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While the rather more dire ending of the modern The Witches seems like a stark counterpart to the 1990 original, could it be the ending we actually need in 2020? The edgy ‘new‘ ending is something of a surprise all around, given the fact that Robert Zemeckis’ new adaptation of this children's classic plays it far safer through most of the plot than it’s groundbreaking predecessor, but it’s certainly created controversy. We take a closer look at why the darker tone may be the hero 2020’s children need after all.

What happens in the Witches?

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The plot is an interesting one. A young orphan and his adoring gran find themselves at a resort as a coven of witches has a dire convention. They want to see the end of children worldwide, and decide the answer lies in turning them into mice. Of course, our young protagonist gets caught up in the drama. Reduced to mouse form, he has to find a way to foil the evil witches and get out alive.

Despite the obligatory happy ending, where the young man is changed back to a person by a good witch after bringing down the evil schemers, the 1990 film opts to keep raw violence in many of the scenes. In contrast, the modern version- currently streaming on HBO- plays the violence in over-the-top CGI that’s designed to make you laugh. They revert, however, to the far more morbid Roald Dahl ending, where the boy cannot be changed back to his human form and has to remain a mouse forever.

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Just in case this wasn’t heartbreaking enough, we’re treated to a poignant scene where his Gran has to explain to him that mice live far shorter lives than people, and that as a ‘mouse-person’ cross, he may have, at best, 9 years. It’s not all doom and gloom, however, and the young man takes the news with glee. Remember, he’s an orphan already, with the pain of losing his parents, and is glad he won’t outlive his beloved Nana. It’s dark, for sure, in the signature Roald Dahl style, but also a little kind.

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Shining light on the monsters

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Dahl was, in fact, never that happy with the changed ending in the 1990 movie, his widow telling us he felt it missed the entire point of the story and he would have rather had his name taken away from the project completely. Dahl was always keenly aware that childhood isn’t all light and faires, and life is instead complex and loss happens. It’s a mindset- putting complicated emotions into simple terms accessible by little ones- we’ve only recently seen a swing back to, and Dahl (already not without many controversies for outdated attitudes) has been a contentious author because of it.

This return to the darker ending carries a staggering poignancy in the middle of the global health crisis. No longer can our little ones live in a bubble where loss doesn’t happen, and the difficult questions around it cannot be avoided. With that in mind, finding child-friendly ways to open up the awkward conversations around mortality- and especially, the death of good people who didn’t deserve it- can be seen as very necessary indeed, much though we may wish otherwise.

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Let’s be honest. America has never been good at discussing death. While it may seem like protecting our children, in fact, it often leaves them with a blurry and bewildering idea of what’s happening that adds fright and terror. And lying to them in kindness often makes it worse. While this version of The Witches may not have the subtlety of pieces like Coco, it opens up a chance for honest dialogue that we don’t often have.

After all, we’ve somewhat lost sight of the fact that many stories originally for children were not bright and sunny- Disney took many a ‘fairy tale’ and cleaned it up over time. Dahl never did, nor was he ever afraid to show the more angry or even cruel aspects of childhood in his work, and he was happy to play with ambiguity and the ‘grey areas’ of life rather than the standard happy ending.

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There’s certainly value in removing the sugarcoating. Giving your child’s fear a name and a chance to ‘confront the monster’ can be cathartic, and at the very least give you an age-appropriate avenue to help them tackle the hard sides of life without leaving them helpless with anxiety they neither understand nor can properly express.

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2020 has been a year packed with anxiety, and our young ones are not immune to this. The Witches is far from a perfect film, but introducing anxiety-inducing topics like death gives you a chance to help your child work through their tough emotions and process them healthily. Far from being simply a ‘dark’ adaption of the story, perhaps we should see the restored The Witches ending as a fascinating chance to shine a light into the dark and show that the shadows can be confronted after all.