So You Never Want To Sleep Again? Tim Burton's Long-Lost 'Hansel and Gretel' Short Is Here To Help

By Jodi Smith | Miscellaneous | June 17, 2014 |

By Jodi Smith | Miscellaneous | June 17, 2014 |

The year was 1983. Disney and Tim Burton had not yet parted ways, nor had they rejoined to release stop-motion animation. Disney decided to allow Burton to film his own version of Hansel and Gretel, which they would air on The Disney Channel on Halloween.

Disney made a huge mistake. They never showed Burton’s film again and it was labeled as lost until someone who had taped the original airing uploaded it to YouTube. Now we can all stare slack-jawed at the, um, interesting film.

The cast is entirely Asian, with a man portraying the Evil Stepmother and the candy cane nosed evil witch. The witch looks like Powder put on a dress and got a really bad nose job from a deranged candy maker.

There are Burton Signature Style toys in the opening scenes. The Stepmother bites and slaps and verbally abuses the kids while Mr. Rogers music plays in the background. You’ve got to watch it!