Background
Little Witch is an animated film that was released in 1999 through Sony Wonder, who you may recognize as the distributor for Sesame Street videos (post Random House) and pre-Paramount Nickelodeon tapes. The film was produced by Studio B Productions, who you may not recognize by name, but you've probably seen a show by them and you just didn't know it.
Studio B was a Vancouver studio who was behind Yvon of the Yukon, Savage Dragon (one of the few good offerings in terms of cartoons on USA Network) and What About Mimi, brought Edgar and Ellen to television through a series of pilot shorts and have produced earlier episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, only to be done in by the fact that they're a Canadian studio, hence they'd be folded into DHX Media. Apparently this was intended to serve as a pilot to a series that never took off, which makes sense given that it doesn't run any longer than half an hour. I think it could've worked as a series if enough was put into it.
Studio B's talent lies not within their own abilities, but who they commission. The animation, according to the credits, was handled by two studios. The first was Philippines Animation Studio, a former go-to for Nelvana when their deal with Hong Ying Animation fizzled out. Their resume isn't as known, unless you heard of Bob and Margret, Moville Mysteries and Committed. The second was Mercury Filmworks, who is perhaps better known for producing the animated portions of the 2004 Fat Albert movie, one of the few aspects that people don't complain about.
The film has a 7.0 on IMDb, so even as by stand-alone property that isn't as well known standards, we could be heading into some good shit.
Premise
The film centers on the eponymous Little Witch, a girl in a family of witches born the day after Halloween. As a result, she is unable to fall in line with the rest of her family, electing to follow a life of good and seeks fellowship, especially since her birthday's approaching and she'd have little company then. I can't say this aspect is that unoriginal, but the framework isn't as lucky. While Little Witch is more freewilled, she's still bound by the customs practiced by her elders, which would lead to comedic instances, par the course.
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| Our hero, for your convenience. |
Speaking of not so original, Little Witch, Liddy for convenience, immediately develops an interest in one of her neighbors, Marcus, a somewhat awkward kid, so awkward he immediately hits the deck when Liddy tries to introduce herself. This leads to an opportunity for her to test her magic powers, which actually help Marcus become more agile, but this doesn't prevent him from bailing once he gets a load of Liddy's family. To be fair, they're hellbent into forcing her to be like them, if this happened today they'd probably force Marcus to vote for the Democrats, less he wants to get Kavanaughed.
A majority of this movie details Liddy's interactions with the other kids, notably where she manages to impress some through a free broomstick ride. The remainder of the plot involves Liddy rounding up her new friends for her birthday party while contending with the habitual rituals her elders put her through every birthday, but given what kind of movie this is, expect a happy ending, because I already spoiled enough for you.
Animation
You could easily recognize Studio B's animation whenever you see a relatively cheap flash show. This is apparent in shows like Yakkity Yak, Being Ian and George of the Jungle. Their better shows come from joint operations, where the animation is typically outsourced to another studio, namely Class of the Titans, What About Mimi?, Yvon of the Yukon and The Legend of Frosty the Snowman (which wasn't as pissworthy as the original Frosty the Snowman). This is obviously of the latter extreme. The special contains slightly above average background, along with smooth animation and relatively decent character design. Given that the design in this special is mostly shared in What About Mimi? and Yvon of the Yukon, I take it Studio B worked on the character designs before outsourcing the animation.
Acting
One of the most interesting aspects about the acting is that the main protagonist shares the same actress as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy from MLP:FiM. Aside from Ian James Corlett, who a lot of you should know about by now, that's the end of actors I personally know about, but near as I could tell they're all based in Vancouver, where Studio B is.
Overall
I wouldn't call this a definite Halloween classic, I won't even say it's that great. Like The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow, it's forgettable, but harmless in the long run. The only complaint people would try and bring up against this special is that the characters look ugly. Well obviously they never watched more than one episode of Regular Show and really took a deep look into the overall design.
As an unsold pilot, I think this could've worked as a full series. The characters have some layers, the protagonist is tolerable, it has a good design, and Studio B is more than capable of producing full series, even landing a three-season deal with What About Mimi? which had the same kind of animation.
Little Witch isn't going to be a Halloween classic, but it sure as hell isn't going to be review fodder either. You only know about it because I brought up its very existence. You're welcome.
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