'The Three Feathers' may not be one of my favourite Brothers Grimm stories of all, but it's still a charming story written in their unmistakable style. With nicely written characters and probing thought. It is not an oft-adapted story, so it was interesting to see what the German animated series 'Simsala Grimm' would do with it, faithful or not.
A large part of me found myself quite liking 'Simsala Grimm'. Although they are seldom one hundred percent faithful adaptations (which was to be expected, always try to give anything credit that tries hard in making the Brothers Grimm's work accessible to younger viewers which is not easy to do for some stories), it was nonetheless still very intriguing to see how it would adapt and put its own spin (which it generally does somewhat better in) on their, and other authors', stories. Personally think the earlier episodes are better in quality, and although 'Simsala Grimm' seldom misfired, 'Beauty and the Beast' and especially 'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp' being the only big disappointments, few of the later episodes were my definition of "great" and more than once made the mistakes that the earlier episodes generally did not make (derivative character animation, padding, corny dialogue, Doc Croc and Yoyo not always feeling necessary).
One of the above average if not great episodes of 'Simsala Grimm' is 'The Three Feathers'. It does nicely in adapting the story, with the basic details basically intact.
Not all the problems that some of the previous later episodes had are solved here. The character designs do lack finesse at times and could have been more varied and individual.
Corny writing is fleeting but again 'The Three Feathers' is not devoid of it, and although there is less filler than in other late episodes the pace could have done with a tightening up in places.
However, regardless of whether one feels their presence is necessary or not, oc Croc and Yoyo do serve a point here and they play helpful roles, not feeling like wasted filler generally, though one can question whether they are entirely needed within the context of the story. Both are also likeable characters. Hard to tell who's my favourite between resourceful Doc Croc and adorable Yoyo. The original characters are handled well, the Simpleton is not bland or annoying and manages to be likeable. Meanwhile, the brothers avoid being too cartoonish.
Enough of the traditional animation is pleasing, the finesse is not always there or the imagination, but there are some lovely and never flat colours and it's nicely detailed. The music fits well (likewise with the never hammy or bland voice acting) and the main theme is catchy. Have always really liked the once upon a time approach to the intro. The storytelling is charming and is easy to follow without being too simple and there is nothing really that insults the intelligence. The voice acting suits the characters well and is involved without being too over-eager.
Summarising, decent animated adapting of the 'The Three Feathers' but not one that blows the mind, while being successful when taken for what it is. 7/10