I’m pretty sure that when I heard the story of Rapunzel as a kid, it didn’t feature a scene where Rapunzel used her magic hair to lay the smackdown on an intruder. Or a heroine who takes advice from a small green chameleon. Or a talking horse.

But Tangled (showing Sun 2 Oct at 20:05 on M-Net and M-Net HD), has all these things and more. Surprisingly enough, the story is richer for the embellishment, but were these other twisted takes on fairytales equally successful?

Beastly
This modern reworking of Beauty and the Beast features Alex Pettyfer as a handsome, wealthy New York teen who is cursed with permanent Goth makeup and a buzzcut. He’s ultimately redeemed by falling in love with Vanessa Hudgens.


What works: New York setting is cool; Vanessa Hudgens is sweet; Neil Patrick Harris is in it.

What doesn’t: Pettyfer isn’t very good at playing “tortured and brooding”; one of the Olsen twins as the witch who conjures the curse.


Shrek
A postmodern fairytale mashup as Shrek the ogre journeys to the kingdom of Far Far Away, a world inhabited exclusively by fairytale characters.


What works: Shrek
What doesn’t: Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After, Shrek the Halls, Scared Shrekless, etc, etc.


Red Riding Hood
A hyperstylised take on the werewolf genre featuring who wears a red coat and a village terrorized by a powerful wolf.


What works: Amanda Seyfried’s eyes, Catherine Hardwicke’s stylish camera work, Gary Oldman’s terrific over-acting.

What doesn’t: The plot is fairly confused, bearing hardly any resemblance to the actual story of Red Riding Hood. Also, Shiloh Fernandez is terminally dull as Seyfried’s love interest Peter.


The Brothers Grimm
Another mashup, as Terry Gilliam offers his typically idiosyncratic take on the world of fairytales.


What works: Great cast in the form of Matt Damon, Heath Ledger and Lena Heady. Typically ambitious vision from Gilliam. Also, Matt Damon reportedly wanted his character to sport a huge, hooked prosthetic nose, which would have been awesome.

What doesn’t: Typically underwhelming realization of an ambitious vision from Gilliam.


Snow White and the Huntsman
Upcoming Snow White adaptation featuring Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart as Snow White.



What works: Judging from what we know, I’d go with Chris Hemsworth’s axe and Stewart’s badass suite of armour.

What doesn’t: Chris Hemsworth is no Robert Pattinson (kidding).