There is a lot to like about the 'Faerie Tale Theatre' series. Many of their adaptations of various well-known and well-loved fairy tales are charming, clever and sometimes funny, a few even emotionally moving. 'Faerie Tale Theatre' puts its own magical spin on the best of the episodes while still capturing the essence of the stories, while also giving further enjoyments in seeing talented performers in early roles or in roles that are departures from their usual roles.
Up to this point of the series, so between "The Tale of the Frog Prince" that started it all off and this, my personal favourites are "Rumpelstiltskin", "Little Red Riding Hood" and particularly "Hansel and Gretel", with my least favourite being the still good (if understandably divisive) "The Nightingale", also though while entertaining "Jack and the Beanstalk" was patchy. Of the nine episodes up to "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", there hasn't been a misfire of the lot.
"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is one of the world's most famous stories and it is very easy to see the appeal. 'Faerie Tale Theatre's' adaptation of it is a very worthy attempt that mostly works very well. Wasn't expecting it to, as justifiably famous as the story is it is also a very slight and short story that doesn't have enough material to fill an episode of just under an hour. Was expecting a lot of padding that added padding, but no. "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" has its tongue firmly in cheek, which suits the story well, and is one of the funniest of the whole series, if not quite one of the gems. It also expands on the original story, and luckily the additions are interesting with good values and you get to know the characters more, which was appreciated.
It is a good-looking episode (if not as lush as "Sleeping Beauty" and "Hansel and Gretel"), with picturesque scenery and sets and photography and lighting that complements it well. Was expecting the bear costumes to be on the side, 'Faerie Tale Theatre' actually tend to do remarkably well with its low-budget but costumes and make-up are not always a strong suit. They were above decent here. The music score is a good fit, fitting well with the tongue in cheek nature of the writing.
Loved the writing, with some of the dialogue being hilarious and nothing being less than amusing when called for it. The parts of the story that everybody knows are told in a straightforward but also fun manner, while the story and development of the bears bring some depth as they learn a lesson in how they are perceived by humans, though perhaps it ended a little too contrived-ly and conveniently. Goldilocks herself is also even more flawed a character as she is in the original story, but in a way that does make her less likable. "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" did a very good job with its message about honesty, which children and adults will appreciate, it could have been done heavy-handedly but wasn't.
Performances are mostly good, with a suitably gruff Hoyt Axton and Carole King and John Lithgow come very close to stealing the show. Tatum O'Neal carries the adaptation surprisingly well as Goldilocks, while Brandis Kemp is the standout as the mother bear. Donovan Scott's baby bear is pretty adorable but the father bear of Alex Karras was to me a little ill at ease.
In conclusion, one of the series' funniest if not quite one of the gems. 8/10 Bethany Cox