they all get black cats, but Mildred is left to recieve the only one that isn't black- so what does she name it? 8) Blacky of course!) but my most favorite part in the whole movie is where they're playing this game where ½ the girls wear a red banner and the other ½ wear blue and they have to hide and find each other. I love Tim Curry's song about Halloween 8) it used to give me the creeps....but it's not scary 8) don't worry. This movie is great for kids....and it teaches a good lesson (can't tell you or it'd ruin the movie). It inspired me as a little kid and my sister and I loved it so much as kids that my sister nicknamed herself Ethel (after one of the characters Ethel Hallow) and I named my daughter Maud (after Maud Warlock) I definately recommend this movie to anyone who has kids or that loves movies that're cute, comical, and can be learned from. This is the BEST |