Review: Hansel and Gretel (2013)


Every fairy tale begins with "Once upon time..." The child-friendly versions have made young girls see unrealistic images of princesses and of worlds filled with lots of pastels and friendly forest animals. And so with these in mind, I willingly entered the movie theater to watch Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.

This version of Hansel and Gretel is no fairy tale, however. The siblings have grown to become witch-hunters in a world where witches were feared, at a time when superstitions were abundant. A perfect setting for Hansel and Gretel to be heroes complete with their fan club. Suffice it to say that this movie's take on the adult lives of the siblings is far more violent than I had expected. I think it's deserves more than a 'Parental Guidance' rating because of the violence and the gore.

Anachronisms and character flaws peppering the storyline provide the humor in an otherwise dark movie; they can also be distracting. But the bottom line of the plot is about the fight between good and evil, Hansel and Gretel vs. the witches. And thus, the movie ends as every fairy tale does, "... Happily ever after" but in a different way from the sanitized fairy tale versions.

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