Witch's Night Out

1978
7.3| 0h28m| en
Details

A witch, disgruntled by the fact that no one takes Halloween seriously anymore, decides to stir things up and disrupt the social gathering in her old house as well as turn a couple of kids who love monsters into actual monsters.

Director

Producted By

Leach & Rankin

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Reviews

Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall
Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
Dawalk-1 I don't believe I ever heard of this animated Halloween special nor do I remember seeing this when I was little/younger before finding out this was airing on This TV over a couple of months ago. I won't say no wonder I don't recall viewing nor hearing of this one because it's rare, that's not exactly the case since I also learned that after originally airing on NBC, it aired on Fox and the Disney Channel from 1983 to the late '90s. Oddly, I don't remember it ever airing on Fox either and it airing on DC was unbeknown to me.Anyway, to get to the point of my review. This is an inventive Halloween gem and Halloween high jinks abound when a witch, who's dejected that nobody has sought after her for quite some time, soon becomes upbeat once she hears of a couple of kids named Small and Tender wish they could be a real werewolf and a real ghost. In the meantime, four adults named Goodly, Nicely, Rotten, and Malicious prepare and set up everything for a Halloween party. That night, while Small and Tender are being read a bedtime story by their babysitter, Bazooey, the Witch rides on her flying broom and zooms to their house, crash landing through the kids' bedroom window upstairs. She arrives to turn Small and Tender into what they desired with her wand, then turns Bazooey into a Frankenstein's monster at his request. Afterwards, the four head to the Halloween party to have some fun scaring the party-goers. As Small, Tender, and Bazooey do so, it worked so much the party-goers are convinced they're actually the real things, maybe it worked a little too well. This leads to a misunderstanding when the townspeople decide to form a mob and pursue the foursome, but this is resolved later.Another reviewer pointed out the odd, abnormal, unconventional names of the characters. With Goodly and Nicely, as well as Rotten and Malicious, I believe they're named as such, because the former pair are supposed to represent polar opposites and counter the latter pair, especially pertaining to their differing attitudes toward the holiday. Small and Tender's names refer to what children are. Bazooey's name is simply nonsensical. One of my favorite parts is after Rotten and Malicious steal the Witch's wand, they attempt to conjure up what they want, but they fail at it, as neither seems to know what they're doing and don't seem to be well-versed in magic. Although the animation isn't quite bad, I wish it were better and it would've been great to see it on the same level as today's animated things. I like that the citizens are multicolored, which I don't find distracting, and the voice cast did great. I wonder if this served as somewhat of an inspiration for one of the Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror segments, "I've Grown a Costume On Your Face", which has a similar plot. I loved this so much, I, too, wish somehow, something else could've been done with the characters and this served as a pilot to a series. This gives a message on what the Halloween spirit is, all in the name of thrills and fun. The whole thing was/is great, I enjoyed it.
TheExpatriate700 Witch's Night Out is a bizarre late 70s Halloween cartoon with some surprisingly adult subtexts. It follows the adventures of a witch who helps some trick or treaters by changing them into their favorite monsters.There are a number of things that set this special apart, starting with its soundtrack. It has an electronic, disco-influenced score, reminding one a bit of Electric Light Orchestra. This goes well with the at times psychedelic animation style. Although the animation itself is rather clunky, the character designs are rather interesting, with the witch looking like a dominatrix.However, the film's most distinctive quality is a subtext of emotional and even sexual repression. For example, one timid character ends up transformed into a very sexualized vampire. It'll go over the kids' heads, but adults might have a laugh.
urotsukidoji_1 I saw this when it first aired, I was 9 at the time and loved it, it was different, it had a bizarre yet oddly engrossing animation style, and a clever wit about it. Now 29 years later I found an old rental copy (this was out briefly on VHS and has never been out on DVD). This is just as odd and cool as I remembered. I don't understand why this never became a yearly special on TV. After its initial broadcast, it just seemed to fade into obscurity. Hopefully someone will see fit to release it on disc. I mean copies on ebay routinely sell for $20 - $60, so someone remembers this sucker other than me. Well, I'm glad I found a copy, as now my kids who are crazy for anything Halloween, will be one of the very few of their generation to ever see it.Oh, it also has one of the coolest theme songs, it stuck in my head for 29 years.
Mandice I love, love, love this movie! I remember watching it as a kid. Then, when I was lucky enough to find a copy on a "bargain basement" online shop, I was thrilled! My three year old watched it 4 times, yesterday (It's 26 minutes long, so I suppose that wasn't long enough for her). The only questionable portion, for me, is the suggestiveness of the females in the animation. It's not terrible, but when one of the characters becomes a vampiress, It's kind of funny that her costume is a bikini.A great holiday film!