Before BeetleJuice, Batman, Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure, and Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton directed a modern gothic violent retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Never heard of it before? I assure you, It exists. Although very little evidence can be found. And if you haven’t seen it, you likely never will.
Filmed for $116,000 on 16mm, this live-action short film featured a cast of amateur Japanese actors, kung fu fights and Japanese toys, as Burton was obsessed with Japanese culture at the time of production. The film’s design style and color schemes paid homage to the Godzilla movies and is said to be heavy on special effects, making use of front projection, forced perspective and even some stop-motion animation. Most reputable sources claim the film runs a full 45 minutes, but other fan reviews have a listed runtime anywhere from a 15-30 minutes. The plot of the film is very traditional: Hansel and Gretel must escape a witch and her gingerbread house to find their father.
Tim Butron’s Hansel and Gretel aired on the Disney Channel on Halloween night in 1982, and was never seen or heard from again. This gem is near impossible to find. Search Google, Ebay, YouTube, Torrent Sites, you won’t find anything. Tim Burton is said to have been embarrassed of this early work, which might explain why the short has never been released on home video or DVD.
I haven’t even seen this film, nor have I met anyone who has personally seen it. It’s become somewhat of an urban legend around Hollywood. Accounts of this short vary from person to person, and from source to source, so the above description might feature inaccuracies.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Pretty strange. You’d think this would be leaked on one of the torrent sites by now. I heard about it a long time ago but had forgotten it existed. Hansel and Gretal was always a really spooky fairytale to me - there names alone made me think of the twins in the Shining for whatever reason. I wonder how many copies of it are floating around??
December 31st, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Its on emule…
…everythings on emule
however, i do believe it is spanish…
…but better than nothing
December 31st, 2007 at 5:50 pm
i could not find it on emule
January 1st, 2008 at 5:29 am
What did you used to search it in Emule?
I very interested… I Spanish
January 1st, 2008 at 7:25 am
search with emule with the keywords : hansel burton
method: global servers
eventually use peer guardian to avoid fakes
downloading right now
January 1st, 2008 at 8:45 am
Thanks a lot!!! Found and downloading!!!! Great!!!
If someone helps me (with subtitles) I could make an english translation.
January 1st, 2008 at 9:20 am
hah!
glad i could help, sorry i wasn’t more detailed in what i searched on emule…thanks for clarifying mehdi
good luck!
January 1st, 2008 at 9:37 am
A fix is in order….
“Disney Channel’s first broadcasting day occurred on April 18, 1983. At the inception, the Disney Channel only aired 18 hours a day from 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM; 24-hour programming would begin in December 1986.”
January 2nd, 2008 at 6:21 pm
That only version in emule
Los Cuentos De Las Estrellas - Hansel Y Gretel (Tim Burton) By Smt.avi
is fake.
It really is
Faerie Tale Theatre - Hansel and Gretel (1983)
in Spanish and has nothing to do with Tim Burton.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:41 am
Yes… It’s a pity. This was directed by James Frawley, you can find some info at Imdb.
IMDB says that Burton did Hansel and Gretel but also an Aladdin’s version.
I hope to find both someday.
Thank you all any way.
February 28th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
thanks good
May 1st, 2008 at 6:24 am
Could someone put this video on u-tube? Emule doesn’t work in my pc!
Please, please, please!!!!!!!!!!!
June 25th, 2008 at 3:56 am
i rekon tim burton is 1 of the greatest men living i love him. all the movies i have seen from him have been beutiful tales of love,hatred and murders and yet leaves you wanting more and more he should never be ashamed of his work no mater what.
he has a gift a special way about him and i love johney depp so that makes him a hero in my eyes
September 14th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
:D
Tim Burtin is really great im sure every1 here knows tht already but,,,
i luv his films evn tho ive nly seen 4 or 5
but im going too watch as many as i cn find
i cant find this hansel nd grtel 1 :O either
soo if any1 finds it in english or with english subtitles culd thy let mee no plzz
thnx
<3xox