MattyB81's Profile
Reviews
March 17, 2024
Boring and Forgettable
Turned it off. The tonnes of negative reviews were right with this one. Firstly, who the hell wants to watch a Willy Wonka film WITHOUT a chocolate factory? My kids were bored, as was I. Wish I never watched this film as it has slightly ruined the original for me. Race swapped characters. Disjointed cast. Sloppy story line. Dark and dingy grading. Forgettable music. Embarrassing script. There was soooooo much wrong with it that I can’t simply list it all. I literally can’t remember when my family was last enchanted by a kids movie. Incredibly disappointed, could have been something special. It’s not a prequel, it’s more corporate manufactured fan fiction. Roald Dahl would be incredibly offended with this adaption!
2 people found this helpful.
November 25, 2020
Terrifying with Racial and Body Prejudice Undertones
Roald Dahl would be FURIOUS about Hollywood destroying his work like this. He is Norwegian. ‘The Witches’ was based on the Vardo Witches of Norway. In the book, Grandma is Norwegian to tie the old superstitious tale together. The boy in the story is supposed to be British. The location should be the United Kingdom. I just don’t comprehend why this story had to be so Americanised!? Anne Hathaway was disastrous casting choice, she also had an unbearable multi 'European' accent (if you can call it that!). Chris Rock's narration is way over the top and grating. There are scenes displaying that the grand high witch has fingers missing and that children should be scared of imperfection or too see this as hideous or a weakness. There are children out there with limbs missing so I find this misinterpretation totally unfair. I can't believe the line "only rich white people can afford to come to this hotel" was actually approved for a children's film - fuelling the racial tension fire for the next generation. Zemeckis and his producers have ruined a beautiful story!
March 10, 2024
NOT suitable for under 16’s (and even that’s pushing it)
Gun fire , References to suicide, Terrorism,
Adult kissing, sexual role play, Muggings, Lots of violence, The words ‘die’ and ‘kill’.
All of this was totally unnecessary and not hidden at all. Lost even more respect with Disney Pixar. Not happy!!!
October 30, 2020
Fantastic!!!
Spoilers:
My 3.5 year old absolutely adores this film as do I! It has some wonderful songs, a great cast and is definitely a feel good film for all the family.
It has a positive message which is to avoid gluttony, be well mannered and be honest. My daughter often references Verruca Salt being a naughty girl and rude to her daddy falling down the garbage shoot and Charlie being a good boy and being given the chocolate factory.
Yes, there is a scary’ish scene with the boat, however the imagery in the background will go over a child’s head (as did it with me for 40 years) - I only just noticed the chicken and the snake.
There’s nothing in this film to really pose a threat to kids and I’m extremely conscious of what my daughter views!
3 people found this helpful.
January 19, 2021
Kill Kill Kill
Within the first 10 minutes there are lines such as “Sher Khan wants to kill you” “Sher Khan will kill the boy” “he will be killed” etc etc - Totally unnecessary. Turned it off!
7 people found this helpful.
January 19, 2021
References to HANGING
I can’t believe there are scenes of preparing nooses and trying to hang Frier Tuck. Even in the intro credits there are nooses and a hangman frame. That type of imagery is not suitable for young children!
October 30, 2020
Not a Feel Good Film
I watched this with my my 3.5 year old due to its ‘U’ rating (which is too low) and recommend reviews on this website. I would say that this film is twisted rather than enchanting. My daughter was very scared of the following:
Miss Gulch taking the dog and saying that it needs to be killed
The Witch threatening to kill Dorothy
The flying monkeys kidnapping Dorothy
The first appearance of the lion
The witch setting the scarecrow on fire
The wizard (with the flames, smoke and distorted speech). He is also rather nasty and not a positive role model.
There is a lot of talk about death and killing through the film which I do not want my 3 year old to be aware of.
Yes it’s a classic. Yes it’s a fantastic story. Yes there’s some great music but this really isn’t a ‘feel good’ film in my opinion. It actually has quite a lacklustre feel and left us feeling rather glum by the end of it.
Was a bad choice and I’m disappointed with myself for letting my 3 year old watch it!