Why The Children’s Movie THE WITCHES Is Anything But Family-Friendly
By Jessilyn Lancaster, Managing Editor
Warner Bros. is in hot water with their supposed “family-friendly” flick THE WITCHES offended people in the disabled community. Yet, that’s not the only problem with this movie that is anything but safe for the little eyes.
Warner Bros. issued a half-hearted apology after Paralympic athletes, among others, called out the depiction of witches in the movie. In the movie, witches have “Claws”–or only three fingers on one hand–and are bald.
Limb difference is not scary. Differences should be celebrated and disability has to be normalised. #NotAWitch calls out ‘#TheWitches’ movie for portrayal of disability 👉 https://t.co/aSY1U6TymE pic.twitter.com/UCU87bUeV8
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) November 3, 2020
The community upset over this “kid friendly” film has been overwhelming. The deliberate choice to make Anne Hathaway’s character in the new @wbpictures
film #TheWitches limb different in efforts to make her more creepy and sinister is upsetting. #LimbDifferenceAwareness pic.twitter.com/q9K32LZvYS— Lucky Fin Project (@luckyfinproject) November 3, 2020
Warner Bros.’ statement claimed the studio did not intend to offend people, and reiterated that the movie was supposed to be inspirational:
“We the filmmakers and Warner Bros. Pictures are deeply saddened to learn that our depiction of the fictional characters in The Witches could upset people with disabilities, and regret any offense caused,” a Warner Bros. spokesperson told E! News. “In adapting the original story, we worked with designers and artists to come up with a new interpretation of the cat-like claws that are described in the book. It was never the intention for viewers to feel that the fantastical, non-human creatures were meant to represent them. This film is about the power of kindness and friendship. It is our hope that families and children can enjoy the film and embrace this empowering, love-filled theme.”
However, Movieguide® found significant cautions in THE WITCHES and does not advise the movie for family viewing.
“The movie’s light moral, redemptive tale of Good versus Evil has strong occult content involving witchcraft, references to demons and some pagan healing elements. Aside from a positive reference to God, THE WITCHES is too scary for children. For example, the witches are very creepy. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises that the movie is excessive for these elements and some violent scenes containing some obvious computer graphics.
God warns us to stay away from things of an occult nature. From Pharaoh and his sorcerers to the witch of Endor, God’s word expressly tells us that “Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord” (Deut 18:12).”
Specifically:
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements: Light moral, redemptive worldview where characters try to overcome evil witches, one grandma says love will always win and a few positive references to God and His almighty plans, marred by strong, scary occult elements with evil witches gathering together, demons, potions, witches place a curse on a grandma, and a character stays in Room 666 at a hotel, plus elements of occult paganism where a woman is a healing priestess who uses potion making to help the good guys escape the clutches of the evil witches
Violence: Some scary violence includes a witch depicted posing as a nurse with a syringe in her hand, witches turn children into mice so they can squish them (no child gets squished, however), witch angrily throws two pieces of furniture across a room, and they shatter, the same witch kills a fellow witch with laser powers that shoot from her claws, chef makes a trite comment about killing himself when his dish doesn’t go as planned
From THE WITCHES’ disregard for people in the disabled community to its flagrant use of magic and violence–especially against children–it’s clear that the movie, though described as a children’s movie, is anything but family friendly.
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