Movie producers spend months (sometimes years) planning a movie, and typically spend tens of millions of dollars on big-name actors, traveling to locations, a good composer to add the music, and on and on and on. Yet sometimes it's the little things that make a movie really good.

'Hansel and Gretel' is one such movie. It features some big-name stars (Howie Mandell, Lynn Redgrave, Delta Burke, and the voices of Tom Arnold, Bobcat Goldthwait and Sinbad), lots of elaborate make-up and costumes, meticulously designed sets and impressive special effects. The title roles are played by two fairly well known and competent young actors: Jacob Smith (Owen on 'Party of Five') as Hansel, and Taylor Momsen (Cindy Lou Who in 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas') as Gretel.

It all works well. This is a fun movie that would have been entertaining with just the above elements and nothing else. But there is one more small factor that cranks the fun and entertainment up at least an extra level. That factor is Dakota Fanning as Katie, one of the two kids who are having the story read to them by their father.

Dakota only has a total of about seven minutes of screen time in this movie, scattered among multiple scenes before, within and after the main story; but I guarantee you've never seen more entertainment packed into seven minutes of acting. Like all truly great actors, Dakota Fanning is able to elevate any project she appears in, even when her screen time is limited.

Most of the movie takes place on the beautifully designed fairy tale sets, and is acted out by colorful and often elaborately made-up characters. The scenes featuring Dakota take place in a basically ordinary bedroom, which is peopled by a modern dad and his two kids wearing ordinary clothes. These scenes could easily have come off as comparatively boring, as unwelcome intrusions into the fairy tale illusion of the rest of the movie. Dakota Fanning's performance prevents this from happening, allowing these sequences to provide a positive context for the story as they were intended to do. The way Dakota uses her face and voice in these brief scenes is at least as entertaining as all the colorful characters and expensive production values in the rest of the film. Not only is no momentum lost, but Katie's fascination with the unfolding story, as portrayed by Dakota, is contagious enough to actually heighten the audience's interest in the rest of the film.

In short, Dakota was able, with a mere seven minutes of screen time, to take a good movie and make it a VERY good movie, turning its one potential weakness into something that strengthens the entire film. True greatness can do things like that, and Dakota Fanning is the only actor anywhere near so young who has ever had that kind of greatness.

All the other actors turned in good performances in this movie, and helped to make it as good as it is. Among the adults, Howie Mandel as the Sandman was the best. Howie obviously had lots of fun playing this role, and it's fun for the audience too. Jacob Smith gave a solid and believable performance as Hansel, although an unspectacular one. Taylor Momsen as Gretel was better when she was good, but her performance was less consistent, particularly when she had to play fear. She delivered her more lighthearted moments very well, however, and on the whole she did a good job.

This is a very enjoyable movie, definitely worth the investment of money and time. In fact, it would be worth it just for Dakota Fanning's seven minutes. Since the rest of the movie is good too, how can you go wrong?