History YMMV / HanselAndGretel

** The idea of a house made entirely of candy sounded ludicrous for centuries. While it’s not exactly the same? We now have access to a sugar cane form of concrete used in building houses.

* RonTheDeathEater: Some modern readings of the original fairytale tend to give the two main characters an AdaptationalVillainy treatment, portraying them as cruel murderers of a poor old lady. Never mind that the "poor old lady" in question wanted to eat them and the only act of violence from the siblings was made in self defense.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Why is the stepmother dead (or, otherwise, gone)by the time Hänsel and Gretel return? That could be because she succumbed to the hunger after all, despite sending the children away to save food for herself. Or because the father had a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment and killed her (which would fit nicely with the generally dark atmosphere of the story). Another interpretation is that she actually was the Witch all along.

* FridgeLogic: While they were starving, did the kids really not consider that the candy house likely wouldn't be edible because it's been exposed to the elements and prolly had bird crap on it?

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Why is the stepmother dead by the time Hänsel and Gretel return? That could be because she succumbed to the hunger after all, despite sending the children away to save food for herself. Or because the father had a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment and killed her (which would fit nicely with the generally dark atmosphere of the story). Another interpretation is that she actually was the Witch all along.

* RonTheDeathEater: Some modern readings of the original fairytale tend to demonize Hansel and Gretel, portraying them as cruel murderers of a poor old lady. Never mind that the "poor old lady" in question wanted to eat them and the only act of violence from the siblings was made in self defense.

* RonTheDeathEater: Some modern readings of the original fairytale tend to demonize Hansel and Gretel, portraying them as cruel murderers of a poor old lady. Never mind that the "poor old lady" in question wanted to eat them and the only act of violence from the siblings was in self defense.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** Why is the stepmother dead by the time Hänsel and Gretel return? That could be because she succumbed to the hunger after all, despite sending the children away to save food for herself. Or because the father had a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment and killed her (which would fit nicely with the generally dark atmosphere of the story). Another interpretation is that she actually was the Witch all along.
** Why does the witch feed Gretel with scraps and force her to work like a slave? She clearly intends to eat the girl rather than keep her as a servant, so it's strange she doesn't try to fatten her like Hansel. Her decision can be explained by sheer sadism, but with all the trouble she goes through to catch the children, building and maintaining a candy house and everything (and considering she lives deep in the woods in the middle of nowhere, people hardly stumble upon her house very frequently), one would expect her to want them to be as fat as possible. Does she maybe plan to enslave Gretel in the beginning only to [[HairTriggerTemper get annoyed by her behavior later]] and decide to eat her on the spur of the moment?

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Why is the stepmother dead by the time Hänsel and Gretel return? That could be because she succumbed to the hunger after all, despite sending the children away to save food for herself. Or because the father had a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment and killed her (which would fit nicely with the generally dark atmosphere of the story). Another interpretation is that she actually was the Witch all along.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Humperdinck's opera.

** In the Humperdinck's opera, when the kids were calling out, voices seem to answer back.
-->'''Hansel:''' ''WHO'S THEREEEEE??''\\
'''Echo:''' You there! There!\\\
'''Gretel:''' Is someone there?\\
'''Echo:''' Where? Here!

* ValuesDissonance: In Humperdinck's opera, the mother's threats of corporal punishment toward Hansel and Gretel, and the father's threatening her with a broomstick when he learns that she sent the children into the dangerous woods. Modern English-language productions usually keep the former (it's a plot point that while chasing the children to spank them, the mother knocks over the jug of milk and leaves the family with nothing for dinner), but leave out the latter unless it's a DarkerAndEdgier production.

** In the stop-motion ''Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy'', the siblings hear an ominous chorus ("Children, children, are you not afraid?"), then they see something moving through the trees, then they see glimmering eyes on a tree (really a birch tree), a willow stump grinning at them, a WillOTheWisp (Gretel thought [[HopeSpot someone was carrying a lantern who could help them]]), and then Gretel sees ghosts ("shadowy women") coming towards them.

** In the Humperdinck's opera, when the kids were calling out, voices answer back.

** In the stop-motion ''Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy'', the siblings hear an ominous chorus ("Children, children, are you not afraid?"), then they see something moving through the trees, then they see glimmering eyes on a tree (really a birch tree), a willow stump grinning at them, a WillOTheWisp (Gretel hoped it was a real lantern and real people who can help them), and then Gretel sees ghosts ("shadowy women") coming towards them.

* {{Woolseyism}}: In some localised versions of the tale, (Specifically those in Eastern Europe) the witch is sometimes made to be BabaYaga.

* ValuesDissonance: In Humperdinck's opera, the mother's threats of corporal punishment toward Hansel and Gretel, and the father's threatening her with a broomstick when he learns that she sent the children into the dangerous woods. Modern English-language productions usually keep the former (it's a plot point that while chasing the children to spank them, the mother knocks over the jug of milk and leaves the family with nothing for dinner), but leaves out the latter unless it's a DarkerAndEdgier production.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Why is the stepmother dead by the time Hänsel and Gretel return? That could be because she succumbed to the hunger after all, despite sending the children away to save food for herself. Or because the father had a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment and killed her (which would fit nicely with the generally dark atmosphere of the story).

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Why is the stepmother dead by the time Hänsel and Gretel return? That could be because she succumbed to the hunger after all, despite sending the children away to save food for herself. Or because the father had a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment and killed her (which would fit nicely with the generally dark atmosphere of the story).

* FridgeBrilliance: Why is the stepmother dead by the time Hänsel and Gretel return? That could be because she succumbed to the hunger after all, despite sending the children away to save food for herself. Or because the father had a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment and killed her (which would fit nicely with the generally dark atmosphere of the story).

* ParentsAsPeople: Mother in the Humperdinck opera and the ''Cannon Movie Tales'' version based upon it. When she finds the children horsing around and the milk she was relying on is lost, she starts screaming at them in frustration, says some terrible things, and drives them out into the forest. However, her desperation, fear, and exasperation are understood by the viewer and she remains a sympathetic character. Her horror is palpable when she realizes they are now in danger, and the reunion at the end is a happy one usually void of any reference to her first scene.