I didn’t watch the trailer, I went in blind. I hadn’t watched the original either obviously. Yes, I know who Roald Dahl is and this work would skew young. But I hoped it would be as creepy as I thought his work would be. I was wrong. I can see how this film would be scary for young children, but it was basically a cartoon.

Octavia Spencer is a treasure, she is perfectly placed. She knows how to straddle the style of the movie, but the tone kept getting brighter and brighter. I like it when movies aren’t too dark for kids, but this one became perpetually cartoonish and just lost all ability to be creepy. It was bright, but uneven.

Really well made studio films are fantastic, but this one wasn’t for me. I don’t know the age this movie was targeting, but it may be as young as 7. I believe my 3 year old would have enjoyed this one just fine, but can’t recommend it as the visuals of the witches was pretty CG heavy with a little feeling of Spiderman’s Venom. If you have young kids, go enjoy this movie before the Halloween spirit entirely passes us by, but if you are planning on enjoying the movie, keep those expectations low.