ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

TheLittleSongbird The Cannon Movie Tales adaptations of famous fairy tales is an interesting little series, and while there are some faring better than others and a few that are less than brilliant, others are well done and charming. Hansel and Gretel is one of the finer examples of the latter, and gets my vote as the best of the series.It's not without its flaws, all of the films in the series do, some bigger and more serious than others. The low-budget does show in the less than inspiring and too-fancy-dress-like costumes and the witch's death underwhelms, instead of being nail-biting like in the story the way it's done here causes some unintentional humour.Visually, however, on the most part Hansel and Gretel is actually one of the better-looking Cannon Movie Tales films. It's lovingly photographed and has charming, colourful settings and a fantastically realised Witch's House, its delicious to look at, but at the same time quite nightmarish, design being one of the standout set designs of the Cannon Movie Tales films. The songs, adapted from Humperdinck's wonderful opera, are simply lovely and are beautifully adapted, with the best performed being Sugar and Spice and the most effective melodically being A Fairy Song. The script is filled with fun and charm, and also with a real sense of dread in the second half, while the story adaptation-wise follows the Grimm story fairly closely while expanding on some parts, though actually it's closer to the story of the opera.The storytelling is whimsical and charming, while also witty and poignant, the Witch and her scenes also effectively induces nightmares without distorting the tone (the Witch scenes are quite dark) and are pretty tastefully handled. The film's nicely directed, and the performances are solid with the standout being Cloris Leachman as the Witch. Her make-up is excellent, and Leachman clearly has a ball without over-compensating too much and is genuinely frightening. Hugh Pollard and Nicola Stapleton are appealing as Hansel and Gretel and David Warner does bring a touching degree to a character who could easily have been portrayed as an idiot going by how he was written.Overall, a winner from the Cannon Movie Tales series and my vote for their best. 9/10 Bethany Cox

joshua-swanson-144-215933 okay, this movie is freaking awesome! It's like the best movie ever. I watched it everyday for a week. The story-line is captivating, I laughed and cried. My favorite character was the father, he was funny and smart. I especially liked the song "raise your hands" and I even sing along with my little brother. I like the scene in the town because it was very realistic, the bakers son and the guy who dances with the children made me smile. It made me wish I was in the fairy tale. The witch was also a very good actress, she was scary and very angry sometimes. People should make more movies as exciting as this one! If you want to see the best movie in the world, you will watch Hansel and Gretel!

carlyandgee I watched this film when I was about 6 or 7 and absolutely loved it. I used to rent it along with two other films from the same company, Puss in Boots and Snow White. When I was about 11 the video shop closed down and since then I have been searching for this film. I can still remember the words to the songs and I am now 21! Finally I have found a copy of it and cannot wait til I get it. I'm sure my son will enjoy it as much now as I did then. It is well recommended for children of all ages, although some children may find the witch a little frightening, it just depends on the child. It is a hard film to find but I would recommend looking for it and the other titles I mentioned earlier, it will be a well loved film for children and for adults!

christinedesler I think this is a great movie from the Cannon Theatre... but you might want to keep it away from extremely young kids. it scared me so badly that even today, at 19, I have to fast forward through scenes. There are things that just scar you ... ya know? Grizelda the Witch was more terrifying than the Witch of the West in "Wizard of Oz". All around, a very good farie tale, but not my favorite out of the series.