Hansel & Gretel (2002)
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0% of critics liked it
(5 reviews) -
45% of users liked it
(2,710 ratings)
One of The Brothers Grimm's best loved fairy tales gets an overhaul using the latest in visual effects technology in this comedy-drama for the whole family. A little girl (Dakota Fanning) has a hard time getting to sleep, so her father (Daniel Roebuck) dusts off a book of children's stories… More One of The Brothers Grimm's best loved fairy tales gets an overhaul using the latest in visual effects technology in this comedy-drama for the whole family. A little girl (Dakota Fanning) has a hard time getting to sleep, so her father (Daniel Roebuck) dusts off a book of children's stories and reads her one of his favorites. Hansel (Jacob Smith) and Gretel (Taylor Momsen) are two children who are being raised by their loving father (Gerald McRaney) and his shrewish second wife (Delta Burke) after the unfortunate death of their mother. When Father is forced to leave home to find work in the city, Stepmother decides this would be the perfect time to get rid of the children, and she manages to "lose" Hansel and Gretel in an enchanted forest. While the children make a valuable and magical friend in The Sandman (Howie Mandel), they also encounter a mysterious woman with a gingerbread house (Lynn Redgrave), who takes them in; however, it isn't long before they learn she's actually a witch, and has made some unorthodox dinner plans involving her young guests. Hansel & Gretel also features the voice talents of Sinbad, Bobcat Goldthwaite, and Tom Arnold as, respectively, a talking raven, a troll, and the Bogeyman. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Gary J. Tunnicliffe
- Written By
- Timothy Dolan
- Genres
- Kids & Family
PG,
- In Theaters
- Oct 18, 2002 Wide
- Studio
- Innovation Film Group
Critic Reviews
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Luke Sader, Hollywood Reporter
It would be hard to imagine a more feeble rendering of the 19th century Grimm Brothers tale.
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Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News
What it lacks is a coherent point of view or consistent tone.
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Robert Koehler, Variety
While the picture stays to basic outline of the original story in opening and closing sections, the large middle is stuffed with badly staged slapstick and painful stabs at hip dialogue in an arch attempt to cater to modern kids.
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Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly
For trashing a classic, [Tunnicliffe] and his writing cohorts deserve a Grimm-style fate -- perhaps a long, slow boil in the witch's vat?
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Cast
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Taylor Momsen
as Gretel
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Jacob Smith
as Hansel
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Delta Burke
as Stepmother
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Howie Mandel
as The Sandman
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Gerald McRaney
as Hansel & Gretel's Father
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Lynn Redgrave
as Witch
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Alana Austin
as Wood Fairie
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Daniel Roebuck
as Katie's Father
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Thomas Curtis
as Andrew
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Dakota Fanning
as Katie
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Tom Arnold
as Boogyman
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Bobcat Goldthwait
as Forest Troll
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Sinbad
as Raven
