Customer Reviews

From the Brothers Grimm: Willa: An American Snow White

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This is no mass-produced cartoon, but a lovingly crafted version of the classic tale. Tom Davenport knows his folklore, and translates the fairy-tale ideas well to a 20th century setting.

Set in about 1920, we have innocent young Willa at the hands of her stepmother, a once-famous stage actress. But the stepmother grows jealous of Willa's beauty and talent, and as she descends into insanity, demands Willa's death. Willa escapes and instead of joining up with a group of dwarves, meets a traveling medicine show, and later meets Prince Charming in the form of a would-be filmmaker. But the stepmother begins to suspect....

The film has its limitations; any low-budget independent project will. But the settings (filmed in rural Virginia) are lovely, and the cast (made up largely of Shakespearean performers from Washington DC) does a magnificent job.

This was the last (or one of the last) films in Davenport's series "From the Brothers Grimm," which set traditional folk and fairy tales in rural Appalachia, in settings varying from the colonial period to WWII. I've seen a few, and if they're any indicator then they're all worth watching.

This project is good for both children and adults; while sometimes dramatic and scary, it's never too tasteless for kids, and never too cutesy or cloying for adults. It's truly family entertainment.

The DVD also contains two fascinating short documentaries. BORN FOR HARD LUCK, directed by Davenport, is a portrait of Arthur "Peg Leg Sam" Jackson, a musician and former medicine-show performer. FREE SHOW TONIGHT is a zesty history of medicine shows and shows a one-time revival of an old-style medicine show in a small Southern town. All told, this is a great entertainment and educational package.

When I first saw this movie, I was 8 and my mother had checked it out from the library for me. Now 18, and in a nostalgic mood, I've rewatched this and found it just as enjoyable as I once did.
It has a lot of charm that they family can enjoy, but is still gritty enough to keep some more morbid people (like me) entertained.