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'The Witches' first look: Title treatment for the Anne Hathaway Roald Dahl adaptation revealed

<p>Nicolas Roeg’s take on Dahl’s creepiest children’s book wound up one of the scariest kids’ films ever. There seems to be a notable divide between audience and critical opinion here: while it has a 6.8 IMDb rating and a 70% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, it’s rated 100% fresh by the critics. (Picture credit: Warner Bros) </p>
Anjelica Huston is a scene from 1990's The Witches. (Picture credit: Warner Bros)

The title treatment for new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches has been revealed via the film’s official Facebook page. It comes on World Book Day as the Roald Dahl Facebook page prepares to livestream a reading from the book by one of the film’s stars Stanley Tucci, at 7pm.

A gold logo, set against a dark blue backdrop, spells out the film’s title – which looks to be Roald Dahl’s The Witches – with part of the W stylised to show a hand holding a mouse by the tail.

The tag line for the film, which comes to cinemas this October, reads “They’re real!”.

(Warner Bros.)
(Warner Bros.)

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, from a screenplay he wrote with Kenya Barris and Guillermo Del Toro, this new Warner Bros. adaptation of Dahl’s 1983 children’s book stars Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer, and is said to be a radically different take to the previous 1990 film version.

Read more: Charlie and The Chocolate Factory series announced

Directed by Nicholas Roeg, the 1990 version stayed fairly true to the source material, starring Angelica Huston as the Grand High Witch, the all powerful leader of a hidden cabal of witches who disguise themselves as regular women.

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 08: Anne Hathaway poses at the opening night of "Sea Wall/A Life" on Broadway at The Hudson Theatre on August 8, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 08: Anne Hathaway poses at the opening night of "Sea Wall/A Life" on Broadway at The Hudson Theatre on August 8, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)

A young boy discovers the witches are holding a huge convention at an English seaside hotel, while masquerading as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He gets turned into a mouse by a witch during the story, hence the rodent on the title treatment.

This new version though has reportedly transplanted the action to the deep south of 1960s America.

(Warner Bros.)
(Warner Bros.)

The reveal of the title treatment suggests a trailer and official poster can’t be far off.

Today at 7pm you can go to the Roald Dahl Facebook channel to see the Official World Book Day bedtime story as Stanley Tucci – star of the upcoming film in cinemas October 2020 – reads from Roald Dahl’s The Witches. The bedtime story was announced last week on Roald Dahl Facebook channel last week. You can watch the teaser here. The story will be available to view on:

www.facebook.com/roalddahl/

www.facebook.com/warnerbrosuk/

https://www.facebook.com/witchesmovieuk

Two new animated Netflix series, based on the work of Roald Dahl, were also announced today. Taika Waititi will write and direct a series based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as well as a separate series that will be “a wholly original take on the Oompa-Loompas”.