The Book Ending Or The Movie Ending?

I already wrote my own post about this so I won't go into too much detail. I always hated the movie's ending, even as a kid. It makes no sense story wise that the witch would or could change the boy back. This ending also throws the message Roald Dahl was trying to communicate out of the window. The original ending was all about the boy coming to terms with what had happened to him. That's why it was not a sad ending, more bittersweet.

Part of what made Dahl so brilliant is that he dared to challenge children. He knew what children like but he never talked down to them. I think there are more than enough children's stories with ultra-happy endings. Kids also need to learn that things don't always turn out the way you want them to be. It's great to see a kid's story that succeeds in showing that once in a while, which is why it is such a shame that these film makers decided to bail out.

I preferred the movie ending and thought it more appropriate for a film. The book ending may have been appropriate in some ways for a book.