Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

CineMage Like most if not all Henson productions, this TV movie has beautifully done puppetry work, SPFX, and music. The harp's music will haunt listeners for years afterwards.To understand Henson's take on the story, it helps to know the original story.The original tale of Jack and the Beanstalk was first written down more than 250 years ago and is known to have existed in oral form long before then. The tale was considered a good enough tale to be referenced by William Shakespeare in his play *King Lear*.In all its oral and written forms, the tale presented a bold trickster equivalent to the Greco-Roman creator of humanity, Prometheus, and to such Native American heroes as Coyote, Hare, and Grandmother Spider. In all these stories, the trickster heroically attempts "fire theft", i.e. liberating humanity from poverty and starvation and suffering by entering the land of the gods and stealing fire or a similar magical treasure, sometimes killing one or more guardians of the treasure in the process.In the Greek myth, Prometheus stole fire, granting humanity the ability to cook food and forge weapons and stave off the cold and predators. In the original English folktale, Jack stole the music of the gods in the form of a golden harp, stole food for his starving family or community in the form of a cooking pot that created a meal every day, and stole the equivalent of shining fire in the goose that laid shining gold eggs. Jack also liberated his people from the god-giant's cannibalism, not unlike liberating his people from a plague that was devouring them.However, Henson has said that he hated the original story and chose to work on it only if he could alter it. "It's a fairy tale that became part of British culture during a time when empire building and conquering other cultures was heroic" he stated (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_and_the_Beanstalk:_The_Real_Story in 2016).Henson's film vilifies the folktale's bold trickster hero into an avaricious cad who betrays an almost clownishly innocent giant. The film then whitewashes the folktale's oppressive cannibal god-giant into a courtroom of judgmental god-giants who follow the cruel ancient idea of imprisoning, enslaving, or murdering the innocent descendants for whatever crime their ancestors may have committed, one of the principles that has been used to justify slavery and vendettas that approached genocide throughout history. "Surely in your world, if you benefit from the wrongdoings of your fathers, then you inherit the obligation to right the wrong" rationalizes a likable god-giant played with considerable charisma by Richard Attenborough as the unfortunately named character Magog.Henson's film has been accused of political correctness and a painfully naive interpretation of serious issues such as ecology, appropriation, and reparations, but these accusations remain in dispute.Nevertheless, after seeing what Henson did to Jack in the Beanstalk, one wonders what he would do to the myth of Prometheus or to any of the many Native American tales about this sort of theft. Perhaps he could revise Prometheus' theft of fire into copyright infringement and have the gods win a lawsuit against everyone with a stove, space heater, or book of matches?

TheLittleSongbird I saw Jack and the Beanstalk:The Real Story on the SyFy Channel, and I wasn't expecting much. But it was actually very entertaining, while a tad too long and Jon Voight did have an accent and mannerisms that did fall flat sometimes, it did have a lot of good points. The characters are engaging, with only Siggy being written clumsily more in how he was developed rather than the lines. The production values are colourful and enchanting in their look, there is some quirky writing and the story is as magical as can be. The pace is very brisk mostly with only the last thirty minutes or so feeling as though it was meandering, and the acting is mostly above decent with Jack being a likable hero and Vanessa Redgrave coming off best. Overall, fun and entertaining. 8/10 Bethany Cox

lbleach2-2 I loved this movie....a must for young and old alike. Kind of restores your faith in everything good. This movie is like verification for the fairy tale. Purchase this movie and it will be loved and handed down for generations to come. It made me believe. Glued to my seat for the entire two night event. Glad it's on DVD so I can see it with my Grands. This is a great movie for family night in. A classic "Yes" ending. If you didn't see the two night event, you missed a once in a lifetime cliffhanger for night two. It made you record it if you were going to miss the second night. I can't imagine not seeing this movie and experiencing the remarkable way the story came together. It explains the gaps in the fairy tale. A must see and buy.

steveack2004 this mini series was a complete winner from start to finish! a wonderful, imaginative retelling of the old fairy tale, that does a great job of imagining an alternate beginning and then adding a great storyline to help finish it out. the special effects were wonderful, including the creatures from the henson studio workroom. an excellent visualization of the world atop the beanstalk, and the rulers of their world. it was tied in very well with the modern world, and Matthew Modine made for a very likable Jack, who tries to make things right again. Mia Sara as Ondine once again shows that she is best used in a longer premise where she has room to flesh out her character. her acting has definitely improved since Timecop, and she is as beautiful as ever, if not more so!