Gruesome Rhymes Part 2 – Revolting Rhymes Part Two (2016)

Directed by: Jan Lachauer, Jakob Schuh, Bin-Han To | 29 minutes | animation, short film | Original voice cast: Dominic West, Bel Powley, Rose Leslie, Gemma Chan, Dylan Issberner, Amelie Forester-Evans, Rob Brydon, Isaac Hempstead Wright, David Walliams, Bertie Carvel

Roald Dahl’s famous collection of poems ‘Revolting Rhymes’ – translated into Dutch as ‘Grue Rhymes’ – was filmed in 2016 by the German-based animation team Magic Light Pictures Berlin under the direction of Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer. Five of the six fairy tales that Dahl recounts in his collection in his very own melancholy style have been processed in this hour-long animated film. In order to be broadcast as a BBC Christmas Short, like Schuh’s and Lachauers’ previous adaptations for British television (including ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘Stick Man’), the film was cut into two parts of approximately 28 minutes. ‘Revolting Rhymes Part One’ revolves around adaptations of the classic fairy tales ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, ‘The Wolf and the Three Little Pigs’ and ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’. This part was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Short, but missed the prize. The second part, unsurprisingly called ‘Revolting Rhymes Part Two’, picks up on the cliffhanger with which the first part left us: the wolf, who wants to take revenge on Little Red Riding Hood who killed his nephews and turned them into fur coats, is about to ring the bell at Little Red Riding Hood’s house. He is wearing the clothes of the old lady who was going to look after her children, so that mothers can go out for an evening with her good friend Snow White. Even before the babysitter has arrived, Little Red Riding Hood is already greasing him. That gives the wolf free rein…

The children of Little Red Riding Hood quickly realize that they are dealing with the big bad wolf here; why does the babysitter suddenly have a tail? The wolf immediately dives into the kitchen with the children; what could be on the menu anyway? Little Red Riding Hood’s son is still quite naive, but his older sister sees her fear growing by the minute. Before it can be eaten, stories have to be told, she says to distract the wolf. He agrees. They take a seat on the couch, after which the wolf tells about Jack, who has to sell the cow by his mother to get money. He finds a fairy with a ‘magic stuff’ shop and sells the beef for a special bean. Much to his mother’s anger. Next door to Jack lives Cindy (Cinderella), who is horribly treated by her gruesome stepsisters. She can’t even have strawberry jam on her sandwich! Cindy dreams of going to the disco organized by the prince, and thanks to the intervention of the magical fairy she makes it happen. She dances like crazy at the party, much to the jealousy of her stepsisters, but when the clock strikes twelve, the fun is over. She loses her slipper when she leaves, but one of her stepsisters manages to flush that shoe down the toilet and trade her own stinky size canoe for it. The next day, the prince searches for the girl who fits the shoe. In the meantime, Jack’s bean has grown into a beanstalk that reaches to the sky. At the very top is gold in abundance. However, the gold is guarded by a hungry giant, with an excellent sense of smell.

The animation style is completely different from Quentin Blake’s illustrations, which we associate with Dahl’s work, but Schuh and Lachauer’s exaggerated caricatures are perfectly suited to the gruesome rhymes of the illustrious British children’s author. Extremely large noses, long and thin legs, wispy hair; it takes some getting used to, but it certainly doesn’t look out of place in Dahl’s world. Where in the book the fairy tales stand on their own, in this film they are interwoven into one whole. And so Jack secretly dreams of the beautiful Cindy and the fairy plays a unifying factor. The fact that this version of ‘Revolting Rhymes’ is still recognizable as the work of Roald Dahl is due to the powerful rhymes that are still strong after all these years, which have that black edge that Dahl’s work is known for and why we all love his books so much. to hold. The best thing about the movie version of ‘Revolting Rhymes’ is the wolf character, expertly voiced by Dominic West. Although there is always a slight threat emanating from him and you are never quite sure what he is going to do, he easily captivates the viewer with his poise and composure. While wolves are misunderstood creatures in many fairy tales, we all understand the motives of this wolf. The other characters are decent, voiced by great comedians and actors (Rob Brydon, David Walliams and Rose Leslie, among others), but they aren’t as intriguing as the wolf.

‘Revolting Rhymes Part Two’ is funny, refreshing and imaginative. And please give that fascinating wolf his own movie!