Once Upon A Crime (2023)

Here's a new take on a classic fairytale, and a Japanese one at that! Y'all already know it's gonna be crazy. Though more in mannerisms than madness, maybe.

It starts with Red Riding Hood waltzing through the forest, and she meets a witch who's willing to transform her boots into shiny new shoes... yet apparently this particular witch has trouble with shoe spells, so all they turn out is muddied.

It takes a while before they get to the spell casting too. Red Riding Hood initially just walks right by her, but the dark Witch catches up, and waves her wand... and then Cinderella jumps into the picture.

Cheesy, you think? Nah. Not for but Paul the mouse mayhaps - but he's a fun character too.

And I love how many fairytales they mix in! And how they blend together... it's mainly just the two but... if I dig deeper I think I'd spot some additional inspirations.

What about Sweeney Todd? Ratatouille? What about... well maybe I'm just reaching into my hat at this point, but it feels like a mix. Albeit a simple one. Suddenly it turns into a detective story, and I feel like I should've been clued into that it would be early on. When Red Riding Hood first shows her observational prowess - something that sure came in handy in the original tale - when she met up with that wolf disguising as her grandma.

No wolf here, though.

It's a relatively harmless tale considering it does deal with a murder - as maybe you might say most fairytales are. More brutal than you'd think them to be. Yet practical and charming also. Just like this.

It was a good one. The special effects look good too. I wouldn't mind if they weaved together more than the one story with this bright-eyed Red-haired classic. In a world where everyone just has to be beautiful... she doesn't seem to fit in all too badly herself.

Muddy boots or no.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle