Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Stormare, Lena Headey, Monica Bellucci

"I don't know how you like it, Grandmother Toad; I'll just... try to be gentle".

Review by Larry Stanley

Directed by Terry Gilliam, the only American member of Monty Python combines several genres of film to bring us the dark fantasy fictional story of German Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, who created dozens of fairy tales and nursery stories for children in the early 19th Century.
This story however is not a Disneyfied version of how these stories came to be; instead it tells of how the brothers bilked superstitious and innocent villagers into parting with their money by using their own imaginary ghosts and demons against them.
Using hand made armor, shouting fake incantations, sleight of hand and hidden assistants, they fool the people for quite a while.
Smart boys, until the come face to face with a French General Delatombe and are left to the mercy of Cavaldi his evil Italian inquisitor who gets a lot of pleasure out of torture.
Sent to a small town where several little girls have all gone missing and rumors abound of demons and a haunted forest, the brothers have no idea what is going on. But at their first encounter with the magical goings on, they are certain that whoever is behind this scam has a lot more talent then they do. It is only after they discover a crumbling tower deep in the dark woods that they begin to believe there is something more going on then a standard con.
With the help of Angelica, a female trapper who lost two sisters to the forest, they battle the forces of evil to save the village and create the origins of Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel And Gretel and many of our other childhood bed time stories.
What so many people are not aware of, the original stories that Disney and so many other outfits incorporated over the years are not the way the original stories ran. The originals were bloody, gory, scary and often filled with sexual overtones that were blatant and were not for children.
In some ways, that is what Terry Gilliam has tried to show in this story. Borrowing heavily from his earlier work and the work of others, he has created a world of fantasy based on real historic events.
His costumes and set design take the viewer back to a time when Napoleon was at his peak and the world worried about coming under total French control. Sort of makes you wonder what happened to them, huh?
Brothers Grimm demonstrates Gilliam's talent and vision in creative and intriguing ways while still delivering a solid story with humor, adventure and special effects that will keep the viewer watching.
Yes, it did have a few problems, tending to slow down a bit here and there. Plus, I thought the varied attempts at introducing the bases for the future fairy tales seemed a bit forced at times but that takes little from the film.
No, this is not really the Brothers Grimm we grew up with; but Terry Gilliam and crew did a fantastic job by bringing us this dark bedtime story.
This is a beautiful, dark film filled with humor and crisp story telling from a master. While it might not be right for younger children, teens and adults should enjoy it with little trouble and no nightmares.
But don't go around licking frogs.