Witches

Movie • 2020 • Fantasy  

Report
Robert Zemeckis’s visually innovative film tells the darkly humorous and heartwarming tale of a young orphaned boy who, in late 1967, goes to live with his loving Grandma in the rural Alabama town of Demopolis. As the boy and his grandmother encounter some deceptively glamorous but thoroughly diabolical witches, she wisely whisks him away to a seaside resort. Regrettably, they arrive at precisely the same time that the world’s Grand High Witch has gathered her fellow cronies from around the globe-undercover-to carry out her nefarious plans. Zemeckis is joined by a world-class team of filmmakers, including Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro and Kenya Barris. The cast includes powerhouse performances from Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci, Kristin Chenoweth and Chris Rock, with newcomer Jahzir Kadeen Bruno as the brave young hero.
This movie contains 16 potentially triggering events.
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Your Triggers
Does the dog die?
190 supporters
Yes
0
No
9
0
malovela
I believe there's no dog.
1 comment | Add comment
Unanswered Triggers
Does a pet die?
85 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
0
Were animals harmed in the making?
68 supporters
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Yes
0
No
0
Is there pedophilia?
64 supporters
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Yes
0
No
0
Is a minor sexualized?
61 supporters
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Yes
0
No
0
Is there excessive gore?
51 supporters
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Yes
0
No
0
Is an animal abandoned?
51 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
0
No
0
Is there bestiality?
46 supporters
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Yes
0
No
0
0
malovela
Mild and played for laughs. A rat bites a man's private parts (while he's fully dressed), but we don't see it directly, only his reaction and subsequent pain.
1 comment | Add comment
Abuse
Is someone stalked?
17 supporters
Yes
7
No
0
1
trnstrm
In a way, yes. "Grandma" mentions that once a child meets a witch, the witch never gives up.
2 comments | Add comment
0
Arthur_the_bee
There’s a mention of the grandma giving kids ‘a spanking when they deserve it’ but it never happens
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
2
No
6
0
malovela
Somewhat, I think. The hotel manager has been told that the grandmother is carrying a mouse around, and when he approaches her about it, she scolds him, saying that that's an absurd accusation, turns it around on him by blaming him for allowing the hotel to be infested with mice (which it isn't), and threatens to expose him if he doesn't do something about the infestation. He's flustered and ends up apologising. However, she doesn't do it out of malice, but to be able to continue trying to save the children who have been turned into mice and fight the witches.
1 comment | Add comment
Is a child abused?
69 supporters
Yes
3
No
4
0
malovela
A boy is emotionally neglected and shamed by his cold and demanding parents, and has apparently always been so. In the end, the parents completely reject him because he's been turned into a mouse, and he has to go live with someone else
permanently. He doesn't seem too sad about this (which is kind of weird) but that doesn't mean he wasn't mistreated. --- Apart from that, the witches obviously abuse children by being cruel to them and turning them into mice (and, in one case long before the movie's present, into a chicken). The transformations are the first step towards the witches' end goal of killing every child in the world by "squishing" them once they're small enough to be stepped on.
1 comment | Add comment
Addiction
0
leh
There are magic potions that transform people into rats
1 comment | Add comment
Is there addiction?
10 supporters
Yes
1
No
6
0
malovela
I wouldn't say that the witches' desire to kill all children is anything like an addiction. As I see it, their "high" is the pleasure of triumph and of killing. Their desire is driven by evil and by the fact that they're disgusted by children because children smell exceedingly bad to them. They want to be rid of all children for good. If they were addicted, they wouldn't plan to kill every child in the world, because once they'd succeeded there would be no more "fixes" to be had.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
0
malovela
I don't recall any alcohol being shown or mentioned.
1 comment | Add comment
Animal
Does a horse die?
55 supporters
Yes
0
No
7
0
malovela
I don't remember seeing any horse in the movie.
1 comment | Add comment
Does an animal die?
(besides a dog, cat or horse)
98 supporters
Yes
8
No
1
8
trnstrm
The Grand High Witch who has by this point in the film been turned into a rat was attacked by her cat whom she was mean to earlier in the film. Squeaks and meows are heard, but nothing is seen beyond the cat jumping at the rat.
2 comments | Add comment
Are animals abused?
113 supporters
Yes
7
No
0
4
trnstrm
Some of the witches, after being turned into rats, are hit by brooms and apparently stomped on, so this could be seen as abuse even though it's CG.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Is there a dead animal?
63 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Does a cat die?
101 supporters
Yes
0
No
7
1
malovela
There's a (rather badly animated) cat; nothing bad happens to it.
1 comment | Add comment
Does a dragon die?
17 supporters
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Yes
0
No
7
Are there spiders?
26 supporters
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Yes
0
No
7
Are there snakes?
1 supporters
Yes
10
No
0
1
leh
One witch presents a snake as a pet that is wrapped around her arm. Another witch has a magic snake dress that unfurls it tail to loosen the cloth
1 comment | Add comment
Are there bugs?
17 supporters
Yes
9
No
0
5
BrandieeBlue
During the Witches meeting the Grand High Witch pulls a maggot or grub out of her head and eats it.
2 comments | Add comment
Assault
Is someone sexually assaulted?
108 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Bodily Harm
Yes
1
No
7
1
Arthur_the_bee
A witches hands get cut up by a fan
2 comments | Add comment
Does someone struggle to breathe?
14 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
4
Is there cannibalism?
23 supporters
Yes
0
No
8
1
DaniSo
A character is turned into a chicken, and people eat her eggs. Although this is not technically cannibalism, that and the fact that she is a human turned into chicken, a commonly eaten animal, can still invoke an emotional response.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
0
Arthur_the_bee
There’s an oil fire in the kitchen but it’s put out with a fire blanket without hurting anyone
2 comments | Add comment
Is someone buried alive?
13 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Is there amputation?
12 supporters
Yes
0
No
8
0
malovela
No, but the witches' feet all look like their toes were amputated long ago (completely healed). Every witch lacks all her toes, except for the grand witch, who has one middle toe on each foot.
1 comment | Add comment
Does a head get squashed?
35 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Is there a hanging?
22 supporters
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Yes
0
No
7
Yes
0
No
8
0
malovela
No, but the grand witch's teeth are pointy as if they'd been filed.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
1
mad_melody
No one breaks a bone, but there are 2 scenes where the Grand High Witch extends her arms to extreme lengths; there is a sickening crunch each time a new segment of bone appears to lengthen her arms.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
2
No
6
0
malovela
I'm not sure, but I seem to remember that whenever someone is turned into a mouse or rat, they sort of seize up and shake all over, seeming to loose muscle control for a few moments, until the transformation actually happens.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
9
No
0
2
trnstrm
The witches have no toes but the Grand High Witch has one middle toe that can be unsettling, so this could be triggering. There's no actual detachment of any appendages shown in the movie.
3 comments | Add comment
Is someone tortured?
57 supporters
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Yes
0
No
6
0
malovela
No, but we see humans-turned-mice who come very close to falling from what to them are great heights.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there eye mutilation?
59 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Children
Does a kid die?
28 supporters
Yes
0
No
8
0
malovela
No, but kids are in great danger, since the witches want to kill them all and do succeed in turning three children into mice as a first step toward killing them by stepping on them. Also, in the very beginning of the movie, a boy is in great danger, since he's in a car accident so bad it kills both of his parents. He's saved by his seatbelt.
1 comment | Add comment
Family
Yes
0
No
8
0
malovela
Not really, but a boy is lured into a room and trapped there by witches who plan to kill him.
1 comment | Add comment
Does a parent die?
6 supporters
Yes
8
No
0
3
trnstrm
The parents are killed in a car crash. They pull "Hero Boy" from the overturned car, but the parents are not seen. "Hero Boy" does grab his dad's glasses though.
2 comments | Add comment
Does someone cheat?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Is a child's toy destroyed?
15 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
6
Fear
Are there jumpscares?
30 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
7
Yes
0
No
8
0
malovela
The witches are said to be demons whose bodies are humanoid, but that's not possession.
1 comment | Add comment
Are there ghosts?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Are there clowns?
9 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Yes
1
No
7
0
Arthur_the_bee
A bathing scene of grandma washing hero’s hair
1 comment | Add comment
Gross
Does someone wet/soil themselves?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
3
Does someone vomit?
58 supporters
Yes
0
No
10
6
jenny_math
Grandma starts coughing whenever witches are near, and it made my daughter (who is very emetophobic) nervous. But Grandma never actually vomits or even comes close - she just coughs. Also, there is a scene in the dining room when the Grand Witch leans in Grandma’s face and starts to make mouth movements like she might be sick - but instead she starts clucking like a chicken.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone spit?
8 supporters
Yes
6
No
2
1
jenny_math
The Grand Witch spits out a glass vial she has swallowed toward the end, but there is no phlegm or anything.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there audio gore?
30 supporters
Yes
7
No
0
2
mad_melody
There are 2 scenes where the Grand High Witch extends her arms to extreme lengths; there is a sickening crunch each time a new segment of bone appears to lengthen her arms.
2 comments | Add comment
Medical
Is electro-therapy used?
15 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Yes
1
No
6
0
Dreamscape
A syringe is shown from 0:01:13-0:01:17
1 comment | Add comment
Is there a mental institution scene?
16 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Is there a hospital scene?
7 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Yes
0
No
8
1
leh
Not explicit, but the grandmother coughs whenever witches are near and it's implied she's ill
2 comments | Add comment
Mental Health
Does someone self harm?
S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® (1-800-DONTCUT)
41 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Yes
3
No
5
1
DaniSo
The witches hide their hands, feet, and bald heads so as to appear unremarkable. The characters turned into animals want to be turned back into humans.
2 comments | Add comment
0
malovela
A cliché histrionic, impossible-to-please chef yells "Give me a knife, so I can kill myself!" at his employees when he's displeased with them. He clearly doesn't actually mean it; it's just a melodramatic way of scolding.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
2
No
6
0
malovela
Expansion on mad_melody's comment: The boy is a mouse at the time.
2 comments | Add comment
1
mad_melody
The main characters frequently hide in and crawl through small spaces, as children and as mice.
2 comments | Add comment
2
jenny_math
Not really, but there is a running gag about a little boy who is always hungry and eating.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there autism specific abuse?
31 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Yes
1
No
8
Noxious
Is there shakey cam?
23 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
0
Orionflight
A lot of lightning during the first third of the film.
1 comment | Add comment
Pregnancy
Is there childbirth?
14 supporters
Yes
1
No
7
0
malovela
There are no pregnant women, and I'm 99% sure that there are no babies.
1 comment | Add comment
Are there abortions?
12 supporters
Yes
1
No
7
0
malovela
There are no pregnant women, and I'm 99% sure that there are no babies.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
1
No
7
0
malovela
There are no pregnant women, and I'm 99% sure that there are no babies.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
0
malovela
There are no pregnant women (and I'm 99% sure that there are no babies).
1 comment | Add comment
Prejudice
Are there fat jokes?
26 supporters
Yes
11
No
2
2
malovela
In both human and mouse form, the overweight boy is consistently shown as exceedingly stupid, slow on the uptake, clumsy and completely unable to resist his constant urge to eat - all to the extent that it endangers his own life as well as the lives of others - I mean, the extent of his obsession with eating is absurd, probably the worst I've seen in a movie, which is saying a lot. ... So, there's no end to the number of scenes in which he gets stuck or almost falls down from places and needs help/rescuing, doesn't get what's glaringly obviously going on, has to be held back from running out of hiding to fetch some food he's fixated on etc. It's cliché, unfunny and frankly unacceptable. The movie business needs to move past that trope. I don't care if Roald Dahl wrote the character that way; it would've taken nothing away from the story to drop that part of the character.
3 comments | Add comment
0
malovela
Well... Hmm... A boy gets a mouse as a present and asks the giver, "What's his name?", to which the giver replies that it's a girl. (--- SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER --- Later on, it turns out that the mouse is actually a human girl who's been turned into a mouse, which means that she understood the exchange.)
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
8
No
0
1
malovela
Technically, two black adults (male and female) are the first ones to die. They die in a car crash in the very beginning of the movie; we see their son in the back of the crashed car, but not them. We only see them in a photo, later on in the movie.
2 comments | Add comment
Are there homophobic slurs?
30 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
0
malovela
Yes and no? Lots of people have accused Roald Dahl, who wrote the book behind the movie, of using the evil, inhuman and malformed witches to represent Jews. Since Roald Dahl was in fact an unapologetic and outspoken anti-semite, it's very possible that the accusation is warranted. I wouldn't have noticed anything, though; I have the information from reading trivia about the movie on IMDb after watching it. ___ https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/06/roald-dahl-family-apologises-for-his-antisemitism
2 comments | Add comment
Is there hate speech?
19 supporters
Yes
2
No
3
0
trnstrm
Towards each other by both sides, yes.
2 comments | Add comment
Does an LGBT person die?
24 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
4
Abee
physical disabilities = witches in this film which has been combatted with the #notawitch movement
1 comment | Add comment
Are there n-words?
18 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Sex
Is there sexual content?
35 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Are there incestuous relationships?
National Sexual Assault Hotline 800.656.4673
51 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Spoiler
Is Santa (et al) spoiled?
2 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
7
No
2
1
trnstrm
Sort of. They never get turned back into humans, Bruno doesn't go to live back with his parents (they're not really good people anyway), but they turn more evil witches into rats. Just watch a bit through the credits.
2 comments | Add comment
Vehicular
Does a car crash?
8 supporters
Yes
7
No
0
2
leh
The aftermath of a crash is shown, with an upside-down car, broken glass, flashing emergency lights, and a boy being pulled from the wreck
2 comments | Add comment
Does a plane crash?
5 supporters
Yes
0
No
7
0
malovela
No flying scenes.
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone hit by a car?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Violence
Is there a nuclear explosion?
2 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Is there blood/gore?
31 supporters
Yes
4
No
3
1
DaniSo
We see characters whose skin appears to boil when they're turned from human to animal.
2 comments | Add comment
Does someone drown?
11 supporters
Yes
0
No
7
-1
malovela
No one is in water.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there gun violence?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7