The full trailer for director Oz Perkins’ Gretel and Hansel is out, and it teases noticeable changes being made to the classic fairy tale. Pretty much everyone knows the story of Hansel and Gretel, two children abandoned in the woods by their parents due to a lack of enough food for the whole family. The siblings do their best to fend for themselves, eventually coming upon a remote old house made of candy and treats. Unfortunately, this house is owned by an old witch who wants to make a meal out of the kids.
Written by the Brothers Grimm, Hansel and Gretel is one of the most famous stories around, having been told and retold since at least the 1800s. There have been multiple straightforward movie and TV adaptations of Hansel and Gretel, and also quite a few odd spins on the tale, such as the 2013 film Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. Even outside of explicit adaptations, elements of Hansel and Gretel have become so well-known that they’ve been referenced in hundreds of other not directly related works.
In the upcoming film Gretel and Hansel, the enduring story gets a new update, and the trailer has already revealed some ways in which this movie will differ from the fairy tale. The tagline being “A Grim Fairy Tale,” is a nice reference to its heritage though.
Gretel & Hansel 2020 Trailer Reveals Changes To Original Story
One big change in Gretel and Hansel is implied by the name of the film, as opposed to the name of the story. In the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel are both about 12-years-old. This put the characters on basically an equal footing. In Gretel and Hansel, Gretel (as played by IT star Sophia Lillis) is 17 and Hansel is only 8, clearly positioning her as the leader of the two siblings. Also, the witch’s house doesn’t appear to be made of candy anymore, although it’s still full of enticing food, enough to lure in a hungry Hansel.
The biggest change to the normal Hansel and Gretel story seen in the trailer is that the witch (Alice Krige) seems to be trying to tempt Gretel over to the dark side, talking about the teenager’s “power.” With that in mind, she only seems interested in consuming Hansel, and by all appearances, she seems to want to get Gretel onboard with this idea. The strikingly odd visuals, stark period setting, costumes, and music found in the Gretel and Hansel trailer are likely to evoke thoughts of recent horror films by directors Ari Aster and Robert Eggers, specifically Midsommar and The Witch. The witch in Gretel and Hansel even mentions needing to make Hansel “delicious,” which recalls Satan’s ask of Thomasin in The Witch if she “wants to live deliciously.” Gretel and Hansel may end up being many things, and some of the stuff in the trailer could be a misdirect, but for now, this doesn’t much resemble the bedtime story many people know and love.
Key Release Dates
Hansel and Gretel
Release Date:2020-01-31
