Universal Studios has made a movie which re-imagines Snow White as a warrior woman. Strangely, the main character of the film seems to be the Huntsman, which makes me skeptical to the “empowerment” of Snow White that the trailer promises. I have a bad feeling that the movie will ultimately make the Huntsman the hero and Snow White will just be pretty. However, “See first, judge after” I always say. Here’s the trailer:
The Blogger “Fangs for the fantasy” takes on the evolution of Snow White in a pretty good article here.
My question, why is every modernization and re-telling of fairy tales focuses on Snow White, Cinderrella or another princess? Naturally its good to critique the old saga of a distressed damsel whose only goal is to get married, but instead of constantly high-lighting the distressed damsels and attempting to make them badass warriors, perhaps bringing one of the first fierce heroines to the modern screen would be more interesting? Gretel, from the saga “Hansel and Gretel”, is to my knowledge one of the few females who save the day in ancient western story telling. She’s portrayed as smart, caring and strong. She’s also not royalty, which makes her an empowering female character that can appeal to everyone – she’s the “everywoman”! I would love to see a film titled “Gretel” make its way to the movie screen. It would be great to see a film that acknowledges that strong female characters have existed in literature for a long time. And instead of making the helpless Snow White more of an icon of our culture, maybe we should start seeing Gretel as the new icon for our cultural heritage?
Update: A commenter just pointed out that there is a upcoming film where Gretel as well as Hansel are re-imagined as fierce warriors! The film is titled “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” and it’s premiere is in 2013. Here’s the films IMDb page. I’m hyped now! Is anyone else hyped as well?
Ruby Soup with Pearl Juice 
Hi there.
In 2013 there is a film coming out entitled Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters which takes place 15 years after the traditional fairy tale story and follows the sibling pair after they have become bounty hunters who track and kill witches across the world. The cast has Jeremy Renner as Hansel and Gemma Arterton as Gretel. It is a darker telling that the traditional fairy tales in the same vein as Snow White and the Huntsman so you may get your wish! As of yet there is no trailer though.
Oh, Hey cool! Yes, I think I just did! Thank you telling me! I’ll do an update on my post then 🙂 Well, have something to look forward to now! 🙂 🙂
yeah but Gretel doesn’t need to be an icon. She can manage it without.
Hm… Yes you have a good point. She definitely can. I meant that she should be a more recognized character. I.e. get more love as a character 🙂 since Gretel’s personality is more admirable.