History WesternAnimation / ATaleDarkAndGrimm

Hansel and Gretel stumble upon other stories fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm. A Tale Dark & Grimm is a Canadian-American AllCgiCartoon streaming television series based on the children's books of the same name by Adam Gidwitz.

Once Upon a Time, fairy tales were awesome. We know, you don't believe us, you think fairytales are cute and pink and full of fairies. Well, they are not. Real fairy tales are scary. Follow two children as they venture into a dark tale, a scary tale, a strange tale... wait a minute, are you old enough for this? You really think you can handle it? Well, let's find out.

* AdaptationalModesty: In the books, Hansel is at least shirtless as a werewolf and explicitly NakedOnRevival. In the cartoon, he's fully-clothed as a werewolf and has inexplicable underwear when he's cut out of the wolf skin.

** [[spoiler: The Queen, Hansel and Gretel's mother, was cursed so whomever loves her will have horrible things happen to them. Indeed, Johannes ends up dying trying to protect the King and Queen, and then Hansel and Gretel have their heads chopped off and run away, leaving Grimm to be terrorized by a dragon in their absence.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In a rather clever use of the trope, the king actually gives away one of the biggest plot twists of the final episode -- in fact, the ''first thing he ever says in the series'' is a direct spoiler. However, it's said in such a casual way, in such a different context, and in the midst of so many other, more immediately important things, that the audience would be hard pressed to even remember it at all when the last episode rolls around and the plot twist happens: [[spoiler: His first spoken line in the series is "I'm the dragon!" At the time he's just playing with the kids, but as the final episode rolls around, it's revealed that he ''is'' indeed the dragon... the dragon that's been terrorizing the kingdom for some time is actually the king, who is under a curse.]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: Lord Meister, who enforces strict "rules" for Hansel to follow, one of which is not leaving the manor after dark. Later that episode, he breaks that very rule, which Hansel acknowledges as being hypocritical.

* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler: The King and Queen do this to Hansel and Gretel in the very first episode by chopping off their heads, but it's subverted in that they never mean to fully kill them, bringing them back a few moments later by sewing their heads back on with golden twine. In fact, the only reason they did it in the first place was to bring back Johannes, and never wanted to hurt their children in the first place. Doesn't stop their decision from being any less rash or selfish, though.]]

* SweetBaker: Mrs. Baker seems like one to Hansel and Gretel, baking sweets and living in a house made of candy, but to the audience it is instantly clear she's [[spoiler: actually crazy and murderous.]]

* WalkingSpoiler: The entire show is full of spoilers every episode, since each one represents a different story. You can't even get five minutes into the show without getting hit with the first major spoiler, which is [[spoiler: the King and Queen chopping off their children's heads,]] and kicking off the plot.

* AnAesop: Since this is still a fairy tale in the end, there are many of these littered throughout, two of the most prominent being: be wary of strangers, and adults aren’t always right or good. According to creator Simon Otto, it was important that they got the message across to kids that darker emotions, like fear, loneliness, and anger when you’ve done nothing wrong, are okay to feel.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: The Handsome Young Man, who appears noble and kind at first and is beloved by the town, is revealed to be a warlock who uses his charms to lure in young girls and take their souls to power his golden twine. Not only that, he erases the townspeople’s memories and gives them only MORE reasons to like and trust him. Once the town’s memories are brought back, the people waste no time giving him due punishment.]]

* EvilSorcerer: [[spoiler: The Warlock.]]

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler: Mrs. Baker is visibly ''impaled on a candy cane''.]]

* {{Grimmification}}: The series is based on the Adam Gidwitz novel, which as the title implies, is a darker, more elaborate twist on the original Hansel and Gretel story.
** Although inverted at times. The story with the Warlock is based on "The Robber Bridegroom." While the original outright killed his victims, here, they are merely turned into doves [[spoiler: and are eventually restored.]]
* GuileHero: Gretel.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Gretel.

* LittleMissBadass: Gretel.

* NeverSayDie: Strongly averted. “Die” and “dead” are used at least once an episode, not to mention the fact that the word “Hell” is used very freely as well.
* NightmareFetishist: Dotty. "Mama wants some gore!"

* DisneyDeath:[[spoiler: Hansel dies in the third episode at the hands of Lord Meister's servants who have been hunting him, leaving Gretel distraught. However, he comes out of the wolf's body alive in the next episode, making whether or not he was really dead ambiguous but ultimately unimportant.]]

* BalefulPolymorph: William and Jacob were cursed by the Devil to become ravens and narrate the story of the children, only able to turn back into humans when the story has ended. By the end of the series they have accepted being ravens, acknowledging that the true story may never be over.
** In episode 3, Hansel is consumed by greed and [[spoiler: becomes a wolflike creature, unable to control his urge to kill. While in beast form, he is killed by Lord Meister and his servants, and only becomes human again when they cut open the wolf and Hansel comes out of it, looking like a normal boy.]] In episode 9 it's revealed that [[spoiler: he still has some control over his beast side and can get a boost of strength from it.]]
** The Bauer boys [[spoiler: turned into sparrows and flew away from home, believing their father was rejecting them. However, they easily turn back into humans and return home after explaining the situation to Hansel and Gretel.]]
** [[spoiler: The King, as revealed in the last episode, has been turning into the very dragon that's been ravaging the kingdom, but having no memory of it afterward. The children are able to dispel the spirit of the dragon inside of him, but only after cutting his head off.]]

* AdaptationalConsent: In the Brothers Grimms' version of "Faithful Johannes", the king [[AbductionIsLove kidnaps the princess]], and when he proposes, she's hardly in a position to say no to him. In this version of the story, he is honest about his intentions from the moment they meet, they have a "date" of sorts in which she eagerly agrees to marry him, and ''then'' they sail back to his land.

* {{Bowdlerise}}:

* ChildEater: [[spoiler: Mrs. Baker,]] as per the original fairy tale.

** Lord Meister is combined with the King in "Brother and Sister" and the Miller from "The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs". His also accidentally selling his kid to the devil is similar to the miller in "The Girl Without Hands"

* AdiposeRex: The King, Hansel and Gretel's father, is rather portly. Lord Meister, while not royalty exactly, is still a powerful aristocrat and is also quite fat.

* TheLostWoods: The "deep dark woods," where the twins often end up one way or another.

* AdaptationSpeciesChange: The second episode is based on "Literature/TheSevenRavens," except that the brothers turn into swallows instead (ossibly because we already have a GreekChorus of ravens).