Подросток-ведьма (Podrostok-ved'ma)

1989 film by Dorian Walker

Teen Witch is a 1989 American teen fantasy comedy film directed by Dorian Walker, written by Robin Menken and Vernon Zimmerman, and starring Robyn Lively and Zelda Rubinstein. The plot follows Louise, a teenage girl who discovers she is a witch and gains powers on her 16th birthday. Originally pitched as a female version of Teen Wolf (1985), it was later reworked into a standalone spin off film of its own. The film features numerous impromptu musical numbers, including rap sequences, and has since become a cult classic, aided by midnight theater showings and regular cable television airings (including through annual showings as part of ABC Family/Freeform's 13 Nights of Halloween). The film is also popular for its music and 1980s fashion nostalgia. Walker and Lambros also wanted musical sequences to be added into the script. Lambros had connections in the music industry and met with Larry Weir, the songwriter for The Weir Brothers. During post production, an early cut of the film was screened at the American Film Market to gauge the interest of foreign buyers. Reception was enthusiastic, and Moshe Diamante, the co owner of the film's distributor Trans World Entertainment, mandated that more scenes be added to increase the film's production value. According to Lambros, Diamante said, "'We need to make this picture bigger! We have to put in more music and more scenes!'" April 1989 box office competition included Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner and Pet Sematary written by Stephen King. Both films were released on April 21, 1989, two days before Teen Witch was released.

Upon release, the film was panned by critics, including Chris Willman of the Los Angeles Times who called it "complete with teen wish fulfillment fantasies, condescending moralizing, asinine musical montages, horrifying pop songs, French kissing, blatant product plugs and Dick Sargent (formerly of Bewitched)." TV Guide pointed out the predictability of the film and concluded, "Notwithstanding its supernatural elements, the film is basically a standard teenage love story (a squeaky clean one at that) with several unmemorable musical numbers thrown in." Variety wrote "the comedy potential is limited in this well intentioned, young teen vehicle burdened by a nice message and a predictable outcome", but said where the film stands out is "its bouncy score, provided by and Larry and Tom Weir".

The film performed much better on home video and overseas. Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post stated, "There are good movies, there are bad movies, there are movies that are so bad they're good and then there is Teen Witch a cult classic that defies classification thanks to a curious combination of songs, spells and skin." There are parodies or homages of the film, especially of its rap song "Top That" (including an homage starring Alia Shawkat). Drew Grant of Nerve. com stated, "If you've never seen the original rap scene from the 80s classic Teen Witch, you must immediately stop what you're doing and watch it right now. It's everything wonderful and terrible about that decade rolled into one misguided appropriation of hip hop." In a 1998 retrospective review, Ada Calhoun of The Austin Chronicle praised the film, calling it "so Eighties it hurts". She added, "Between the dearth of character actors, the valuable lessons learned, and the textbook backfiring of good intentions, some may scoff. They would, however, be in the wrong, for this is a masterpiece of both the teen and witch genres. Louise the nerd, bubbling over with sexual energy and social ambition, becomes cool. Louise the witch, erratically powerful, learns how to rightly use her strength. Teen Witch is an all around delicious flick, both despite and because of the afterschool special quality of its message." In 2007, ABC Family (now Freeform) acquired the basic cable television rights to the film, and has since made it a regular offering of its annual 13 Nights of Halloween holiday block.

Award Category Name Result Ref. (Reference) Young Artist Awards Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture Joshua John Miller Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture Robyn Lively

On July 12, 2005, MGM released the film to DVD in its original widescreen theatrical version with no special features. The edition included an audio commentary track and new interviews with Robyn Lively, Mandy Ingber, Dan Gauthier, and Joshua John Miller.