Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)

Hansel & Gretel are bounty hunters who track and kill witches all over the world. As the fabled Blood Moon approaches, the siblings encounter a new form of evil that might hold a secret to their past.

Director:

Tommy Wirkola

Writer:

Tommy Wirkola

Stars:

Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Renner	...	Hansel
Gemma Arterton	...	Gretel
Famke Janssen	...	Muriel
Pihla Viitala	...	Mina
Derek Mears	...	Edward
Robin Atkin Downes	...	Edward (voice)
Ingrid Bolsø Berdal	...	Horned Witch
Joanna Kulig	...	Red Haired Witch
Thomas Mann	...	Ben
Peter Stormare	...	Sheriff Berringer
Bjørn Sundquist	...	Jackson
Rainer Bock	...	Mayor Engleman
Thomas Scharff	...	Father
Kathrin Kühnel	...	Adrianna
Cedric Eich	...	Young Hansel

Storyline

The siblings Hansel and Gretel are left alone in the woods by their father and captured by a dark witch in a candy house. However they kill the witch and escape from the spot. Years later, the orphans have become famous witch hunters. When eleven children go missing in a small village, the Major summons Hansel and Gretel to rescue them, and they save the red haired Mina from the local sheriff that wants to burn her accusing Mina of witchcraft. Soon they discover that the Blood Moon will approach in three days and the powerful dark witch Muriel is the responsible for the abduction of children. She intends to use the children together with a secret ingredient in a Sabbath to make the coven of witches protected against the fire. Meanwhile Hansel and Gretel disclose secrets about their parents.

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Plot Keywords:

witch | hansel and gretel | bounty hunter | sheriff | witch hunter | 

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Taglines:

Revenge is sweeter than candy.

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong fantasy horror violence and gore, brief sexuality/nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hansel y Gretel: Cazadores de brujas

Filming Locations:

Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$19,690,956 (USA) (25 January 2013)

Gross:

$55,682,070 (USA) (19 April 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Gary Sanchez Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 98 min (Unrated Cut)

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview with Famke Janssen at Cannes 2011, she stated that she took her role as the head witch because she had to pay off her mortgage. Janssen has stated multiple times that since 2007, she was prepping her writing/directorial debut "Bringing up Bobby", where funding and distribution had gone through hard times, partly due to the 2008 economic crisis. She also had not done much acting in that period of time.

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Goofs

When Hansel and Gretel are in front of the candy house, he eats colorful candy and she eats the white icicle. However when they go inside both of their mouths are colored.

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Quotes

[from trailer]
Hansel: Some people will say that not all witches are evil, that their powers could be used for good. I say burn them all!

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Connections

Referenced in Conversations with Hollywood: Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Merrie England (D)"
Written by Robert (Bob) John Foster
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

A Great Entertainment

The siblings Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) are left alone in the woods by their father and captured by a dark witch in a candy house. However they kill the witch and escape from the spot. Years later, the orphans have become famous witch hunters.

When eleven children go missing in a small village, the Major summons Hansel and Gretel to rescue them, and they save the red haired Mina (Pihla Viitala) from the local sheriff that wants to burn her accusing Mina of witchcraft. Soon they discover that the Blood Moon will approach in three days and the powerful dark witch Muriel (Famke Janssen) is the responsible for the abduction of children. She intends to use the children together with a secret ingredient in a Sabbath to make the coven of witches protected against the fire. Meanwhile Hansel and Gretel disclose secrets about their parents.

"Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" is a great entertainment for ordinary viewers like me that like the genre of fantasy but based on the Metacritic Rating, it is not recommended to intellectuals. The story is very funny and the special effects and make-up are top notch. Gemma Arterton is one of the sexiest actresses and it is good to see her again. If the viewer likes this genre, he or she will certainly enjoy "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters". I do not understand why people that like art movies spend their time watching this type of movie and writing bad reviews. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "João e Maria: Caçadores de Bruxas" ("John and Mary: Witch Hunters")