Roald Dahl, Anjelica Huston, and Turning Kids Into Mice: My Thoughts on "The Witches"

Okay, so I finally got around to watching "The Witches" (1990). I know, I know, I'm a bit late to the party on this one. I've been meaning to check it out forever, mostly because Nicolas Roeg was originally supposed to direct and I'm a total filmography completionist, but he got canned fairly early on. The end result is pretty solid though! I can definitely see Dahl's influence all over it; that wonderfully dark, twisted humor is dripping off the screen. Anjelica Huston absolutely slays as the Grand High Witch. Seriously, that makeup transformation is insane! Her performance is campy, terrifying, and hilarious all at the same time. I can't imagine anyone else pulling that role off. I also gotta give props to the practical effects in this movie. The transformation scenes are genuinely creepy, and the mice actually look like mice! I'm so glad there wasn't a bunch of bad CGI in this one. I will say the child acting is a little uneven. Jasen Fisher as Luke isn't bad, but he's not winning any Oscars, y'know? He's serviceable. And the ending feels a bit rushed. I can imagine Dahl wasn't thrilled with it. It's a little too happy and neat for the tone of the rest of the film. Still, overall, I quite enjoyed it! Def worth a watch esp around Halloween. Anyone else have strong feelings about this one? Did you find it properly scary as a kid? I'm curious to hear other opinions.