Brothers Grimm's stories give me a lot of pleasure, when it comes to fairytales they and Hans Christian Andersen are hard to top. Whether it's the famous stories or ones not as well known, their work can be dark and at times gruesome but it is also truly enchanting and provokes thought. It has been great over-time re-visiting old favourites and getting to know the stories relatively unfamiliar to me when younger.
'Grimm Masterpiece Theater' was rather great at achieving this balance of adapting famous stories and not as popular stories, despite the title the series doesn't restrict itself only to Brothers Grimm stories. Although the quality of the music and voice acting varied throughout 'Grimm Masterpiece Theater', the series was still very interesting and charming, also surprisingly dark. 'The Magic Heart', adapted from 'Donkey Cabbages' (a lesser known story of theirs to me), is very nicely done and if one is not familiar with the story beforehand 'The Magic Heart' may make them intrigued into reading it. It is a long way from being one of my favourite Grimm stories but it's a pleasant read.
Did feel that Lisabeth could have been voiced better. It was good that she didn't sound too young or high school teen-ish, but really would have liked more emotion because even in the emotional moments like at the end it was rather flat. Also felt that it sounded like she was voiced by a very mature voice actress trying to sound younger and it managed to fit the character design less than other female lead characters in the series that sounded too young.
A good deal of the lines are spoken a little too fast, so the mouth movements and voices tend not to match.
Most of the voice work was fine, especially the narrator and the protagonist. Loved the thoughtful soothing delivery of the former (the narration also moves the story forward and doesn't feel too much or over-explanatory) and the earnest heroic charm of the latter. The witch also didn't sound too over the top or creepy. The music may not enhance the action, but it didn't detract from it, sound too at odds or sound cheap.
The animation is colourful and atmospheric and with well designed backgrounds. The theme songs still charm, as does the intro. Am really not a fan of cabbage, but 'The Magic Heart' proved to be a rare case of a film, show etc. making cabbage look good and like one wants to eat it. The writing is neither simplistic or convoluted, managing to be just about accessible for all ages while providing enough for older audiences. Some nice breaking the fourth wall here, especially at the end. From the start, the story has much going on to stop it from having a dull spot while not feeling rushed, a danger with the short length. The protagonist is an appealing one.
Summarising, very nicely done. 8/10