{"id":6066,"date":"2013-02-06T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T17:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=6066"},"modified":"2013-02-05T10:53:18","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T18:53:18","slug":"movie-review-hansel-and-gretel-flick-fun-problematic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2013\/02\/06\/movie-review-hansel-and-gretel-flick-fun-problematic\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie review<\/em>: Hansel and Gretel flick fun, problematic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Modern fairy tales are nothing new. They continue to be popular, and, as a fan myself, I anticipated Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters<\/i> with both excitement and dread. Dread because these authorless tales have become huge franchises. I wonder if their underlying ideologies differ much from their origins and, if so, what that means for audiences.<\/p>\n

\"Hansel-Gretel-Witch-Hunters-1\"<\/a>
Is that Hansel? Is that Gretel? Apparently, it is, in this modern remake of the classic fairytale (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the title promises, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters<\/i> is a self-referential, ironic take on the original story. Here\u2019s what the viewer gets (deep breath): CGI-injected scary witches, PG-13-erotic \u2018good\u2019 witches, an attractive Gretel fighting in a corset, an artistically compelling opening sequence, a diabetic Hansel, gore of the gooiest calibre, a slightly uncomfortable brother\/sister dynamic, a troll slave with a heart of gold, and a welcome cameo by German actor Peter Stormare (The Big Lebowski<\/i>). Phew! Oh, and it\u2019s in 3-D.<\/p>\n

There are some problematic elements in the film. Gretel gets punched in the face way too many times (and not by witches). She becomes unconscious at the mercy of male characters (twice!), and is groped during one of these naps. Heroines are allowed to be vulnerable, but giving her a big gun doesn\u2019t save Gretel from being another girl in need of saving.<\/p>\n

Also, this movie endorses the whole \u201cbeautiful equals good\u201d thing, which goes back to Glenda\u2019s statement from The Wizard of Oz<\/i> that \u201conly bad witches are ugly.\u201d According to Hansel, witches can be detected by their rotting teeth and bad skin: it\u2019s all rather retrogressive.<\/p>\n

If you have a witch craving, watch Hocus Pocus<\/i>, The Witches<\/i>, Practical Magic<\/i>, <\/i>or The Witches of Eastwick <\/i>instead. I can\u2019t promise that some of the above elements aren\u2019t present, but the plot and characters actually make up for them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Modern fairy tales are nothing new. They continue to be popular, and, as a fan myself, I anticipated Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters with both excitement and dread. Dread because these authorless tales have become huge franchises. I wonder if their underlying ideologies differ much from their origins and, if so, what that means for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-february-6-2013"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t