Roald Dahl had a specific kind of darkness in his bones. When you look at the cast of The Witches, you aren’t just looking at actors in prosthetics; you’re looking at how two different eras of Hollywood tried to bottle that specific brand of British nightmare fuel. Most people grew up traumatized by Anjelica Huston’s peeling face in 1990. Others met the story through Anne Hathaway’s CGI-enhanced grin in 2020.
It’s weird.
The two films share a DNA based on Dahl’s 1983 novel, but the casting choices tell two completely different stories about what we find scary—and what we find charming.
The Grand High Witch: Huston vs. Hathaway
Anjelica Huston didn't just play the role. She owned it. In the 1990 version, directed by Nicolas Roeg, Huston brought this regal, terrifying stillness to the screen. It’s been reported that she spent roughly eight hours in the makeup chair to transform into the creature underneath the skin. That’s commitment. Jim Henson’s Creature Shop handled the effects, and honestly, the practical puppetry still holds up better than half the stuff we see in theaters today. Huston’s performance was rooted in a sort of "vamp" energy that turned on a dime into pure, unadulterated malice.
Then came 2020. Robert Zemeckis took the helm, and he went a different route with Anne Hathaway.
Hathaway is high-camp. She’s loud. She has a heavy, almost caricatured accent that feels more like a theatrical performance than a literal threat. While Huston was a cold blade, Hathaway is a jagged saw. The 2020 cast of The Witches leaned heavily into the "Joker" aesthetic—Hathaway’s mouth stretches back to her ears using digital effects, a nod to the "Glasgow Smile." Some fans loved the theatricality. Others missed the quiet, oily dread of the original.
The Heart of the Story: Luke and Charlie
In the 1990 film, the protagonist is Luke Eveshim, played by Jasen Fisher. He’s a quiet kid. There’s a certain vulnerability to him that makes the stakes feel incredibly high. When he gets turned into a mouse, the transition feels permanent and tragic, largely because the movie doesn't shy away from the idea that he might never be a boy again.
Fast forward to 2020. The setting shifts to 1960s Alabama.
Jahzir Kadeem Bruno plays the young hero, now named Charlie (or "Hero Boy"). The dynamic changes because the world around him changes. This isn't a British seaside resort anymore; it's a world where racial tensions and Southern culture provide a backdrop that the original never touched. Octavia Spencer plays the grandmother here, and she brings a warmth and a "tough love" energy that is fundamentally different from the 1990 grandmother.
The Grandmothers: Mai Zetterling and Octavia Spencer
If the Grand High Witch is the engine of the movie, the Grandmother is the soul.
Mai Zetterling, in the 1990 version, felt like a woman who had seen war. She had a missing finger—a detail straight from the book—and a weary, wise presence. She knew the lore. She was a retired witch-hunter who felt a bit like she was passing on a burden to her grandson.
Octavia Spencer’s 2020 portrayal is more active. She’s soulful. She dances. She uses folk remedies. She feels less like a retired hunter and more like a protective matriarch who is forced back into a fight she thought she left behind. It’s a shift from "European Folklore" to "Southern Gothic," and honestly, Spencer is the best part of the remake. She grounds the movie when the CGI starts to get a bit too chaotic.
Supporting Players and Scene Stealers
You can't talk about the cast of The Witches without mentioning Mr. Stringer.
In 1990, we had Rowan Atkinson. This was peak Atkinson. He wasn't quite "Mr. Bean" yet in the global consciousness, but he had that bumbling, high-strung energy that made the hotel scenes pop. He was the perfect foil to the supernatural horror happening under his nose.
In 2020, Stanley Tucci stepped into the role. Tucci is always great—that’s just a fact of life—but his Mr. Stringer is more of a polished, corporate sycophant. He plays it with a dry wit that contrasts well with Hathaway’s over-the-top energy.
Then there’s Bruno Jenkins.
- 1990: Charlie Potter played the gluttonous, somewhat obnoxious kid who becomes a mouse alongside Luke. He was the comic relief, but also a cautionary tale about greed.
- 2020: Codie-Lei Eastick took on the role. The character remains largely the same—a kid driven by his stomach—but the interaction between the two "mouse-boys" feels more like a modern buddy comedy.
The Ending Controversy (Cast Implications)
The ending of these movies actually changes how we view the actors' journeys. In 1990, the studio got cold feet. They changed Dahl’s ending. Luke gets turned back into a human by a "good witch" (played by Jane Horrocks). Dahl famously hated this. He thought it cheapened the sacrifice.
The 2020 cast of The Witches had to play a much darker finale. They stayed true to the book. Charlie stays a mouse. He accepts his short lifespan. He becomes a recruiter for other children to fight witches. This gives Jahzir Bruno and Octavia Spencer a much more poignant final scene together. It’s bittersweet. It’s honest.
Technical Craft Behind the Faces
People forget that the "cast" includes the puppeteers and makeup artists. In the 1990 version, the "witches" were a massive ensemble of actors in heavy prosthetics. Each one had a unique look—bald heads, sores, square toes. It felt tactile.
The 2020 version used a lot of background extras, but the "heavy lifting" was done in post-production. This changed how the lead actors interacted with the villains. When Jahzir Bruno is looking at a witch in the 2020 film, he’s often looking at a tennis ball on a stick or an actor with tracking dots on their face. In 1990, Jasen Fisher was looking at a literal animatronic monster. You can see the difference in the eye contact and the physical reactions.
How to Appreciate the Castings Today
If you’re looking to dive back into these films, don't just watch them for the plot. Everyone knows the plot. Watch them for the acting choices.
- Look for the "tell": In the 1990 film, watch Anjelica Huston’s eyes. Even through pounds of latex, she communicates a specific kind of ancient boredom.
- Notice the chemistry: Watch the 2020 film specifically for the scenes between Octavia Spencer and Stanley Tucci. There’s a sophisticated "adult" movie happening in the margins of the kid’s story.
- Check the voice work: Since a huge chunk of both movies features talking mice, listen to the voice acting. The 2020 version features Kristin Chenoweth as Daisy (the mouse). Her Broadway-trained voice adds a layer of professionalism to the rodent trio that the original lacked.
The cast of The Witches serves as a bridge between generations. Whether you prefer the gritty, practical horror of the 90s or the vibrant, digital camp of the 2020s, both casts successfully brought Roald Dahl’s weirdest nightmare to life.
To get the most out of your next viewing, try watching the 1990 version first to appreciate the physical transformation of the witches, then move to the 2020 version to see how the change in setting alters the chemistry between the grandmother and the boy. You’ll find that while the witches change, the theme of a child’s resilience stays exactly the same.
Compare the two performances of the Grand High Witch side-by-side during the "convention" scene. Pay attention to the use of silence in Huston’s speech versus the use of volume in Hathaway’s. It’s a masterclass in how two different actors can interpret the same "pure evil" in diametrically opposed ways.
