This Halloween, if one of your child’s (or your own!) favorite spooky characters is the classic witch, you may enjoy some of these fun cartoons that feature all sorts of different witches. A lot of these characters could even make great Halloween costumes, if you’re looking to forego the usual pointy hat and black dress cliché. Some of these witches are villains, and some of them are not, but they all have one thing in common: they know their black magic.
The Witch of the Waste in ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’
Hayao Miyazaki features different kinds of witches in many of his films. The Witch of the Waste in this film starts out as a beautiful redheaded woman in stylish black clothing who is obsessed with the wizard Howl and will do anything to get near him (and possess his heart, literally), even turning a young girl into an old woman because of her jealousy of the poor girl’s chance encounter with Howl. Later in the film, her true form is revealed when she is weakened and becomes an old woman, which makes her virtually harmless (she also displays a very different side of her personality: one that can still love and be unselfish).
Orduu, Orgoch, and Orwen in ‘The Black Cauldron’
All great witches come in trios! This group of green-skinned witches is comprised of two of your usual thin, large-nosed, creepy-looking women and one short, squat, very buxom one with more attractive features. It’s this witch that takes part in a very funny sequence where a frog keeps getting trapped in her cleavage (which is a strange scene for a children’s film), and exhausts himself trying to escape. The cackling old women turn out to not be completely evil, deciding against turning the young hero of the film into a frog (their favorite food) and keeping a bargain they make with him. They are great classic witches, and are just a few of the colorful characters in this Disney film that is so often overlooked.
Kiki of ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’
Kiki is definitely the cutest witch on this list. This is yet another magical Miyazaki film, but the witch in this film isn’t just an important character; she’s the main character. Kiki is a teen witch-in-training who has a typical witch life, complete with flying brooms and black cats, but she decides to use her powers as a witch to start an unusual business: a delivery service. Kiki has to deal with a number of issues in the film, like loneliness, starting a new life on her own, a frightening accident involving a new friend, and losing her ability to fly. But, as is with all of Miyazaki’s films, her good heart and desire to succeed help her prevail in the end.
The Queen of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’
She is one of the most beautiful cartoon villains ever, but her personality does not match her looks (at least at the beginning of the film). While her main job is ruling over a kingdom in a fairy tale land, she also dabbles in black magic, owning a magic mirror that possesses the power of knowing who the most beautiful female around is; making herself a witch that can turn herself into an ugly old woman; and turning a delicious red apple into a poisonous death trap. She’s one of the first Disney villains, and definitely one of the best.
Ursula of ‘The Little Mermaid’
Ursula is definitely one of the most unique witches of animated films, living under the sea and having 8 octopus tentacles instead of legs. She’s also incredibly evil, picking on poor Ariel by stealing her voice and also trying to steal her man. Although she’s evil, I really think she is one of the best Disney characters ever created.
The big witch and small witch of ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’
I know the two witches in this film don’t play a large part in it at all (they are just very big fans of Jack Skellington), but their stylized, stop-motion design is simply stunning (Tim Burton is one of the greatest when it comes to unique characters and designs in film). The toothpick-thin tall witch contrasts greatly with her tiny friend, and, while not being major characters, witches are an important part of the spooky population of Halloween Town.
Yubaba in ‘Spirited Away’
And it is yet another witch in another film by another great master of characters and designs. Yubaba is a big-headed, big-nosed witch that runs a bathhouse where Sen, the heroine of the film, has to work in order to save her parents (who have been transformed into pigs). She cares mostly about the money she makes from her business, but also has a soft spot for her gigantic baby boy. She is an imposing, authoritative figure, but is also a woman of her word, releasing Sen and her parents after making a deal with Sen’s friend Haku.
The witches of ‘Fantasia’
The witches in this film are definitely not main characters in this film (but, then again, there really aren’t any main characters in this unique film). I’m honestly not even sure if the creepy winged women flying in the air during the closing sequence of the film are witches, but they are very frightening. They’re also topless, which was a little too much for my developing mind to handle when I saw the film as a child.
Maleficent in ‘Sleeping Beauty’
Maleficent seems like somewhat of a copy of the Queen in ‘Snow White’ looks-wise (just not as pretty, and she wears this crazy hat that looks like two gigantic horns). She’s really a fairy who has turned to the dark side, but that makes her a witch in my book. She has plenty of black magic in her, that’s for sure, since she can make a spindle prick induce a beautiful princess to fall into a very deep sleep. I remember being rather scared of her character as a child, and while she isn’t as popular as some of the other Disney villains, she’s definitely one of the best. You can check out Angelina Jolie as the live-action version of this villain by clicking on the photo above.
The ghost of Sara Ravencroft in ‘Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost’
Yes, Scooby Doo is a great character, but his cartoons have always been a little cheesy, and the modern films based on the series from the 70’s are no different. Nevertheless, this film has a lot more depth than the series did, and the ghost of a witch actually ends up being real (and people actually die in the movie!) There’s also a pretty cool (and very stylish) Wiccan character named Thorn in the film who’s a member of a band called the Hex Girls who helps defeat the witch ghost.
Witches may get a bad rap for their involvement in the dark arts, but they really can make very interesting and intriguing characters when it comes to film, whether they are good or bad.
