Although 'Brother and Sister' is not one of Brother Grimm's most iconic stories (that is from personal experience though), or the most popularly adapted ones, it's towards being one of my favourites of theirs. It is not always an easy read, then again this is Brothers Grimm we're talking about here, but it is a beautiful story with the sister and step-mother being especially memorable of the characters. It is also a very interesting story to analyse or get interpretations on.
This animated version, from 'Grimm Masterpiece Theater', is a good way to get introduced to the story if not familiar with it already and one is likely to want to read the original story afterwards. It is not quite one of the series' best episodes and not one of the most faithful adaptations of the series either. There are differences in 'Grimm Masterpiece Theater's version compared to the original story, like the omission of the step-daughter and the witch's treatment of the sister, but the differences didn't harm the storytelling at all (the fate of the witch as in the original story wouldn't have worked kept intact in the series). And it was a case of having enough recognisable elements, the structure is the same, while having its own touch. On its own, 'Brother and Sister is very nicely done and a more than worthy episode for this series, which is recommended to see old favourites in animated form as well as not so familiar stories or ones not often adapted, not every Grimm tale is adapted a lot.
Wasn't totally enamoured by everything in 'Brother and Sister'. The king is a strong contender for the most shallow king character of all of the 'Grimm Masterpiece Theater' episodes, not only because he doesn't have much of a personality but it seemed that looks were the only thing that mattered to him and very little else.
Did think that the brother Rudolph is not particularly interesting and comes over as whiny, making one care for his plight less. Some not familiar with the story may think that he doesn't feature enough in the story and is forgotten about in favour of the sister (here called Rosa) and the witch, that wasn't an issue for me as that is the case in the original story as well.
However, the animation is fine. Although the character designs are derivative of other character designs in other episodes, the drawing is expressive and the colours atmospheric but the richly detailed backgrounds in particularly the latter stages stand out. The music fits competently enough and it is appealingly orchestrated. The voice acting, a variable aspect in 'Grimm Masterpiece Theater', is appropriate for the characters and dynamic, especially the narrator and the witch. Rosa doesn't sound too mature or too shrill which is good.
Very rarely have many problems with the writing, don't here. It has maturity and entertainment value with enough for both children, without dumbing down or being too juvenile, and adults, without being too complicated. Synchronisation with the mouth movements wasn't always great, the dialogue tending to be too quick. The story is compelling and has a protagonist in Rosa worth investing in and a villain that is a formidable threat.
Overall, very well done. 8/10