Blog Entry #8

A big change in between the MGM adaption of “Hansel and Gretel” and the Grimm Brothers version is the mother/stepmother. In the fairy tale, the stepmother tries to convince the father that they need to get rid of the children in order to survive. She keeps trying to get rid of them back taking them on walks in the forest, twice. In the story, she dies before the children return home from the gingerbread house and they end up living happily ever after with their father. In the movie though, the mother gets angry at the children for leaving the donkey in the house and makes them go pick berries when they suddenly get lost. Upon discovering this in the movie, the mother becomes very concerned and feels guilty. But when they return home, she is ecstatic with relief and embraces them with love. And in the movie version, it’s the whole family that lives happily ever after. 

     Although, a similarity between both versions is that the witch is always evil, and the children are always the ones who can defeat her with their wits. The main reason the movie version is immensely different though is because of the endings and role of the stepmother. The movie version gives a rosier and happier outlook on the whole story while the Brothers Grimm one gives a rather grim version (pun intended) of the fairy tale.