Get comfy boys and girls because there is a LOT I have to say about this, and I mean A LOT, so this will be a long read. The 1990 version is my favourite movie of all time, so I will admit there will be some biases here and there towards the 1990 version. Do I think it's flawless? absolutely not, the 1990 version has a lot of flaws - but it does a lot of things better than the 2020 version in my opinion.

While this will mainly be a comparison of the movies - I will also be mentioning the book throughout. Especially for moments that both movies didn't elaborate on or explain.

also, before I start - I should explain that the setting in this version is different from the book/1990 version. The 1990 version/book has the beginning of the story set in Norway and later on in England. This version is set in Alabama.

ok, without further ado lets get started:

The opening scene in the 2020 version is different from the 1990 version. The 1990 version goes straight into Helga (grandma) telling Luke about witches and how to recognise them. We are also told the story of Erica, a girl who was trapped in a painting by a witch. The 2020 version opens with an adult version of the boy (unseen) narrating to a group of kids about witches and how they are real.

The 2020 opening scene also shows the boy in an upside down car after his parents have a car crash, both parents being killed and the boy surviving. This version is more like the book version than the 1990 on. In the book, the narrators parents are already dead and he explains that he got away with only a bump on his forehead. He goes to live with his mother's mother (father's mother in the 1990 version.) in the 1990 version we see luke's parents alive and they both go out for dinner before getting into a car crash.

I do think this scene was done better in the 2020 version. The 1990 version makes it seem Luke doesn't care about his parents death. They have one scene where Grandma is crying but that's it. Of course the death of luke's parents isn't a major plot point so i get why they did this. However, I did like how in the 2020 version we see the boy mourning over the death of his parents and he doesn't get over it immediately, it takes a while for him to get over the death of his parents. He's an 8 year old kid - stuff like this will have major effect on a kid. (heck losing a loved one in general can effect anyone.) so this is one of the moments prefer in the 2020 version.

So after some time passes, the boy is over his parents death and the boy is given a pet mouse who he names daisy. (real name Mary.) now, we later find out that this mouse is actually a transformed child. I do like the inclusion of daisy's character - thought it was a cool change from the book/1990 version - it doesn't really effect the overall plot of the movie tbh - I do wish we got a flashback of daisy's encounter with a witch though and the only issue I have with daisy is that Bruno Jenkins is suppose to be a test subject for the grand high witch to test her formula on. it's also suppose to be her newest invention something she hasn't created before and hasn't been created by anyone else. Yet the inclusion of daisy says otherwise, we don't even know if it was the grand high witch that transformed her or a completely different witch. Daisy doesn't even state it was the grand high witch, just " a witch gave me a chocolate bar" no explanation as to if it was the grand high with or not.

The 1990 version and book is very different from the 2020 version. In the 1990 version/book, Luke is given two pet mice for his birthday -William and Mary. These are also just regular ordinary mouse and not transformed children. The boy also states he would like to open a circuit someday and so trains his pet mice. For this, I like both versions but will have to go for the 1990 version more, as i feel the 2020 version does have some issues. also in the book and 1990 version he is given his pet mice after he encounters a witch, in 2020 it's before.

Now, we can finally talk about the main character's first encounter with a witch. Again, the 2020 version is drastically different from the book/1990 version. 1990 version has Luke playing in his treehouse (fixing the roof in the book) and he is approached by a witch while doing so, in the 2020 version, he encounters a witch while shopping at a general store. The 1990 version of this scene is much better imo, and i'll explain why. For starters, the witch in the 1990 version is very cunning and manipulative, she speaks in a calm voice through out - trying to persuade Luke that the snake she is offering him is harmless and worth lots of money. When she approaches Luke, she starts off with kind words to him - complimenting him on his treehouse and even catching his toy plane that falls off the treehouse. When Luke realises she's a witch and freaks out, she even offers to leave the snake so that he can come down and get it himself. When she realises he isn't having it, she offers him a bar of chooclate instead. There are also some unsettling moments like the way she whispers to the snake, her telling Luke "She can't hear you " as he calls his grandma for help, and the fact that she knows Luke's name. The most disturbing thing is that Luke and the audience knows the witch has sinister intentions - she wants to KILL him, but the way she interacts..it would make you think she's a nice lady if you didn't know about witches. She doesn't even give up trying to catch Luke until his grandma appears - I wouldn't be surprised if the witch tried climbing up the treehouse if grandma hadn't appeared! (in the book, the witch only offers him a snake.)

The 2020 version of this is so weak in comparison, the witch doesn't come off as cunning at all. The first thing she does is startled the kid by yelling "boy!" and then tries offering him a sweet. The scene is very short compared to the 1990 version. The way the witch speaks to the boy comes across as weird to me.. and also inconsistent to that witch character. When she speak to him, she's like "do ya like sweeeeeet" " she is tammeee, very sweeeeet, give her a kisssssss." The way she stretches her words makes her even more unsettling, but not in a good way.Her facial expressions don't help either as she clearly makes it obvious she's up to something. Yes, I get it, she's a witch and the book does describe their voices sounding like pins - but witches are suppose to be cunning, and i didn't get that vibe from here. Not only that, but the fact that the scene is so short takes away from the tension that the 1990 version had. I'm not sure how to describe it tbh, but the 1990 version made me feel uncomfortable, this one was just....weird.

Speaking of the general store witch, as mentioned earlier, her voice is very inconsistent. In this scene her voice is snake like, stretching out her words - however, when we see her in later scenes her voice is completely different. She sounds normal and doesn't stretch her words. it's the same with the grand high witch too (and i have a lot to say about her oh boy.) it's like they can't decide if the witches are too sound like aliens or normal women. I do like however, that the witch in the 2020 version is seen watching the boy and his grandma before he actually encounters her. The book does state that witches stalk children like they are prey, so this was a nice touch....but, it also brings up my next major problem with this version.

When the witch is watching the boy and his grandma, it's implied she's put a curse on her. The witch yells "curses" and grandma suddenly starts having a coughing fit. But... it's never explained WHY the witch curses grandma - they don't follow through with this plot point at all. If she did it to make it easier to get to the boy than it would make sense, but that isn't the case here. They dropped this plot point almost immediately and it's only mentioned once later on. It's clearly an excuse for them to make grandma ill, but it doesn't make any sense. The curse on grandma serves no purpose at all to the overall plot. In the book - grandma suffers from pnenoumia and in the 1990 version she suffers from diabetes. in both the book and 1990 version, her illness has nothing to do with witches, but it is what leads them to the hotel, as the doctor suggests they take a nice vacation by the seaside.

This concludes part 1: next I will be talking about why they leave for the hotel in the 2020 version, the story of the five missing kids, certain moments in the 2020 version that do not make any sense at all, and maybe the grand high witch's introduction/conversation with Mr Stringer. (but, may leave that for part 3.)

Please let me know your thoughts..do you agree/disagree? do you think I missed anything out?