Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics

Did You Know?

• The opening theme in Japan was 'The Rainbow Bridge', performed by Ushio Hashimoto.
• Incidental music for the English dub was composed by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy.
• Most of the English dub's incidental music was recycled from the earlier VHS series My Favorite Fairy Tales.

Premise

The series adapts several well-known fairy tales, sometimes taking liberties with the original stories. It also includes many obscure tales, though some were removed from later reissues because they originated outside Germany, such as Puss in Boots, Bluebeard, and Beauty and the Beast. The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes is based on a variation reported in the Brothers Grimm's notes. Most tales are presented in one episode, while some from the first season span two or four episodes. A green-haired female pixie serves as a framing device, announcing titles without interacting with the plot. The first series, Grimm Masterpiece Theater, aired from October 21, 1987, to March 30, 1988, totaling 24 episodes. The second series, New Grimm Masterpiece Theater, aired from October 2, 1988, to March 26, 1989, totaling 23 episodes. Both were produced by Nippon Animation with Asahi Broadcasting Corporation in Osaka. The anthology broadcast in the United States on Nickelodeon and in local stations across Europe, Latin America, the Philippines, Israel, the Arab world, New Zealand, and Australia.

Releases

The English dub of this anime series saw a limited VHS release in NTSC format, handled by Saban International. Starmaker Entertainment Inc. and Hi-Tops Video/Fisher-Price distributed these tapes in 1990, followed by Video Treasures/HGV Video Productions in 1992. The volumes featured episodes like Beauty and the Beast, Hansel & Gretel, Snow White, Cinderella, and Rumpelstiltskin. A single Region 2 DVD, "Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics - Volume One," came out in 2004 through Fox Kids and Maximum Entertainment, containing Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, The Golden Goose, Snow White And Rose Red, and Beauty and the Beast. Promotional DVDs from the British Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror newspapers included episodes such as Snow White, Bluebeard, The Frog Prince, Rapunzel, and others. The original Japanese version was issued as a 5-disc Region 2 DVD set with ten episodes. For many years, no English dub episodes appeared on Region 1 DVD, despite a sizable cult following. The Walt Disney Company acquired the English dub rights when it bought Fox Family Worldwide in 2001, but those rights later reverted to Nippon Animation in July 2005 for the first series and March 2006 for the second.