Anne Hathaway’s Throwback Photo To Celebrate The Witches Is The Cutest

Anne Hathaway in The Witches

While the global pandemic has totally destroyed the planned release calendar for films, that hasn't been entirely bad news when it comes to actually watching movies. Because of theater closures, many films have made the jump to streaming services, making them actually cheaper and easier to watch than they would have been had they been released as planned. One of those movies is Anne Hathaway's newest project The Witches, which hits HBO Max today, and the actress celebrated the release with what has to be the single most adorable use of a current meme.

You've probably seen the "How it started/How it's going" meme going around social media. A pair of images side by side, the first showing the subject at some point in the past, perhaps early in a particular career, with the second showing a more modern image, usually focused on some degree of success which the person has achieved relative to the first image. Anne Hathaway decided to get in on the action recently on Instagram. Her "How it's going" image is a shot from her new film The Witches, but it's the "How it started" pic that's truly great, just give it a look yourself.

A photo posted by on

Anne Hathaway is playing a witch in a major motion picture now, but many years ago, she was dressing up as a witch in a picture that was probably taken around this time of year, as it's plikely one of Hathaway's Halloween costumes as a young child. And something about young Anne trying to look scary in the picture just makes the whole thing that much cuter. Certainly, that little kid could have no idea where she was going to end up, with a much more elaborate and expensive witch costume, and also an Oscar.

Originally, The Witches was set to hit theaters around this time, but it was pushed off to a 2021 release as part of the general reshuffling of release dates that is still going on as theaters remain either closed or largely empty. Then, just a few weeks ago, it was announced that instead, The Witches would come out this month after all, simply on HBO Max rather than in theaters.

The Witches is based on a book by Roald Dahl and it was adapted as a film once before, one that a generation of kids grew up being terrified of. Based on the reviews, it seems clear that the new film doesn't do enough to get out from under the popular original, but if you're already an HBO Max subscriber, it's probably worth checking out. It is Halloween after all and this year a new scary movie or two might be the only way available for us to celebrate.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.