Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics--or "Once Upon a Time..."
When I was a kid I remember rushing home from elementary school to catch Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics on Nickelodeon. It was anime (that I didn't know was anime) of old fairytales redone by Saban, yeah, that guy of Power Rangers fame. The cast sports a lot of 80's/early 90's stars, like the Robotech and Voltron dub voices. You can even play spot Minmei in them! And the best part was it gave me an appreciation for the lesser known stories while introducing me to new ones. I can definitely say this and the old anime version of Jack and the Beanstalk cemented my love for this particular genre.
And then they took it off the air.
Thankfully and recently, I've discovered some kind soul took the bootleg VHS copies and upped them on YouTube, and so I am listing my most memorable here for reference. I FULLY ENCOURAGE ANYONE BROWSING FOR YOUR FAVORITES.
Bearskin:
A soldier strikes a bargian with a demon. For seven years he can't pray, cut his nails or hair or even bathe. And all the while he has to wear a skin of a bear. If he fails any of these conditions his soul will belong to Hell. Oh those Russians.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Beauty and the Beast:
Not as magnificent as the Disney version, but it's the same principle. A beautiful maiden named Maria agrees to stay with a Beast to save her father and learns to love him beyond his hideous looks (seriously, he has a lazy eye).
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Briar Rose:
Sleeping Beauty, pretty clear cut. This one focuses more on how she was as a child before the curse, but I like how they handled the prince waking her. It's a sweeter version than most.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Brother and Sister:
This episode was so weird and non-linear. An evil step-mother tries to destroy a brother and sister who flee into the woods by cursing each stream and river to turn them into animals. Of course the brother ignores his sister's protests and ends up a deer and then...it just sort of diverges from there.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Coat of Many Colors:
The better of the Cinderella stories, with the three dresses motif. A girl escapes her kingdom with a dress of gold, silver and diamond, and a coat of many colors to become a servant in another kingdom under the prince.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Faithful Watchman:
A greedy landowner extracts a promise from a peasant to watch over his grave for three days in exchange for food. Of course the poor guy has to fight off the devil from the consequences of his boss's mortal greed. I think the soldier in this is one of my favorite characters.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Four Skillful Brothers:
Four brothers work together to find their fortunes and save a princess. A thief, a scientist, a hunter, and a tailor. Solid tale, and more of the comical ones. If only for how they had to make the thief a secret agent in the dub to warn off kiddies of stealing.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Frog Prince:
The princess Leonora is about as bratty as to be expected, the frog is both self-conscious and a little manipulative. So it's not my favorite story but this version is much nicer because it has Iron Heinrich (yay yay, even giving pep talks!).
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
Jorinde and Joringle:
Favorite and most memorable of the episodes by far. I'm not lying when I said that Jorinde's song was something I carried with me for years and I am so glad to get it back. A story of a young couple who are parted when a witch turns Jorinde into a bird and Joringle must find a way to save her.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
King Grizzle Beard:
A bratty princess turns down countless suitors until a wandering musician stumbles on her and is promised as her husband. I really like this one for the dynamics (oh wow the princess kind of develops as a person) and the twist. Well, twist by fairytale standards.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Magic Heart:
I couldn't find this story anywhere else based on what I remembered. Namely brainwashing and a guy turning into a donkey by eating cabbage. It's one of the few I can sincerely say you will enjoy people making asses of each other.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Man of Iron:
The story of a bratty little prince who taken away from his castle by an iron demon and told to forsake his title. He has to learn humility and to live like a commoner in order to change his soul from an ugly reflection into something worthy of a prince.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Old Woman in the Woods:
This one scared me as a kid, no lie. A servant girl decides to repay an owl for saving her by breaking his spell. Of course it involves sneaking in the old woman in the wood's house and was animated to terrify you. The corridors, the demon faces, it really worked the suspense well. And I find this heroine more spunky than most.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Six Swans:
I loved the story and this was a really accurate rendition of it. An evil queen wants to destroy the princess and princes of her husband, so she turns the six boys into swans and the princess must spend six years neither speaking nor laughing while sewing them shirts to change them back.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Six Who Went Far:
A story about a nasty, selfish king and princess who tax their kingdom mercilessly and the six subjects with special abilities that undertake their tasks to win all their riches back.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Snow White and Rose Red:
Mostly hilarious because it's like an evil version of David the Gnome as the antagonist. Snow White and Rose Red are sisters of different temperments who meet a cursed bear and a wounded prince and said cranky gnome.
Part 1, Part 2
Spirit in the Bottle:
A woodcutter's son finds a bottle underneath a giant tree. After almost getting eaten by the spirit he manages to extract a promise from him not to hurt any humans the spirit gives him a gift that ends up having unforseen consequences. It actually ends rather, uh, un-conventionally. Suffice to say I like the original better than this interpretation.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Water of Life:
Two princes have to go out and find a magical water to rescue their dying father. Of course the older brother is a lying, cheating bastard and the younger does all the work then gets framed for the elder's trechery. Mostly included because the animation in this one is pretty.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Worn Out Dancing Shoes:
The Twelve Dancing Princesses, now reduced to three. The animated expressions of the girls while under a trance were my first introduction to drug culture. And the story is plotted well, even with the terrifying reveal of the underground palace.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
...right now that I've sufficiently shown my age and geekiness I'm off to whistle that Jorinde song non-stop since I've rediscovered it.
And then they took it off the air.
Thankfully and recently, I've discovered some kind soul took the bootleg VHS copies and upped them on YouTube, and so I am listing my most memorable here for reference. I FULLY ENCOURAGE ANYONE BROWSING FOR YOUR FAVORITES.
Bearskin:
A soldier strikes a bargian with a demon. For seven years he can't pray, cut his nails or hair or even bathe. And all the while he has to wear a skin of a bear. If he fails any of these conditions his soul will belong to Hell. Oh those Russians.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Beauty and the Beast:
Not as magnificent as the Disney version, but it's the same principle. A beautiful maiden named Maria agrees to stay with a Beast to save her father and learns to love him beyond his hideous looks (seriously, he has a lazy eye).
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Briar Rose:
Sleeping Beauty, pretty clear cut. This one focuses more on how she was as a child before the curse, but I like how they handled the prince waking her. It's a sweeter version than most.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Brother and Sister:
This episode was so weird and non-linear. An evil step-mother tries to destroy a brother and sister who flee into the woods by cursing each stream and river to turn them into animals. Of course the brother ignores his sister's protests and ends up a deer and then...it just sort of diverges from there.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Coat of Many Colors:
The better of the Cinderella stories, with the three dresses motif. A girl escapes her kingdom with a dress of gold, silver and diamond, and a coat of many colors to become a servant in another kingdom under the prince.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Faithful Watchman:
A greedy landowner extracts a promise from a peasant to watch over his grave for three days in exchange for food. Of course the poor guy has to fight off the devil from the consequences of his boss's mortal greed. I think the soldier in this is one of my favorite characters.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Four Skillful Brothers:
Four brothers work together to find their fortunes and save a princess. A thief, a scientist, a hunter, and a tailor. Solid tale, and more of the comical ones. If only for how they had to make the thief a secret agent in the dub to warn off kiddies of stealing.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Frog Prince:
The princess Leonora is about as bratty as to be expected, the frog is both self-conscious and a little manipulative. So it's not my favorite story but this version is much nicer because it has Iron Heinrich (yay yay, even giving pep talks!).
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
Jorinde and Joringle:
Favorite and most memorable of the episodes by far. I'm not lying when I said that Jorinde's song was something I carried with me for years and I am so glad to get it back. A story of a young couple who are parted when a witch turns Jorinde into a bird and Joringle must find a way to save her.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
King Grizzle Beard:
A bratty princess turns down countless suitors until a wandering musician stumbles on her and is promised as her husband. I really like this one for the dynamics (oh wow the princess kind of develops as a person) and the twist. Well, twist by fairytale standards.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Magic Heart:
I couldn't find this story anywhere else based on what I remembered. Namely brainwashing and a guy turning into a donkey by eating cabbage. It's one of the few I can sincerely say you will enjoy people making asses of each other.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Man of Iron:
The story of a bratty little prince who taken away from his castle by an iron demon and told to forsake his title. He has to learn humility and to live like a commoner in order to change his soul from an ugly reflection into something worthy of a prince.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Old Woman in the Woods:
This one scared me as a kid, no lie. A servant girl decides to repay an owl for saving her by breaking his spell. Of course it involves sneaking in the old woman in the wood's house and was animated to terrify you. The corridors, the demon faces, it really worked the suspense well. And I find this heroine more spunky than most.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Six Swans:
I loved the story and this was a really accurate rendition of it. An evil queen wants to destroy the princess and princes of her husband, so she turns the six boys into swans and the princess must spend six years neither speaking nor laughing while sewing them shirts to change them back.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Six Who Went Far:
A story about a nasty, selfish king and princess who tax their kingdom mercilessly and the six subjects with special abilities that undertake their tasks to win all their riches back.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Snow White and Rose Red:
Mostly hilarious because it's like an evil version of David the Gnome as the antagonist. Snow White and Rose Red are sisters of different temperments who meet a cursed bear and a wounded prince and said cranky gnome.
Part 1, Part 2
Spirit in the Bottle:
A woodcutter's son finds a bottle underneath a giant tree. After almost getting eaten by the spirit he manages to extract a promise from him not to hurt any humans the spirit gives him a gift that ends up having unforseen consequences. It actually ends rather, uh, un-conventionally. Suffice to say I like the original better than this interpretation.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Water of Life:
Two princes have to go out and find a magical water to rescue their dying father. Of course the older brother is a lying, cheating bastard and the younger does all the work then gets framed for the elder's trechery. Mostly included because the animation in this one is pretty.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Worn Out Dancing Shoes:
The Twelve Dancing Princesses, now reduced to three. The animated expressions of the girls while under a trance were my first introduction to drug culture. And the story is plotted well, even with the terrifying reveal of the underground palace.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
...right now that I've sufficiently shown my age and geekiness I'm off to whistle that Jorinde song non-stop since I've rediscovered it.