''Rumpelstiltskin'' is a 1987 musical fantasy film, based on the

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

by the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

. In the United States, it was the first installment of

Cannon Films The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that investe ...

' ''Movie Tales'' series.

Production and release

''Rumpelstiltskin'' was part of the ''Cannon Movie Tales'' series, a US$50 million project initiated by

Menahem Golan Menahem Golan (; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israelis, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid ...

and

Yoram Globus Yoram Globus (; born 7 September 1943) is an Israeli–American film producer, cinema owner, and distributor. He has been involved in over 300 full-length motion pictures and he is most known for his association with The Cannon Group, Inc., an ...

to adapt sixteen fairy tales into live action. The film featured

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti; October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast i ...

in his only lead role (as the title character), and also starred

Amy Irving Amy Irving (born September 10, 1953) is an American actress and singer, who has worked in film, stage, and television. Her accolades include an Obie Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award. Born in Palo Alto, Cali ...

(as Katie, the miller's daughter) and

Clive Revill Clive Selsby Revill (18 April 1930 – 11 March 2025) was a New Zealand actor, best known for his performances in musical theatre and the London stage. A veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he also starred in numerous films and television ...

as the villainous King Mezzer. Amy Irving's brother, David Irving (not the British author of the same name), scripted and directed; their mother, actress

Priscilla Pointer Priscilla Marie Pointer (May 18, 1924 – April 28, 2025) was an American actress of theater, film and television. Pointer began her career in the theater in the late 1940s, including productions on Broadway, and later moved to Hollywood to pur ...

, portrayed the Queen. Cannon Films screened ''Rumpelstiltskin'' as the opening night attraction of its "family film festival" at 1987's

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. It was the first ''Cannon Movie Tale'' released in the U.S.; though originally scheduled for November 21, 1986, it premiered in April 1987. The film was not well-received critically; Richard Harrington of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' said, " l Cannon has done...is to make a short story long. And long and longer." In his ''Movie Guide'',

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

gave it two stars out of four and commented, "

his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, ...

threadbare musical adaptation... slikely to bore even the small fry."

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

released Rumpelstiltskin on DVD in 2005.

References

External links

* {{Cannon Movie Tales 1987 films 1980s musical fantasy films American musical fantasy films Films shot in Israel Golan-Globus films Films based on Rumpelstiltskin Films produced by Menahem Golan Cannon Movie Tales Films produced by Yoram Globus 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language musical fantasy films 1987 musical films