THE WITCHES Remake Faces Backlash From Disability Campaigners; Warner Bros. Issues Apology

THE WITCHES Remake Faces Backlash From Disability Campaigners; Warner Bros. Issues Apology

Warner Bros.' recent re-adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Witches has been slammed by disability campaigners for its depiction of the fictional villains' hands, and the studio has now issued an apology...

By MarkCassidy - Nov 04, 2020 05:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Fantasy

Robert Zemeckis' new take on The Witches recently debuted on HBO Max, and the divisive re-adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's tale has now come in for a sizable amount of backlash from disability rights campaigners.

The movie makes a significant change to the source material in regards to the witches' taloned hands. In the book, the villainous women are described as having five clawed fingers, but the film depicts them with missing middle fingers on each hand, similar to the limb abnormality ectrodactyly.

The issue stems from the perception that The Witches is "linking disability or physical impairments to evil characters."

Warner Bros. issued a response to Deadline, stating that they are “deeply saddened to learn that our depiction of the fictional characters in The Witches could upset people with disabilities” and “regretted any offense caused”.

“In adapting the original story, we worked with designers and artists to come up with a new interpretation of the cat-like claws that are described in the book,” they added. “It was never the intention for viewers to feel that the fantastical, non-human creatures were meant to represent them.”

What do you guys make of this? Is the backlash justified, or are people making too much out of the depiction of a fictional, non-human character? Let us know in the comments.

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IronGenesis
IronGenesis - 11/4/2020, 5:24 AM
‘For your eyes only, can see me through the night
For your eyes only, I never need to hide
You can see so much in me, so much in me that's new
I never felt until I looked at you
For your eyes only, only for you
You'll see what no one else can see, and now I'm breaking free
For your eyes only, only for you
The love I know you need in me, the fantasy you've freed in me
Only for you, only for you’

- Lyrics from Sheena Easton, from ‘For Your Eyes Only’
VoiceofReason
VoiceofReason - 11/4/2020, 5:42 AM
Is this reality?
Origame
Origame - 11/4/2020, 5:50 AM
Yeah no. I really don't like the idea of this remake in general but no one is making a link between evil and having a disability. This is just one of several details that are "off" about the character that, when put together, shows they aren't human. It's clear that, if anything, the designers of the new witches didn't see that this was a real disability. It's an honest mistake that really shouldn't offend anyone. And as someone who actually does have a disability (autism) I'm kind of offended by this reaction.

tl;dr, a villain having a disability doesn't mean the movie is saying a disability makes you evil.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 11/4/2020, 5:52 AM
Movie was a waste of time. Unbelievably bad.
Zoolitron
Zoolitron - 11/4/2020, 5:55 AM
But... She's a demon, you idiots! Not human! Hellooo!
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