Harry Potter's Girlfriend

I love it when I find gems like this. Well, this time half the credit goes to my mother. We were shopping for Father's Days gifts, and by shopping for Dad, I mean we were shopping for ourselves just as much. We found this movie whilst searching the DVD section, and just had to buy it. It starred Tim Curry and Diana Rig, and we were overjoyed at the overall cheesiness on the cover.

Doing a bit of research (as per usual) it turns out this movie (as well as a TV series launched in 1998) is based on a book series by Jill Murphy. The similarities between WW and Harry Potter are so wonderful. Mom and I both shouted at the same time "J.K. totally watched this back in '86." Sure, the whole idea of a witchcraft school wasn't made up by either Murphy or Rowling, but plot wise, it's eerily similar.


(picture copyright Central Independent Television)

I failed to nice when we picked the movie up was that our leading lady Mildred Hubble was played by Fairuza Balk who would go on to play another witch, Nancy in The Craft. Needless to say, most of my riffs were focused on that.

Miss Cackle: So Mildred, what can I do for you?
Mildred Hubble: Miss Hardbroom sent me.
Miss Cackle: Oh dear. What happened this time?
Me: I tried to kill my best friend.

Not that funny, I know. So, the movie definitely was cheesy, no doubt about it. As my dad put it, the effects were very Doctor Who. (Not the new episodes, mind you. David makes a convincing time lord.) The flying sequences were absolutely horrendous; I couldn't stop laughing. I did love it immensely. The songs made me a bit uncomfortable though.

Tim Curry's Grand Wizard ends up singing his own song at the Halloween Bash the school is holding. My mom and I were like, "It sounds like he's making the lyrics up on the spot." At one point, he pulls out a tambourine while singing 'Has anyone seen my tambourine?' Absolutely bonkers. (Watch the video here.)

Of course, Mildred ends up saving the day, despite constantly being disciplined by Miss Hardbroom (Rig) and being teased by fellow classmates such as Ethel Hallow (Anna Kipling). [SPOILERS AHEAD] She manages to put behind her the comments that she cannot perform magic and turns the evil witches planning to overtake the school into snails, and does so in one hour. I felt a bit jipped, but I was glad to see that her adventures continued in the TV series. I'm glad that she wasn't the worst witch for long.