42 Years After Its Premiere, Disney’s Underrated Dark Fantasy Movie Is Streaming for the First Time

When Disney+ first launched, it was sold as being the home for everything in The Walt Disney Company’s catalog. Not only did it have Disney Channel Original Movies from the ’90s and ’00s, but classic Disney movies from the ’60s, animated films from even earlier, plus every Marvel Studios and Star Wars movie. What became clear, though, was that not everything was present; notable exceptions included the live-action Dick Tracy, 1994’s original live-action remake of The Jungle Book, and the controversial musical Song of the South.

In a very rare move, Disney has opened up their vault and brought something out for everyone to enjoy that’s been missing for years, bringing Something Wicked This Way Comes to their streaming platform. This marks not only the debut of the movie on Disney+ but the film’s first time to appear on any streaming platform. The film was first released by the studio into theaters in 1983, an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s novel of the same name. Upon release, the film was a box office bomb, which was par for the course for Disney feature films in the 1980s, but it managed to burrow its way into the minds of kids at the time and become a staple of “That movie messed me up as a kid” cinema.

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Something Wicked This Way Comes Is a Perfect Scary Movie for Kids

At the heart of Something Wicked This Way Comes are two boys, young friends Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade, whose hometown welcomes a mysterious carnival one day. As the carnival takes root, though, it starts to change people around town, using dark magic and tragic irony to give people what their hearts most desire. This is why the film is perfect for a younger audience, much of the tension and conflict in the film is brought to life from the POV of its young characters.

The lessons within the film are ones that are universal, though, which is another key factor in the movie’s success. Yes, it’s largely about the two young kids and is aiming for an audience of that same mold, but Will’s father, Charles (played by Jason Robards), is the other main POV for the movie, giving adults something to grasp onto while watching, too. This is the secret weapon of Something Wicked This Way Comes. Both Bradbury’s text and the film itself are an inflection point for the viewer. Which of these POVs do you align with? Are you a kid eager to see the world and get what you want out of life? Or are you older with your years behind you and eager to offer a better life for the ones still growing up? There’s meat on the bone here, no matter your standing in life.

Most importantly for viewers, though, Something Wicked This Way Comes doesn’t skimp on being frightening, keeping it within the confines of knowing its audience. A room full of tarantulas? A terrifying torture scene with no blood and only the threat of lightning? The scares are anchored by one of the best assets of the movie, Jonathan Pryce as the sinister Mr. Dark. Pryce’s performance is one of sly wit and temptation, always the smartest man in the room, and one step ahead of his target. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Pryce convincingly juggles menace with intrigue, making him a diabolical antagonist.

Something Wicked This Way Comes Still Holds Up in 2025

Upon its release, Something Wicked This Way Comes had a somewhat mixed response, but one that leaned positively. Roger Ebert, however, gave the film a three-and-a-half out of four star rating, writing, “It’s one of the few literary adaptations I’ve seen in which the film not only captures the mood and tone of the novel, but also the novel’s style. Bradbury’s prose is a strange hybrid of craftsmanship and lyricism.” Ebert went on to call the film “a horror movie with elegance.”

Sometimes people will say, “You couldn’t make a movie like that anymore,” when referencing a film with controversial elements, but Something Wicked This Way Comes wouldn’t be made today for a different reason. This is a live-action movie that is not only a dark fantasy but an autumnal offering appealing to kids. Films like this simply don’t get made anymore, and that’s before you factor in the practical effects and camera tricks used to sell its genre motifs. That said, it only makes the film even more charming because of how rare a production it feels, something that’s clear as ever watching it in 2025.