The movie that made Terry Gilliam forgive Walt Disney: “I felt he took the guts out of them”
Starting out as a member of Monty Python, Terry Gilliam’s career has spanned many decades, with the 1970s marking the beginning of his tenure as a director. Before this, though, he was best known for his cartoon and animation work—skills he put to good use during his time with the comedy troupe. As a result, Gilliam often took on behind-the-scenes roles within Monty Python, creating artwork and animations alongside his occasional on-screen appearances.
These production roles evidently inspired him to take on the job of directing, too. He made his debut with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which he co-directed with Terry Jones. It was a huge success, leading him to direct another film during the decade—1977’s Jabberwocky.
His directorial career picked up further momentum with movies like the fantasy drama Time Bandits, the satirical critique of capitalism, Brazil, and the Hunter S Thompson adaptation Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. While Gilliam has never swooped awards seasons, his movies have often been applauded for their blend of fantasy, comedy, and social critique, something he also executed in his 2005 movie The Brothers Grimm.
Inspired by the real Grimm brothers, who collected many classic fairytale stories that have since been reimagined and adapted for the big screen, typically by Disney, the movie fictionalised a world where the pair encounter a real curse. The main characters were played by Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, and while the movie wasn’t one of the director’s most successful, it still bore his signature style.
To prepare for the film, Gilliam naturally completed extensive research of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, academics who dedicated their lives to preserving folk tales by recording versions of traditional stories that are now widely known all across the world. However, his exploration of their writing processes made him rethink his opinion on Walt Disney, whom Gilliam had previously believed to be the one who toned down much of the violence found in the Brothers Grimm tales.
“This is one of the things I discovered when I was doing my initial research on the real Brothers Grimm. I was always blaming Walt Disney for sanitizing the Grimm’s tales. I felt he took the guts out of them, even though I loved those films and think they are some of the best ever,” he told Phase 9 Entertainment.
Gilliam continued: “But I was reading that the first edition of Rapunzel had not only the witch climbing up to see Rapunzel but so had a Prince. In the original version, Rapunzel starts complaining of her clothes not fitting across her belly and you realize that she was pregnant. In the second edition, the Grimm Brothers censored themselves and make it more accessible to a middle class audience. So now I forgive Walt Disney.”
Walt Disney Studios has adapted many Grimm tales into short or feature films over the years, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Cinderella, Tangled, and The Princess and the Frog. While Disney had to make many of these tales considerably more family-friendly, it seems as though the Brothers Grimm also edited their versions, too.
