The Worst Witch: The Movie [1986] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Amazon.co.uk Review

Based on Jill Murphy's book, The Worst Witch is set in a boarding school for witches--complete with orange and black school uniforms, broom-flying exercises and potion assignments. The incompetent student of the title, Mildred, is played by a fetching young Fairuza Balk. Diana Rigg is the nasty head teacher, Tim Curry the (oddly) idolised Grand Wizard, and Charlotte Rae does double duty as the school's kindly dean and her evil witch twin, who's bent on taking over the school.

Directed by Robert Young, this charming film features less than state-of-the-art effects and several songs that stop the action--most bizarrely an outdoor assembly performance by Curry that turns into a weird music video. Still, pre-teen girls will identify with the beleaguered heroine who overcomes her wickedly snooty rival, a teacher who doesn't believe in her and a band of dastardly witches, and, of course, saves the day. Ages six and up. --Kimberly Heinrichs, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

fabulously bad!.......2006-09-13

Agreed this film is best watched when your about 8, but if u watched it first back in the 80s then its a classic! overacting and awful special effects only add to the nostalgia. Also loved by my two nieces currently aged 6 and 9 who put it in the VCR everytime they come round.

Dreadful.......2006-02-20

We bought this because our daughter loves the TV series. What a waste of money. Appalling acting, non-existent plot and poor quality filming. Tim Currey is embarassingly bad. It really is dreadful.

Wow!.......2006-02-15

This 80s made for TV movie is one of the lucky few that fall into the "so bad its actually good" category. Having read the books as a child, and being a fan of Tim Curry I eagerly watched this film when given the opportunity recently. Strangely, I was not disappointed. This film is the funniest thing I've seen in a very long time. Sure, the plot makes little sense, over-acting is rife throughout and the seriously low budget special effects are unintentionally hilarious, while Tim Curry's confusingly lecherous portrayal of the Grand Wizard is surely not suitable for a childrens film. But none of this matters. Tim Curry's infamous "Anything Can Happen on Halloween (including, apparently, a seemingly endless bombardment of shockingly bad and completely irrelevant special effects)" music video alone is surely reason enough to purchase this film. If you need anymore persuading then perhaps this film isn't for you, but I do strongly recommend that you first read X-Entertainment.com's truely excellent review of this product (I discovered it after seeing "the Worst Witch" and found it, if possible, even funnier than the film itself.) BUY IT, YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!

Old Skool brilliance!! 80's equivalent to Harry Potter.......2005-10-01

Everybody born in the 80's as a child will remember the Diana Rigg movie the Worst Witch! Me and my sisters absolutely loved this movie and next to Labyrinth, called it our childhood movie! Now in our 20's we still love it and are thrilled its on video after playing to bits our worn out recorded copy from TV.

I don't think you were cool if you didn't like this movie! It's something everybody who remembers and loved this movie should own and i swear JK Rowling must have got some ideas from this as it was long existing before Harry Potter!

It just goes to show that due to the high popularity of the Worst Witch and Harry Potter, magic is surely something that captivates everyone!

Go buy this movie now and relive that Old Skool brilliance of the Worst Witch!

The Worst Witch on DVD.......2004-06-27

The Worst Witch was my most favourite book as a child and now I am a primary school teacher and reading it to my class, they love it! Move over Harry Potter Mildred Hubble is back! They really ought to release it on DVD or have a special showing on Halloween at the cinema. What a great film!

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