Gretel and Hansel is just the latest in the ever-popular trend of "revisionist fairy tales." These stories take classic fairy tales and, rather than adapt them in a straightforward manner, deconstruct and reconstruct the stories and their ideas in a new and interesting way. Or at least, that's the hope.
Sadly, many revisionist fairy tales fall into several traps. While a good revision can lead to an improvement upon the original work, sometimes a revision is just an attempt to copy another successful revisionist story that did work, ultimately resulting in a hollow copy. That or the revisions made simply don't work as a narrative. Here are some of the best and worst revisionist fairy tales.
BEST - EVER AFTER
Arguably the greatest adaptation of Cinderella ever, Andy Tennant's Ever After is a historical drama that realistically re-contextualizes Cinderella. Starring Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston as Danielle (Cinderella) and the Baroness Rodmilla (the stepmother), the movie follows, for the most part, the same basic tropes of the original. Danielle's father dies, she's thrust into servitude by her stepmother (though one of the stepsisters actually helps Danielle's situation better itself), she meets the prince, goes to the ball -- all of that.
However, the tale is told through the context of one of Danielle's descendants telling the Brothers Grimm the true story about what happened. The tale involves a few changes, such as the prince's character being equally developed and important to the narrative, with the two's arcs weaving together, the fairy godmother character being, in fact, Leonardo da Vinci (who helps orchestrate the entire plot), and, most notably, Danielle taking an entirely active role in the narrative, from start to finish.
WORST - SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN
In some ways, it's hard to call Snow White & the Huntsman bad. It's entertaining enough as a fun fantasy action film. It looks beautiful, and does deserve its two Oscar nominations. It has a great cast of actors, with Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart and the late Bob Hoskins.
The problem ultimately is that its script is just lifeless and dull. The film is fun to watch, with its spectacle, but beyond that lacks much in the way of content. Then again, its sequel is even worse.
BEST - SHREK
It's impossible to talk about fractured fairy tales without discussing Shrek. While the second film is arguably better than the first, the original movie functions as a direct criticism of fairy tales, deconstructing many of their characters, recycling them in the narrative while simultaneously paying tribute to them.
Shrek in many ways is like the fairy tale equivalent to Disney's Enchanted, where it pokes fun of the tropes of the narrative, features cameos throughout, while still telling its own story that ultimately ends in a fairy tale fashion. But while Enchanted is purely a satire of the Disney formula (and, therefore, not going to be listed here despite being an incredible film), Shrek breaks the mold further with its themes of unconventional beauty.
WORST - MALEFICENT
Maleficent isn't a bad movie -- or, rather, half of it isn't bad. This film, being one of the first of Disney's live-action projects, is the movie that takes the greatest liberties with its fairy tale of origin. The only problem is that it works best when it's a complete divergence from the original Sleeping Beauty story.
When telling its own fantasy narrative, Maleficent is pretty effective. When her wings get sliced off, you feel Maleficent's sense of being violated, of being hurt beyond repair. That stuff is effective and memorable. When it's just the story of Sleeping Beauty, however, the Maleficent feels like it loses something by getting confined in that narrative's structure.
BEST - THE COMPANY OF WOLVES
Often overlooked as a werewolf film, The Company of Wolves is a historical adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood where the big bad wolf isn't just some fearsome animal. It's a werewolf. The film is an atmospheric trip that is at once a terrific werewolf story as well as a great horror film.
For some reason, this film has become overlooked over the years and forgotten, which truly is a shame. Especially when you consider how well other werewolf revisions of Little Red Riding Hood went...
WORST - RED RIDING HOOD
Back when Twilight was the big thing, every movie tried to capitalize on that film's success. Enter Red Riding Hood, a movie that, on paper, should be incredible, but in practice is dull and pointless. It's Little Red Riding Hood with werewolves! The Company of Wolves proved that can be a great concept. What went wrong?
Red Riding Hood's biggest fault isn't just that its cast lacks chemistry or its film lacks drama. It's that its plot is so contrived and riddled with cliches that nothing about it can stand out. You almost forget you see it after it finishes rolling. There's little inspiration to this idea, beyond just capitalizing on Twilight's success by featuring werewolves.
BEST - FREEWAY
Freeway is an unconventional take on the Little Red Riding Hood story, replacing the fairy tale conventions with a hard-ridden, crime narrative. Instead of a little girl wandering through the woods at night, we have a lost naive woman (played by Reese Witherspoon) who grows to trust a guy who turns out to be a serial killer. Hijinks ensue from there.
It is not the best modern adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood, but it uses the story's formula in a creative, fascinating way. Namely, the story keeps going on and on in new and outrageous ways.
WORST - JACK THE GIANT SLAYER
Jack the Giant Slayer is arguably the worst film Bryan Singer has ever directed. This misguided mess of a movie was in development hell for years before Singer got involved. It failed at the box office and received extremely negative reviews.
The film tries to be funny and offer spectacle, but it fails. When it's not groan-inducing, it'll cause you to fall asleep. Jack the Giant Slayer is an awful film that gets worse as time goes on and the effects. Even the movie's sole "saving grace," look increasingly artificial.
BEST - HARD CANDY
There is little point adapting the Little Red Riding Hood story knowing that Hard Candy exists because you'll never do a better revision of the narrative than in this little psychological thriller. Here, Patrick Wilson's character meets Ellen Page after they talk online for an extended period and brings her to his home. The scene leaves you knowing that Wilson's character is clearly a predator preying on the innocent, naive young girl.
Until the story flips, that is. Then you realize that the story isn't about a wolf hunting a little girl, but a wolf mistaking an even more horrifying and manipulative wolf for a harmless girl. Hard Candy is arguably one of the best horror films of its decades, and it works purely because of its Hitchcockian tension and subversions of expectations.
BEST - SUSPIRIA
When discussing revisionist fairy tales, it's hard to dismiss Suspiria, ultimately the film that every horror revisionist fairy tale wants to be. What fairy tale is Suspiria specifically satirizing? All of them. Dario Argento's masterpiece takes the tropes of several fairy tales, mashes them together, and creates something wholly absorbing and haunting.
It's impossible to explain how Suspiria works. Goblin's score is haunting, and the technicolor aesthetic makes the German dance school look like it came from a Disney animation. No other film has ever felt as otherworldly as Suspiria. It is a nightmare projected on film.