cricket30 Review of Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack and the Beanstalk (1902)

Much more corrupting for your kids than the 2013 remake . . .

[7/10 · 2 March 2013]

. . . which I saw in a double feature today after seeing this original version--which is perhaps a technological advance for its time, but totally unacceptable from a moral standpoint. In this 1902 version of Jack's story, produced by the infamous robber baron Thomas Edison, Jack dresses like a girl, disobeys his mom to climb the beanstalk, spies on the Abraham Lincoln-sized "giant," steals his valuables, and finally kills the taller than average crime victim as he's descending the beanstalk to recover his valuables. Jack is egged-on, aided & abetted at every turn by a magic wand-waving fairy godmother, who turns Jack & his mom into royalty at the close, heaping further riches upon this thief (not all that different from how Rockefeller, Carnegie, Ford, & Edison himself were able to loot America and lord it over everyone else at the turn of the 20th Century, before the U.S. enjoyed modern business regulations). JACK THE GIANT SLAYER, on the other hand, is about a nice boy who knows his place, only kills giants (actual ones, not a 6' 4" guy!) to save humanity, and does not have a larcenous bone in his body. With no nudity, little swearing, & few scenes of graphic violence, the latest remake is perfect for the 8 to 80 demographic. Though JACK THE GIANT SLAYER runs 104 minutes longer than this cluttered original, it is much easier to sit through, and is NOT the hard-core homage to criminality that is the elephant-electrocuter's morally reprehensible 1902 mash-up.