Back in 1982, while Tim Burton was working for Disney Film Annimation, he was given the oppotunity to direct a live action Hansel and Gretel short film for the then brand new Disney Channel. That short aired once on Halloween 1983 and has been vitually unseen since. Until now.
Someone has discovered a recording of the short and it can now be viewed in it's entirty (for how long remains to be seen).
The story features an all-Japanese cast as the eponymous characters: a poor toymaker, his son and daughter (Hansel and Gretel), and his wicked new wife. The evil, greedy stepmother, who overtly despises her stepchildren, leads them out into the woods, which is a labyrinth from which the children are unable to find their way out on their own. Here, she abandons them. They do manage to find their way back home, only to be led by their stepmother back into the woods a few days later. She distracts them with one of their father's toys and runs off. The children, no longer trusting of their stepmother, left a trail of rocks. The toy duck they were dragging had, unbeknownst to them, been eating the rock trail they left along the way. Once again they find themselves deserted in the woods, with no direction home. So the children have no choice but to sleep in the woods, and in the morning, the toy transforms into a robot and leads them to a giant house made of gingerbread and candy. A hook-nosed witch who lives there lures them inside with the promise of sweets. The Witch brings out an enormous cake which turns out to be only a decoration. The furniture and even the walls of the house are the real candy, which the children happily and greedily enjoy. Then when Hansel and Gretel lie in the two beds the witch prepared for them, they are immediately kidnapped by the beds, which have come to life. Hansel is forced to eat a creepy gingerbread man who insists that he eat him. Before the Witch can shove Hansel into her oven (as she has been planning on eating the children all along), a kung fu style battle ensues between her and the children. The Witch is defeated and the children escape the house, which completely melts. The toy reappears and leads them back home to their happy father. It also begins to spout gold coins, providing them with the wealth they have needed.