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Brother's Grimm vs. MGM's "Hansel and Gretal"

Image result for gingerbread house hansel and gretelSimilar?...

 the Brother's Grimm tale and MGM's film of "Hansel and Gretal" incorporate two young siblings, one boy and one girl, who are very connected to each other and are very good friends. In both, the siblings are coerced into the woods and then later get lost in the nighttime after their bread trail had been eaten by animals. They come across the a gingerbread house that is covered in edible, delicious candy. They begin to eat the house and get invited in by the witch who lives in it. The witch has very poor eyesight, so she is easily tricked. The kids are then in immediate danger because the witch intends to cook them and eat them. The witch chooses Hansel to eat first and cages him, in order to fatten him up for a nice meal. Hansel tricks her into thinking he is not getting any fatter, by sticking a chicken bone out of the cage when she wants to feel his finger. This upsets the witch and she decides to eat Gretal first. However, Gretal tricks her into looking in the oven and Gretal pushes her in. The children use their own wit and cunningness to overcome their obstacles and survive. Then, they are able to find their way home. 

Image result for mgm hansel and gretelDifferent?...

In the beginning of the Brother's Grimm tale, the stepmother tells the father that they need to take the children into the woods and leave them there to be eaten by the beasts. This is because they have very little money and are not able to support themselves and the children. The father is very upset by this but eventually agrees. This happens twice, the first time Hansel is smart and leaves a trail of tiny rocks to find their way back to the house. The second time he is not so smart and leaves a trail of bread that gets eaten by animals. At the end of the tale they are able to find their way home by themselves and with the help of a duck.
In the beginning of the MGM version of "Hansel and Gretal" the children upset their mother by accidentally letting the donkey into the house, who eats the custard and spills the fresh cream they had just gotten delivered. The mother is so furious, she sends the children into the woods and to get berries and tells them to not come back without enough to feed the family for dinner. They go to the wrong side of the woods and end up getting lost, where many kids had gone missing. Once the witch is defeated the house blows up with many colorful liquids and the gingerbread break open with the missing children coming out of them alive and happy.

Why Was it Changed?...

MGM most likely changed the film because they didn't want to have the theme of the "bad mother" or step mother. This wasn't as popular of a theme at the time and many families did not approve of the "bad mother" because many step mothers were actually very nice. In addition, MGM wanted to have the theme that children should not go up to strangers or enter a strangers house even if it looks inviting. They do this by having many children involved, so that children don't think, "it would only happen to Hansel and Gretal".

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