Grimm vs. MGM

Although the Grimm version of Hansel and Gretel and the MGM version are very similar, they have a number of differences as well. In the Grimm version, it is the children’s stepmother that sends the children into the forest whereas in the movie it is the biological mother. Another difference is the way the children end up in the woods in the first place. In the story, the stepmother wants to send the children into the woods so that there will be enough food for her to eat. In the movie, the children accidently let the donkey into the house. The donkey eats the custard off of the table and breaks the container of milk. When the mother returns and sees what happens, she sends the children off to find berries. While trying to find berries, the children wander into the woods. Also, in both versions, Hansel leaves a trail to follows so that later they will be able to find their way home. One other difference is the trail that Hansel leaves so that they can follow it back home. In the story, Hansel uses this method on two occasions. The first time he uses stones and the second time he uses pieces of bread. In the movie, Hansel only uses the method one time. When he does, instead of bread he uses the cookie crumbs that the baker gave to Gretel.

Like I mentioned before, there are some similarities between the Grimm version and the MGM version. In both versions, the children stumble upon a gingerbread house. Inside the gingerbread house there is a witch that cannot see very well, but has a very keen sense of smell. In each story, the witch puts Hansel in a cage because she wants to fatten him up to eat him. She also makes Gretel her slave. In the end, though, the children outsmart the witch and she ends up cooking in an oven.

In my opinion, the movie was better that the story. I liked the movie better because although the mother was really mean to Hansel and Gretel, there were still moments when you saw that she really cared. When reading the story, I felt like the mother didn’t care about her children at all. I also liked how in the movie, the first nigh the children stay at the gingerbread house, the witch is reading them the story of Briar Rose. I thought it was really cool how they incorporated the Grimm tales into the movie.