History Creator / TheBrothersGrimm

An anime series, ''Gurimu Meisaku Gekijou'' (retitled ''Shin Gurimu Meisaku Gekijou'' in its second season and shown on Western television under various titles such as "Grimms' Fairy Tale Classics") was produced in 1987-1988. Not all were actually found in the Grimms' collections.

Standards of child-friendliness have shifted in the past 200 years; [[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm047.html some]] of the Grimms' stories are now considered [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath shockingly violent]] -- and at least one of them, [[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm110.html "The Jew in the Thorns"]], notoriously [[ValuesDissonance religiously insensitive]]. ([[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/antisemitic.html Similar stories]] appear in the Grimms' other, more adult, story collection, ''Deutsche Sagen'' (''German Legends'')). The... well, ''[[IncrediblyLamePun grim]]''... nature of many of the original stories have made the Grimm Brothers the TropeNamer for {{Grimmification}}. It should be noted, however, that some of the tales included by the Grimms were not intended for children in the first place -- hence the distinction made in the name of their popular collection.

''Jacob Ludwig Carl'' and ''Wilhelm Carl Grimm'', known collectively as '''The Brothers Grimm''', were German linguists born in the late 18th century, who, in an effort to preserve Germany's heritage and promote cultural unity in a period of [[AllTheLittleGermanies political disunity]], collected a vast array of folk tales from their fellow Germans (mostly middle-and upper-class friends). The brothers eventually published these stories in the famous collection which they called ''Kinder- und Hausmärchen'' (''Children's and Household Tales''), but which is generally better known among English-speakers as ''Grimms' Fairy Tales''.

* "Literature/{{Bearskin}}"

* "Literature/TheGoldenGoose"
* "Literature/TheGooseGirl"

* "Literature/IronHans"

* "Literature/TheSevenRavens"

* "Literature/TheThreeLittleMenInTheWoods"

Although the original intent of the collection was to preserve the stories exactly as told, the Grimms gave in more and more in each new edition to the temptation to make various "improving" alterations. The scholarly Jacob sought to establish more Germanic forms of the stories by replacing foreign words such as "''Prinz''" and ''Prinzessin'' with Teutonic terms such "''Königssohn''" and ''Königstochter'', replacing [[TheFairFolk fays]] with enchantresses and wise women and by supplying missing plot-elements from historic sources; the more creative-minded Wilhelm tried to make the stories more acceptable to a popular audience (presumably including children), by selectively [[{{bowdlerise}} Bowdlerizing]] the tales published, notably removing evil mothers and replacing them with step-mothers (as in the case of "Literature/SnowWhite"), by removing implications of sex and pregnancy (as in "Literature/{{Rapunzel}}"), and by re-writing the stories in a more literary style. (Though they notably did not tone down the violence, even for the children.)

Although best known today for their fairy tales and mythological studies (such as the monumental ''Deutsche Mythologie'' (''Germanic Mythology''), they were also pioneers in linguistics (Jacob in particular is remembered for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm%27s_law Grimm's Law of Consonantal Shift]]), wrote the first bit of the German dictionary, and were two out of the "Göttingen Seven," the prominent liberal professors at Gōttingen University whose dismissal by the autocratic English King of Hanover caused a major stir in 1830s Germany.

Although many of the Grimms' fairy tales now languish in obscurity, a significant chunk of these stories remain in the popular consciousness. Some of the better known include:

[[caption-width-right:283:[[OnceUponATime „Es war einmal”]]]]

Although the original intent of the collection was to preserve the stories exactly as told, the Grimms gave in more and more in each new edition to the temptation to make various "improving" alterations. The scholarly Jacob sought to establish more Germanic forms of the stories by replacing foreign words such as „''Prinz''” and ''Prinzessin'' with Teutonic terms such „''Königssohn''” and ''Königstochter'', replacing [[TheFairFolk fays]] with enchantresses and wise women and by supplying missing plot-elements from historic sources; the more creative-minded Wilhelm tried to make the stories more acceptable to a popular audience (presumably including children), by selectively [[{{bowdlerise}} Bowdlerizing]] the tales published, notably removing evil mothers and replacing them with step-mothers (as in the case of "Literature/SnowWhite"), by removing implications of sex and pregnancy (as in "Literature/{{Rapunzel}}"), and by re-writing the stories in a more literary style. (Though they notably did not tone down the violence, even for the children.)

Standards of child-friendliness have shifted in the past 200 years; [[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm047.html some]] of the Grimms' stories are now considered [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath shockingly violent]] -- and at least one of them, [[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm110.html "The Jew in the Thorns"]], notoriously [[ValuesDissonance religiously insensitive]]. ([[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/antisemitic.html Similar stories]] appear in the Grimms' other, more adult, story collection, ''Deutsche Sagen'' (''German Legends'')). The...well, ''[[IncrediblyLamePun grim]]''... nature of many of the original stories have made the Grimm Brothers the TropeNamer for {{Grimmification}}. It should be noted, however, that some of the tales included by the Grimms were not intended for children in the first place -- hence the distinction made in the name of their popular collection.

Although the Grimms' collection does contain a version of ""Literature/{{Cinderella}}" ("Aschenputtel"), the better known version is based on an earlier story by Creator/CharlesPerrault. "Literature/SleepingBeauty" and "Literature/LittleRedRidingHood" also appeared first in Perrault, but the Grimms' versions ("Dornröschen" and "Rotkäppchen") are better known. And despite popular belief, "Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast" has nothing to do with them at all.

* "Literature/SnowWhite" (''Schneewittchen'')

Although the Grimms' collection does contain a version of ""Literature/{{Cinderella}}" ("Aschenputtel"), the better known version is based on an earlier story by Creator/CharlesPerrault. "Literature/SleepingBeauty" was also written by Perrault, but the Grimms' version ("Dornröschen") is better known. And despite popular belief, "Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast" has nothing to do with them at all.

[[caption-width-right:283:[[OnceUponATime „Es war einmal”]] ]]

* Youkai: Nine-tailed foxes? Wonder where they got that idea...

''Jacob Ludwig Carl'' and ''Wilhelm Carl Grimm'', known collectively as '''The Brothers Grimm''', were German linguists born in the late 18th century, who, in an effort to preserve Germany's heritage and promote cultural unity in a period of [[AllTheLittleGermanies political disunity]], collected a vast array of folk tales from their fellow Germans (mostly middle-and upper-class friends). The brothers eventually published these stories in the famous collection which they called ''Kinder- und Hausmärchen'' (''Children's and Household Tales''), but which is generally better known among English-speakers as ''Grimms' Fairy Tales''.

Standards of child-friendliness have shifted in the past 200 years; [[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm047.html some]] of the Grimms' stories are now considered [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath shockingly violent]] -- and at least one of them, [[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm110.html "The Jew in the Thorns"]], notoriously [[ValuesDissonance religiously insensitive]]. ([[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/antisemitic.html Similar stories]] appear in the Grimms' other, more adult, story collection, ''Deutsche Sagen'' (''German Legends'')). The...well, ''[[IncrediblyLamePun grim]]''... nature of many of the original stories have made the Grimm Brothers the TropeNamer for {{Grimmification}}. It should be noted, however, that some of the tales included by the Grimms were not intended for children in the first place -- hence the distinction made in the name of their popular collection.

The Grimms were the subject of a [[HollywoodHistory highly fantasticated]] {{Musical}} {{Biopic}} in 1962, called ''The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm'', with Karlheinz Böhm as Jacob and Laurence Harvey as Wilhelm; the film won 1 [[AcademyAward Oscar]] (Costume Design) and was nominated for 3 more. In 1998, the brothers, played by Andy Henderson and Joerg Stadler, made an appearance in ''[[Film/EverAfter Ever After: A Cinderella Story]]'' (despite the film being a riff more on the Perrault than on the Grimm version of ""Literature/{{Cinderella}}"). In 2005, TerryGilliam made ''Film/TheBrothersGrimm'', a [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids decidedly unsettling reinterpretation]]; Heath Ledger and Matt Damon were the brethren in this outing. The Grimms in the form of Allen Smith and Millen Baird were deconstructed in the 2006 film ''Big Bad Wolves''.

* [=~Balancing Death's Books~=]

* [=~Dude, Where's My Respect?~=]

* LongNeck: One of the servants in "The Six Servants" has this characteristic.

* YoungestChildWins

Although the Grimms' collection does contain a version of ""Literature/{{Cinderella}}" ("Aschenputtel"), the better known version is based on an earlier story by CharlesPerrault. "SleepingBeauty" was also written by Perrault, but the Grimms' version is better known. And despite popular belief, "BeautyAndTheBeast" has nothing to do with them at all.