Stream It Or Skip It: ‘A Tale Dark & Grimm’ On Netflix, Where Hansel & Gretel Walk Out Of Their Own Story And Into Others By The Brothers Grimm

The tales of the Brothers Grimm (and their own life stories) have been adapted a myriad ways; from The Brothers Grimm, Terry Gilliam’s fantasy flick imagining the brothers as con artists and the six season NBC series Grimm to sanitized Disney versions of their stories like Tangled, Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty, as well as more daring iterations like Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Freeway, there’s no shortage of different versions of these iconic fairytales. Enter A Tale Dark & Grimm, a series that imagines those bread crumb-loving scamps venturing into the world of various Grimm stories. 

A TALE DARK & GRIMM: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A pair of great doors open and we approach a large book on a stand as the narrator tells us “once upon a time, fairytales were awesome”.

The Gist: We’ve heard the tale of Hansel and Gretel before; kids get ditched by a wicked stepmother in the woods, leave a trail of breadcrumbs to try to find their way home, end up in the hands of a child-eating witch. Some of this may ring true on A Tale Dark & Grimm, but this series wants us to know straight away that this might not be the story you remember. Gretel (Raini Rodriguez) and Hansel (Andre Robinson) live a happy life as the children of the king and queen, spending their days playing games and being sung lullabies by their doting mother. That all changes, however, when their father suddenly beheads them both and sews their heads back on with some kind of magic golden thread to bring them back to life.

Horrified by their parents’ choice to kill them (“Parents shouldn’t slay their children. Not even once!”), Hansel and Gretel set off into the woods in the hopes of finding a new family – one that will dote on them, feed them well, and never make them do any chores. They encounter a kindly turnip farmer on their journey, but reject his offer to stay with him as they’ve only got one option at the front of their minds: Mrs. Baker, the baker who brings delicious cakes to the castle. If they can make her their new mother, their lives will surely be better. The catch? These kids and Mrs. Baker have very different ideas of happily-ever-after.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? It’s hard to think of many shows that fall into the same category as A Tale Dark & Grimm, though the animation style may remind you a bit of How to Train Your Dragon and Tangled at times.

Our Take: I really wanted to be on board with A Tale Dark & Grimm; the concept is interesting, the voice performances are strong, and the animation is engaging. Unfortunately, however, I emerged from the pilot episode totally confused about who this is actually for. I’m all about letting the most gruesome Grimm tales see the light of day, but in the context of A Tale Dark & Grimm – a show we’re repeatedly reminded by the Fourth Wall-breaking crows is intended for tough kids to see – it feels icky and weird. Perhaps if it was a series intended for an older audience, it might make more sense, but combining this kind of warm, fuzzy animation style with content that includes beheading children, eating children, and impaling a witch on a giant candy cane feels a little wacky.

If I hadn’t spent the entire episode asking “who is this for?”, I may have enjoyed A Tale Dark & Grimm a little more. Unfortunately, however, the show’s strange, offbeat tone set against its doe-eyed protagonists made it impossible for me not to spend most of its runtime scratching my head. If you have a precocious preteen who gets a kick out of dark humor and horror, this might be right up their alley. But for the younger kids this style of show might typically appeal to, A Tale Dark & Grimm will almost certainly be too much to take.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: Hansel and Gretel force smiles as they knock on the door of their next potential family.

Sleeper Star: The sneaky reveal of Jonathan Banks as the mysterious cloaked figure is perhaps the highlight of A Tale Dark & Grimm‘s first installment. He doesn’t speak until the last few minutes of the episode, but when he does, there’s no mistaking that perfect gravelly voice. I’m inclined to stay aboard this ship just to hear what else is in store for Banks’s character and voice performance.

Most Pilot-y Line: There weren’t any lines that felt particularly pilot-y for me, but I did get a kick out of a few of the narrator’s lines, including “Hansel and Gretel found something to replace their parents’ love: food.”

Our Call: SKIP IT. While the voice performances are strong and the series is entertaining, the dark, gory content feels so out of place with the animation style and general tone it’s difficult to know who exactly A Tale Dark & Grimm is for.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.

Stream A Tale Dark & Grimm on Netflix