Grim Tales
Encyclopedia
Grim Tales is animated a British television program based on fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm
, featuring Rik Mayall
as the storyteller dressed in his pyjamas and dressing gown. The twenty-two episodes were broadcast on MTV
from 1989 to 1991,The series is rated TV-14 the released on video and audio cassette, with the slightly different title Grimm Tales.
The stories were adapted by Anne Caulfield and Anthony Horowitz
.
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
, featuring Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
as the storyteller dressed in his pyjamas and dressing gown. The twenty-two episodes were broadcast on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
from 1989 to 1991,The series is rated TV-14 the released on video and audio cassette, with the slightly different title Grimm Tales.
Synopsis
Rik tells the tales in his own inimitable way from his armchair, designed by David Barrington Holt, complete with paws and ostrich legs. The set was designed by building designer Julian Cripps. The Stories are almost all interspersed with animation, often fairly abstract, and are directed by Bob Baldwin, with music by composed by Ged Haney & arranged by Clive Bell.The stories were adapted by Anne Caulfield and Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's...
.
Series 1
- The Three Feathers (First Broadcast 14 April 1989) Animation by Emma Calder and Ged Haney Pearly Oyster Productions
- The Spirit in the BottleThe Spirit in the BottleThe Spirit in the Bottle is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 99. It is Aarne-Thompson type 331.-Synopsis:Once upon a time, there was an old woodcutter and his young son. The woodcutter always wanted his son to go to school and become a doctor, but his son did not...
(First Broadcast 21 April 1989) Animation by Jonathan Hodgson - The Hare and the Hedgehog (First Broadcast 28 April 1989) Animation by Mike Bennion & Keith Rogerson
- The Valiant Little TailorThe Valiant Little TailorThe Valiant Little Tailor or The Brave Little Tailor is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 20. Joseph Jacobs collected another variant A Dozen at One Blow in European Folk and Fairy Tales. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book...
(First Broadcast 5 May 1989) - RapunzelRapunzel"Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698...
(First Broadcast 12 May 1989) Animation by Gill Bradley - The Fisherman and His WifeThe Fisherman and His WifeThe Fisherman and His Wife is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale no. 19. It is Aarne-Thompson type 555, the fisherman and his wife. Its theme was used in The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish, a 1835 poem by Aleksandr Pushkin. Mrs Ramsey reads the story to James, her son in...
(First Broadcast 19 May 1989) Animation by Andy Staveley 3 Peach Animation - The Three Little Men in the WoodThe Three Little Men in the WoodThe Three Little Men in the Wood or The Three Dwarfs is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 13. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book, and a version of the tale appears in A Book of Dwarfs by Ruth Manning-Sanders.It is Aarne-Thompson type 403B, the black and the...
(First Broadcast 26 May 1989) - Hansel and GretelHansel and Gretel"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
(First Broadcast 2 June 1989) Animation by Mole Hill & Julian Roberts - RumpelstiltskinRumpelstiltskinRumpelstiltskin is the eponymous character and protagonist of a fairy tale which originated in Germany . The tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm, who first published it in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales...
(First Broadcast 9 June 1989) Animation by Faulty Optics Theatre of Animation- A miller boasts to a King that his daughter can spin straw into gold. The King promptly locks the daughter in a room full of straw, demanding she spin it all into gold or she'll lose her head. She bursts into tears, then a little green man appears saying he can spin it into gold in exchange for her necklace. He succeeds, but the King simply locks her in a bigger room, demanding the same. The little man appears again and spins the straw in exchange for the girl's ring. The King then repeats the deal with a still larger room, though this time if she succeeds he'll make her his wife. The little man reappears but the daughter has nothing left to give him. He then says he'll spin the straw in exchange for her next child, the daughter agrees, the straw is spun and she becomes Queen. Unfortunately, she has a daughter and the little green man appears demanding payment, she begs him not to, he compromises saying she can keep the baby if she guesses his name in three days. She tries dozens of wrong names-much to the little man's amusement. On the thiird day a soldier tells her she's seen a little green man dancing and singing a silly song about his name-Rumpelstiltskin. She gets the name right, the little man is so furious he stamps his foot so hard he can't get it off and pulls it off! She names the baby Phewww!
- Rik Mayell added a personal touch to this story by mentioning the names of his children in the list of the daughters guesses.
- The Twelve HuntsmenThe Twelve HuntsmenThe Twelve Huntsmen is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm as tale number 67 in their Grimm's Fairy Tales. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson type 884, the forsaken fiancée...
(First Broadcast 16 June 1989) Animation by Mike Smith & Susan Young - Sweet PorridgeSweet PorridgeSweet Porridge, often known in English under the title of The Magic Porridge Pot, is a folkloric German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm, as tale number 103 in Grimm's Fairy Tales, in the 19th century. It is Aarne-Thompson type 565, the magic mill...
(First Broadcast 23 June 1989) Animation by David Lodge Snapper - The Three DoctorsThe Three DoctorsThe Three Doctors is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 December 1972 to 20 January 1973. The serial opened the tenth anniversary year of the series.-Synopsis:...
(First Broadcast 30 June 1989) Animation by Joan Ashworth, 3 Peach Animation- Three boastful Doctors stay at an inn, the innkeeper demands proof that they really are the cleverest Doctors in the world. They promptly cut off their own hand(doctor 1), heart(doctor 2) and eyes(doctor 3) , keeping them in a fridge, planning to use a special ointment (given to them by a witch) to reattach them the next day. Unfortunately, the innkeeper's cat eats the organs. They are replaced by a thieve's hand, pig's heart and the cat's eyes. After leaving the inn, one doctor finds himself pickpocketing, another wants to grunt and roll in mud, the third wants to eat mice and miaow. They all learn a bit of humility!
Series 2
- The Bremen Town Musicians (First Broadcast 13 January 1991)
- The Witch Among Thorns (First Broadcast 20 January 1991) Animation by Jayne Bevitt & Hannah Strange
- The Griffin (First Broadcast 27 January 1991) Animation by Jonathan Bairstow & Peter Richardson
- The Frog PrinceThe Frog PrinceThe Frog Prince can refer to the following titles:*The Frog Prince ,*"The Frog Prince" , a song by English band Keane*The Frog Prince , the soundtrack album of a British film released in 1984, featuring Enya...
(First Broadcast 3 February 1991) - The Boots of Buffalo LeatherThe Boots of Buffalo LeatherThe Boots of Buffalo Leather is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 198.It is Aarne-Thompson type 952, The King and the Soldier.-Synopsis:...
(First Broadcast 10 February 1991) - The GnomeThe Gnome"The Gnome" is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. It was written by the band's first leader, Syd Barrett. "The Gnome" is the 8th song on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.-Information:...
(First Broadcast 17 February 1991) Animation by Tobias Fouracre - King ThrushbeardKing ThrushbeardKing Thrushbeard is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 52.It is Aarne-Thompson type 900.-Synopsis:A beautiful, but spoiled, rude, and shallow princess criticizes all her suitors because she is too proud. She is impressed with the last of her suitors, but her pride will not...
(First Broadcast 24 February 1991) - The Turnip (First Broadcast 3 March 1991) Animation by Mike Walker
- The Little PeasantThe Little PeasantThe Little Peasant is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales, number 61.It is Aarne-Thompson type 1535, The Rich Peasant and the Poor Peasant, and includes an episode of type 1737, Trading Places with the Trickster in a Sack...
(First Broadcast 10 March 1991) - The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids (First Broadcast 17 March 1991)