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Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics, also known as Grimm Masterpiece Theater in the original version, is a Japanese anime anthology series by Nippon Animation. The episodes are adaptations of a variety of folk and fairy tales, recopilated by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm.
Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics comprises two seasons. The first one, known in Japan as Grimm Masterpiece Theater (グリム名作劇場 Gurimu Meisaku Gekijō), aired from October 21, 1987 to March 30, 1988, for a total of 24 episodes. The second one, known in Japan as New Grimm Masterpiece Theater (新グリム名作劇場 Shin Gurimu Meisaku Gekijō), aired between October 2, 1988 and March 26, 1989, totaling 23 episodes. It was also localized under the series' English name.
The tales showcased in its run include the following:
- Season One (Grimm Masterpiece Theater): The Travelling Musicians of Bremen, Hansel and Gretel, The Princess and the Frog (2 chapters), Little Red Riding Hood, The Golden Goose, Puss in Boots (2 episodes), Snow White and Rose Red, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (4 episodes), The Six Who Went Far in the World, The Water of Life, Bluebeard, Jorinde and Joringel, Princess Briar Rose aka Sleeping Beauty, Old Sultan, King Thrusbeard, The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes aka The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Devil and his Grandmother, Cinderella (2 episodes)
- Season Two (New Grimm Masterpiece Theater): The Crystal Ball, The Wedding of Mrs. Fox, Beauty and The Beast, Donkey Cabbages / The Magic Heart, Rapunzel, The Old Woman in the Woods, The Faithful Watchmen, The Wolf and the Fox, Mother Holle, The Six Swans, The Coat of All Colors aka Donkeyskin, Brother and Sister, Four Skillful Brothers, The Spirit in the Bottle, The Iron Stove, Bearskin, The Hare and the Hedgehog, The Man of Iron, The Brave Little Tailor, The Wren and the Bear, Rumplestiltskin, The Water Nixie, Godfather Death.
The fairy tale anthology was broadcast in North America by Nickelodeon, and in local stations throughout Latin America.
Has a Recap Page now!
- Abusive Parents: In The Crystal Ball Anton, George and Sebastian have no idea that they're the sons of a Wicked Witch. When Anton finds out he tries to warn his brothers, but the other two boys don't believe him until she willingly shows them her true form. In at least some dubs Anton claims that she pulled a Kill and Replace on their actual mom, but still...
- Death was a Parental Substitute version of this in Godfather Death. One could argue that him killing everyone in the boy's family was a part of the deal made with the boy's father AND the old man was already dying anyway, but later he became emotionally abusive towards his Godson as the boy starts straying away and being more and more bitter about becoming a doctor who heals and saves people only when his Godfather tells him to.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Briar Rose from Princess Briar Rose / Sleeping Beauty is a rather sweet but also very quiet and forlorn girl, lonely and depressed due to her Girl in the Tower life.
- Aleia from Donkey Skin was very, VERY traumatized after her ordeals with her crazy and incestuous father and the loss of her castle and kingdom.
- Adaptation Expansion: Several episodes have this. ie., out of the four Snow White episodes, the first one is dedicated to show Snow White's life in the castle before she had to run away.
- In the original Snow White and Rose Red, the Younger Prince was only mentioned. Here he appears midway through the story and has Ship Tease with Rose Red.
- Adaptational Badass: The Wicked Stepmother from The Six Swans and the Witch from Hansel and Gretel are much more powerful than in the original tales.
- Adaptational Heroism: Maria's sisters in Beauty and the Beast are as much a little materialistic, but not selfish bitches like in the original. They also love their little sister and, when they don't want her to return to the Beast's palace, it's out of sincere concern for her safety plus outta grief over their dad's recent death.
- The protagonist from Godfather Death was actually quite greedy and a Gold Digger in the tale itself, but here he truly wants to be a doctor and save lives and ends up disappointed on his "godfather". Even going as far as pulling an Heroic Sacrifice.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Rapunzel's mom pretty much threw a huge tantrum at her husband to get him to go for the herbs she craved.
- Elise's husband in The Six Swans. In the original he tries three times to save her from being executed as a supposed witch and baby-killer, until he cannot do it anymore and she's set to be executed; in the anime these scenes are written out, save for one where he suffers an Heroic BSOD, goes into denial and desperately tries to get Elise to tell him the truth. As such many viewers mistakenly think that he ALSO wants her to die, when in reality he's caught between his love for his wife and his royal position. (As the King he must set an example to his citizens, so letting an apparent "witch" and "baby-killing traitor" would destroy his authority. Especially when another sovereign, aka the Wicked Stepmother, is present.)
- Adaptational Villainy: The Witch from The Six Swans isn't only more powerful than in the original tale, but she's also even crueler if that's even possible.
- The Witch in Rapunzel locks up the girl in her tower as soon as she's born and not when she's 12, beats her up when she finds out Rapunzel has a boyfriend, pushes said boyfriend out of the window and into the thorns that blind him...
- The Huntsman from Snow White not only doesn't help her like in the tale, but he tries to kill her and her best friend.
- The bird from Hansel and Gretel was benevolent in the tale, but in the episode is a Familiar of the Wicked Witch.
- Adaptation Species Change: In The Old Woman..., Elizabeth meets a talking owl. In the original story, it was a talking dove.
- Adapted Out: Brother and Sister ommits the evil stepsister.
- There's no Fairy Godmother in Donkeyskin
- The Iron Stove takes away the second Princess, replacing her with an Evil Fairy that looks more like a Hot Witch.
- The Six Swans omits the evil mother-in-law (giving her role to the Wicked Stepmother) and the protagonist only has one baby instead of three. Curiously, the Witch's evil mother stayed.
- Similarly, Rapunzel only has a little boy... when in the original she has twins.
- The Magic Heart / Donkey Cabbages eliminates the giants and the Wicked Witch's maidservant.
- The Twelve Dancing Princesses probably used its alternate name, The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes, because it only has three princesses.
- In The Water of Life, Franz and Joseph's middle brother is taken out.
- Maria from Beauty and the Beast only has sisters, not brothers.
- The Big Damn Kiss: Several, and all of them are quite cute.
- The Blacksmith: Rapunzel's father is this, and is even briefly seen working at his forge at the start.
- Brainwashed: Happens to Elizabeth from The Magic Heart (moreso in the dub, Prince William from The Iron Stove (albeit briefly) and the three Princesses from The Worn-out Dancing Shoes.
- Break the Haughty: Helena from King Thrusbeard and Elizabeth from Magic Heart are proud ladies who treat people badly when they should not. This happens to both of them, and they become better persons for it.
- Canon Foreigner: Some episodes add new characters like Snow White's childhood friend Klaus, the Prime Minister of Sleeping Beauty's realm, the Evil Fairy from The Iron Stove, the talking bunny from Mother Holle, etc.
- Death by Adaptation: The huntsman in Snow White pays for trying to kill her and Klaus via being knocked off a cliff by a boar.
- Maria aka Beauty's father dies almost at the end, and was implied to already be ill at the beginning.
- Nothing was said about what happened to the Old Kings in Donkeyskin and The Six Swans in the original tales, but here they're confirmed to have died.
- Elegant Classical Musician: Both Rapunzel and Briar Rose are talented lyre players, and the latter even writes her own songs.
- Half-Identical Twins: May or may not be the case for Hansel and Gretel, who look near exactly alike aside of their hair color and Gretel's Girlish Pigtails.
- Fairy Tales: But of course. Also noticeable in that despite the title, not EVERY tale was from the Brothers Grimms' stories: ie, while Donkey Skin is based on the Brothers' Allerleiauh and they also had their own version of Cinderella, the tales themselves are far more famous in their Charles Perrault incarnations. Also their version of Beauty and the Beast only appeared in an early Tales collection, and the better known (non-Disney) version is by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.
- Getting Crap Past the Radar: The animators pretty much stated on screen that Rapunzel and the Prince's relationship was both romantic AND sexual. One scene has the Prince and Rapunzel getting out of bed together as he must run off before the Witch finds him in her "daughter's" room - completely dressed, but still. The existence of the Prince and Rapunzel's kid confirms this deal.
- The Witch from The Iron Stove is pretty much a Fetish Fuel Station Attendant.
- A brief shot at the end of The Six Swans all but states that the Wicked Stepmother is Going Commando.
- Snow White and Rose Red has an Accidental Kiss between Snow and the Bear, and implies that they may have liked one another from before she found out he was a prince rather than a talking bear.
- Ill Girl: The princess from Godfather Death, who only recovers through the boy's Heroic Sacrifice.
- Kill and Replace: Anton from The Crystal Ball claims the Wicked Witch killed his and his brothers’ beautiful mother and impersonated her. This is a change from the original tale, where she WAS the boys' mother.
- Mommy's Little Villain: The Old Witches from The Six Swans and The Magic Heart / Donkey Cabbages have wicked and pretty daughters who help them in their plans. Subverted in the second case: Elizabeth is under some degree of Mind Control, plus she turns out to be more sympathetic than usual.
- Named by the Adaptation: The series not only adapts many Grimms' Tales, but either its original JPN dub or the others give names to some of their nameless protagonists:
- Brother and Sister: the siblings are Rudolph and Rosa
- The Six Swans: The Fallen Princess is Elise
- The Magic Heart / Donkey Cabbages: The Huntsman and the Witch's daughter are Frederick and Elizabeth
- The Old Woman in the Woods: The redhead maid and protagonist is also named Elizabeth
- The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes: the Soldier is Peter and the three Princesses are Genevieve, Julia and Louise.
- The Coat of All Colors / Donkeyskin / Allerleirauh: The Fallen Princess is Aleia, and her love interest is King Alexander.
- Bearskin: The soldier is Johan. The youngest daughter / his girlfriend is Christina,and her sisters are Gisela and Tetra.
- Bluebeard: The last wife is Josephine, and one of her brothers is Frederick.
- The Golden Goose: The protagonist is Hans, while his successful brother is Franz.
- The Summer Garden and the Winter Garden (Beauty and the Beast): Beauty is re-named Maria and her sisters are Anna and Helena.
- The Princess and the Frog: The Princess is named Leonora.
- The Water of Life: The Princes are Franz and Joseph, and Joseph's girlfriend is Princess Anne.
- Mother Holle: The main girl is Hildegard and her stepsister is Helena.
- Rumpelstiltskin: The girl is Gretchen (a diminutive of "Greta", itself one of "Margareta" aka "Margaret")
- The Man of Iron: The Prince is William.
- The Water Nixie: The young couple are Sean and Heidi.
- The Demon in the Bottle: The boy is named Frederick too.
- The Crystal Ball: The protagonist is named Anton, his older brothers are George and Sebastian.
- The Iron Stove: Another Prince William.
- One of These Is Not Like the Others: Beauty and the Beast (as The Summer Garden and the Inner Garden, a tale only included in their earliest collections), Donkey Skin and Cinderella are more popular as works of other people (Madame Barbot de Villeneuve and then Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont in the first case, Charles Perrault in the second and third ones) than the Grimm ones.
- Public Execution: Several episodes mention or imply these. The more direct example is the one dedicated to The Six Swans, where Elise is almost burned at the stake onscreen.
- Promotion to Parent: The series' take on Bluebeard implies that Josephine and maybe the youngest of her three brothers were raised by the eldest two. Their parents are nowhere to be seen and the aforementioned two eldest look notoriously older than the younger one and Josephine herself...
- Brother and Sister has Rosa/Sister 'mothering' her younger brother Rudolf whether as a human or a stag, asking her future husband the King to let her take him with them to live in the palace.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Elizabeth and the Owl from The Old Woman...
- Shipper with an Agenda: In Snow White..., after the first attempt on Snow's life by the Wicked Stepmother, the Dwarves wonder if they should have her marry into their family so they can protect her better. Since the youngest Dwarf has a clear crush on Snow, they organize a whole party to kill two birds with a stone.
- Shown Their Work: The series includes several Grimm's tales that aren't as well known like Jorinde and Joringel, The Iron Stove or The Man of Iron.
- Snow Means Death: Beauty and the Beast takes place in a snowy winter, plus the Beast's castle has a garden that's half-snowy and half-sunny. In the story itself Maria/Beauty's father dies of illness and, when Maria returns to the castle late for her promise and finds Beast about to fall victim to a Death by Despair, it's straight-up snowing.
- Snow Means Love: One of the most romantic scenes in Coat of All Colors has Aleia and Alexander interacting in a snowy backyard.
- The initial Ship Tease and Accidental Kiss between Snow White and the Bear Prince happens during winter and in a snowy night.
- Briar Rose is awakened by her Prince during a snowy day.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Snow White and Rose Red has the eldest sister Snow White, who looks like a younger version of her and Rose Red's Widow Woman mother. Rose Red has features similar to them, but her red hair and Genki Girl attitude change things a bit.
- The titular Rapunzel looks like her birth mother, only younger and with her trademark blonde Rapunzel Hair (both of her parents are brunettes, and her mom has long hair but nowhere AS long). The son of Rapunzel and the Prince has his father's features and his mother's eye and hair colors.
- In The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes, the three Princesses (Genevieve, Louise and Julia) look quite similar. Their clothes and hairstyles / colors are the biggest differences: Genevieve is a blonde, Louise is a brunette, and Julia is a redhead.
- Textile Work Is Feminine: In Jorinde and Joringel, Jorinde is first seen working on her spinning wheel.
- In Snow White and Rose Red, the girls help their mom with her weaving work.
- Thanatos Gambit: The Boy from Godfather Death deliberately heals an Ill Girl Princess who was destined to die, so his Godfather would kill him. That way he got free from the contract with Death, could finally save someone's life for real, and was reunited with his family in the afterlife.
- True Love's Kiss: Subverted in Sleeping Beauty, where the Prince's arrival is what sets in motion Princess Briar Rose's awakening rather than him kissing her - though they do get their Big Damn Kiss very soon.
- And outright averted in Snow White, which solves Snow's deal like in the original tale: she had a poisoned apple bite in her mouth, and when the dwarves knock off her glass coffin, it falls off and she's cured.