And now, here we are. It has arrived. It is time. Halloween is just a few short hours away and I’d like to take a moment to pay my respects to a human being that brought a lot of wonder and joy into this world throughout his formidable performance career. A couple of months ago, we were forced to say farewell to the great Tim Curry. An actor that I’m sure has popped up and stolen the show in at least a couple of your favorite movies. And that list reads like a full roster of cherished memories for countless people. There’s of course Clue, Legend, Rocky Horror, It and Home Alone 2 just to name a few. But for me, I will always hold his turn as the Grand Wizard in a little Halloween special you may remember the closest to my heart.
Yep, that’s the one. I’m talking The Worst Witch.
Following the adventures of our proverbial last place witch Mildred Hubble (Fairuza Balk hot off of Return to Oz the year before, cementing herself as the #1 baby girl of a generation), we observe her troubles navigating the day to day challenges of being a student at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches. It kicks off with the infectious track “Growing Up Isn’t Easy” before joining Mildred as she takes on those perennial adolescent struggles including: Screwing up the spells in her potion class, accidentally turning the school bully into a pig, receiving a tabby cat instead of the standard black, etc. Everyone including her teachers are convinced that she’l never grow up to become a successful practitioner of the magic she’s being taught. Until she manages to thwart a group of evil old witches’ plot to take over the school, thus becoming a hero to everyone and flying off into the sunset for a victory lap with Tim Curry.
Absolute legend.
It cannot be overstated how profoundly meaningful this 70 minute Halloween special has been to me for now exactly 40 years. Seeing it for the first time at the age of 6 and every October since has become something of an event to simultaneously chime in and ring out the season. It signals the fact that Halloween is back and it wouldn’t be here without giving this a watch. Even if you’ve never seen The Worst Witch in full, I’d say the odds are likely strong that someone you know has posted on some form of social media the now iconic barn burner of a track “Anything Can Happen on Halloween” at some point during this time of year. It is nothing short of tradition at this point and for my money, Tim Curry’s turn as the Grand Wizard has pretty much solidified him as the Santa Claus of Halloween.
Tim Curry takes his less than 10 minutes of screen time and delivers a performance that is simply unforgettable. Which is a feat that he pulled off time and time again throughout his career. The guy just had it, making his commanding screen presence appear absolutely effortless. I first remember seeing him as a character named Rooster in the 1982 musical Annie and was beyond compelled. It was a movie that my Grandmother and I used to watch over and over and I couldn’t get enough. Then seeing him again in this a few years later was when the realization hit me that someone you loved could be in other movies. From then on, it was a surprising treat every single time he’d pop up in something. Even if the movie itself wasn’t great (which they usually were), he had no problem magnetically drawing you in. That kind of top shelf, uncut charisma doesn’t come along very often.
So this Halloween, take a moment to bask in the glory of this all timer of a holiday special and pour one out for Tim Curry. A truly special person that many have had the privilege to spend their formative years and beyond watching and listening to on the screen. A true rock out of his time if there ever was one. He may have sailed off to that great gig in the sky, but he’ll always have a permanent residence around here.
