So much average

One of my all time favorites.

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

I have to admit that I didn't watch this animated version of the Engelbert Humperdinck (the original composer, not the modern-day singer) opera in all seriousness. That's because I was thoroughly creeped out by the animatronic puppets used in the story, which are the most disturbing I've ever seen. Thus despite the music and the staging, I could take none of this seriously, and instead was left feeling uneasy throughout. The bad dubbing over the top doesn't help much either. This truly is the stuff of nightmares and I've been unable to stop thinking about it afterwards.

I have found this version to be carefully crafted and relatively appealing, though the characters were unlikable, beginning with the kids and their pets, and so perhaps it's not a cartoon to elicit exalted admiration, but just a bit of amusement for a cool evening; anyway, it has the mandatory blandness one would expect. For a moment, I thought of discussing European folktales instead of discussing this flick; but why not discuss them both, and give everybody a good time here? I am a folklorist by training, a movie buff by vocation, so take the joyride! This 'Hänsel and Gretel' is a puppet show, which only adds to the delight and supplies the necessary merriment to be found even in such a dreadful succession of events. The German Romantic imagination was immoderate and wild (which is why some of us like it so much, enjoy it immoderately, for which I, beginning at age 19, can testify); but then again so were the folktales, the genuine folklore of the nations—immoderate, disturbing and lurid. Such is the narrative folklore—lurid, licentious, obscene, subversive, debauched and puzzling. And, hand in hand with Hänsel and Gretel, we step into some of its most lurid and disturbing territory. Of course a kids' movie isn't willing or ready to deal with such stuff. As an aside, the German Romanticism was a huge attempt at recovering the genuine feel of these folktales; an attempt stifled by the bourgeois 19th century's pedagogical obtuseness and inconceivably harmful hypocrisy. In the center of 'Hänsel and Gretel' reigns a particularly disturbing symbol: the hag, the old—woman who 'eats children'. This is even more shameless than the giant met by Jack of the beanstalk fame. So these European peasants liked their tales spicy and weird! They were into some sick stuff! Two children are chased away from home by their angry mother, chased and sent away to go looking for strawberries and provide for the family's meal; they are led astray partly by their own carelessness and negligence, as the witch seems quite moderate in using her powers and spells, as if she cunningly misguides but doesn't force one out of his way, she doesn't really kidnap the children but more or less fools or deludes them, lures them away, and these magical worlds have their own behavioral codes. The suggestions of H & G (pedophilia, sadism, cannibalism) are obvious enough. Now you see how kids raised with suchlike tales would grow up to write or read voraciously Gothic novels. HANSEL AND GRETEL is a very Gothic fairytale, very violent, cruel and disturbing, the way these German folktales knew how to be, very engrossing and taut, about, among others, the appalling terrors of the Teutonic forest, and one is reminded of the Apostle of Germany (S. Boniface, I think) taking down a tree, cutting it himself; the American genre cinema also has the notion of the forest, the wood being a dreadful place, and there are countless flicks about the monsters lurking in these environments. Most of the kids' adaptations aren't really ready to deal with the truly Gothic nature, unrelentingly disturbing, of the story in H & G, trading it for the commercially safer cuteness. So, can H & G be made into a kids' movie? There are literally lots of screen adaptations, including an erotic version, and some were made by giants like Lotte Reiniger and Harryhausen, so that the cinema archivist will find joy in this chapter.We see that our ancestors were very intent on scaring the children with the fairy tales they told them. Nowadays vampire—sagas seem pretty bland by comparison.

This was the first full-length stop-motion feature made in the United States. In spite of other comments posted here Mybergh's "Hansel and Gretel" was filmed entirely in New York City. The film was done sequentially and as funding for the production dried up and the release date drew nearer the animators were forced to speed things up. The animation becomes quite hurried and sloppy near the end and if you look closely you will notice that both the angels from the Dream Pantomime and the Revived Gingerbread Children are only multiple castings of both Hansel and Gretel redressed. There simply was no time to do original sculptures for these characters.This was to be the first in a series of full-length stop motion features by Mybergh's production team, but despite it doing exceptional business in Germany it failed to ignite at the box office in the United States. According to members of the Mybergh Estate most of the original elements are still intact and we can only hope that someone will take it upon themselves to do a proper restoration of this amazing film to replace the shoddy, amateur DVD edition that is currently available. Anna Russell's vocal performance as Rosina Rubylips is one that is unlikely to ever be equaled and Evalds Dajevskis' set designs definitive.

When I was growing up, we had a battered old VHS copy of this film that someone had had the presence of mind to tape off of the television one day. Even though I was born over twenty years after this film was created, it still captured my imagination and I remember watching it many times over with my older sisters.This film is a retelling of the classic story of Hansel and Gretel, with a few whimsical additions and a musical score. The stop-motion animation used to create this film, is both primitive and charming at the same time. Although nowadays much smoother looking animation can be created on the computer, the claymation creatures in this film do not suffer in comparison, any more than claymation classics like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The wonderful thing about this little film is the atmosphere created by the animated visuals, and by the lovely soundtrack. It's enchanting and creepy at the same time, which was an irresistible combination when I was a child. The cheerful parts are fun and engaging, while the more sinister scenes with the witch are wonderfully unsettling. Although it's been years since I've seen this film, to this very day I still remember the songs word for word and can recite from the script. I think any child fond of fairy tales, or fantasy stories would enjoy seeing this little film. If you happen to see it on the television, or find it for sale somewhere, don't pass it up!