Eva Ernst
The Gorgeous and Thoughtful One has had enough!
What does the Grand High Witch of All the World find when she comes to England to chair the secret Annual Meeting of that country’s witches? Children—hundreds, thousands of the revolting beggars. It seems the witches of England have been coasting, each offing only one child a week, maybe. Not good enough! Her Grandness demands maximum results. Fortunately, she’s brought a potion ... and a plan.
In the 1990 film version of The Witches, Roald Dahl’s mind-blowing 1983 novel (pictures by Quentin Blake), Formula 86 Delayed-Action Mouse-Maker is bottled and ready for distribution to every witch in attendance. A drop in a “choc” is enough to rid the country of one dirty, stinky child by turning it into a brown mouse. And one bottle contains 500 doses. And there are lots and lots of witches in England ....
In the novel, the prebottled formula is provided only to the Ancient Ones, too decrepit to rustle up some of the more exotic ingredients. The others are expected to brew it themselves, according to the Brainy One’s instructions. It’s a droll piece of sympathetic magic, containing, among other things, the wrong end of a telescope, boiled until soft (to make the kiddies small); the tails of 45 brown mice, fried in hair oil until crisp; and an alarm clock set to 9 a.m., roasted until tender.
In both novel and film, we’re treated to the “proof of the pudding” in the person of greedy little Bruno Jenkins, who’s been predosed with one chocolate bar and lured to the meeting with a promise of six more. Suffice to say, at 3:30 sharp the pudding is proved.
In one more of many changes (most small, one huge) from book to film, the unnamed Grand High Witch is christened Eva Ernst. It’s quite the romp for Anjelica Huston, who, deploying a juicy German accent, plays the Brilliant One for—what else?—maximum results.
“Vitches of Inkland, you are a dis-grrrace!”
Recommended!
What does the Grand High Witch of All the World find when she comes to England to chair the secret Annual Meeting of that country’s witches? Children—hundreds, thousands of the revolting beggars. It seems the witches of England have been coasting, each offing only one child a week, maybe. Not good enough! Her Grandness demands maximum results. Fortunately, she’s brought a potion ... and a plan.
In the 1990 film version of The Witches, Roald Dahl’s mind-blowing 1983 novel (pictures by Quentin Blake), Formula 86 Delayed-Action Mouse-Maker is bottled and ready for distribution to every witch in attendance. A drop in a “choc” is enough to rid the country of one dirty, stinky child by turning it into a brown mouse. And one bottle contains 500 doses. And there are lots and lots of witches in England ....
In the novel, the prebottled formula is provided only to the Ancient Ones, too decrepit to rustle up some of the more exotic ingredients. The others are expected to brew it themselves, according to the Brainy One’s instructions. It’s a droll piece of sympathetic magic, containing, among other things, the wrong end of a telescope, boiled until soft (to make the kiddies small); the tails of 45 brown mice, fried in hair oil until crisp; and an alarm clock set to 9 a.m., roasted until tender.
In both novel and film, we’re treated to the “proof of the pudding” in the person of greedy little Bruno Jenkins, who’s been predosed with one chocolate bar and lured to the meeting with a promise of six more. Suffice to say, at 3:30 sharp the pudding is proved.
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| “Thirty seconds to go!” |
“Vitches of Inkland, you are a dis-grrrace!”
Recommended!
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