I went into this remake expecting to be frustrated by the changes, but I initially thought my concerns were unfounded. The beginning showed promise with some inventive touches and a sense of something new. That feeling didn’t last long, though. Once the story reached the Hotel, Anne Hathaway appeared and seemed determined to derail everything. Any potential the film had was crushed by what felt like an incredibly weak performance from her. If you've seen the original, Anjelica Huston’s portrayal is a stark contrast – the difference in skill is enormous. Hathaway’s work resembles that of someone attempting an amateur impression; it feels more disrespectful than celebratory. She seemed to put no effort or genuine feeling into the character. Her accent is terrible and her presence barely registers. The special effects are also noticeably low-budget, which is surprising given that they had better puppets back in the eighties. Now all the witches have these strange smiles and sharp teeth? This could have been a good film but it’s ultimately dragged down by a truly awful performance from the main villain, reliance on cheap visual effects, uneven pacing, a lack of originality later on, and a really bad ending. The only bright spots are Octavia Spencer and Jahzir Bruno, who both do excellent work updating their roles. Sadly, as many fans will know, Jahzir’s character spends much of the movie as a poorly rendered CGI mouse, leaving Octavia Spencer to essentially carry the film from that point onward—it almost feels like a deliberate joke. Stanley Tucci is okay and Codie Eastwick does well with what he's given, but their characters are so badly written and underutilized they contribute very little. Adding a third mouse also serves no purpose and doesn’t affect the plot. In the end, this movie is significantly worse than the original. They somehow managed to tell less of the story, give the characters less depth, and have inferior effects compared to a film made over three decades ago. Some of these issues might be overlooked if they had introduced some worthwhile new ideas, but again, it’s just a hollow rehash with nothing added. It's disappointing to see so many well-known actors involved in this project; Guillermo Del Toro should probably remove it from his IMDb profile. Kids will probably enjoy it—they like Peppa Pig.

Source on TMDB