The Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews
From the Discworld novel of the same name by Terry Pratchett.
The real heir to the throne is hidden, and the three witches are the only ones who know where he is.
Although I love SF and fantasy, and am always looking for really funny novels in the genre, I am not a Discworld fan; I read the first couple when Pratchett started writing them, and they were amusing, but I didn’t keep up with the series.
So when my sis and her hubs offered to show me this animated version of one of them, I was willing to give it a try, but didn’t expect a lot…and was very pleasantly surprised.
It’s both funny and charming, which is a combination that is hard to do. According to the reviews, it sticks very closely to the books; I recognized some of the themes and running jokes from the ones that I read, and they translate very well into this format.
The animation was good, in the sort of style one would expect from Saturday morning cartoons, but infinitely better done; the characters, backgrounds, movement and expressions are all created with style and panache, and the voices are perfect for the characters.
The story gives a nod to Macbeth, but the characterization is much more interesting; in fact, the characters are the most amusing thing about this movie, especially the eponymous witches and their interactions with each other and the rest of the cast.
Now, that’s not to say that everyone will like this style of over-the-top punning humor, or a fantasy world that is such a directly satiric reflection of our own…but if you’re tired of ponderous straight faced fantasy epics, this is a truly refreshing change.
theotterlimits 