The film tells the story of Jack, a young farmhand who must save an abducted princess from a race of giants after accidentally opening a gateway to their land in the sky.

The main characters were cast between February and March 2011, and principal photography began in April 2011 in England with locations in Somerset, Gloucestershire and Norfolk.

In the Kingdom of Cloister, in a time long past, monks craft magic beans that grow into a large beanstalk.

The next morning, Brahmwell sends Roderick and other knights up the beanstalk to retrieve Isabel; Jack volunteers to join.

Fallon, initially seeming to drown in the fiery moat, finds an underwater passageway into the catacombs under the castle, breaking into the throne room and capturing Jack and Isabel in the process.

But it'll also be a fun twist on the notion of how these tales are told ... Fairytales are often borne of socio-political commentary and translated into stories for children.

[6] Lemke described the script as "a male-oriented story of a boy becoming a man" and drew a parallel between Jack and Luke Skywalker of Star Wars.

[12] McQuarrie's re-write included a deeper back story for the giants and explanation of their relationship with the humans, which Singer considered a "vast improvement"; it also upped the budget.

The report cited Singer's interest in being able to pre-visualize scenes with the digital giants in-camera with the live-action actors (a la James Cameron's Avatar) and the need for more time to work out the complex process as reasons for the delay.

[16] In February 2011, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Stanley Tucci had been cast as the antagonist, the king's advisor who plans on taking over the kingdom, and Bill Nighy and John Kassir were cast as Fallon, the two-headed leader of the giants; Nighy would play the big head and Kassir would play the smaller head.

[12] Later that month, Ewan McGregor joined the cast as the leader of the king's elite guard, who helps fight giants.

Puzzlewood, which features unusual tree and rock formations, has previously been used for filming of the BBC TV series Doctor Who and Merlin.

The Hollywood Reporter stated: "Warner can likely afford the move because of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, which opened in July.

And moving the film back gives the studio more time for special effects, as well as a chance to attach trailers for it to Peter Jackson's Christmas tentpole The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey".

The second step took place during principal photography, where Simulcam technology was used to help the human characters virtually interact with the giants that were rendered earlier in Pre-Capture.

The third step was Post-Capture, a second motion capture shoot to adjust giants' movements to seamlessly fit the live-action performances.

The final step involved putting the finishing touches on the giant's animation, skin, hair and clothing, and composition in the shots.

Jack the Giant Slayer marks Ottman's seventh collaboration with director Bryan Singer; they previously worked together on Public Access, The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, X2: X-Men United, Superman Returns, and Valkyrie.

[31] Jack the Giant Slayer premiered on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

[2] The film grossed $400,000 from Thursday night and midnight runs, ahead of its wide release open on Friday, March 1, 2013.

[37] Jack the Giant Slayer closed in theaters on June 13, 2013, grossing a total of $65,187,603 in North America and $197,687,603 worldwide.

[4] In explaining its box office failure, analysts pointed to the conflict between the director's darker, more adult-themed vision with the studio's desire for a family-friendly product, leading to the final compromise of a PG-13 film that did not sufficiently appeal to adults or children.

The site's critical consensus reads, "It's enthusiastically acted and reasonably fun, but Jack the Giant Slayer is also overwhelmed by digital effects and a bland, impersonal story.

[40] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A to F.[41] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Simply in terms of efficient storytelling, clear logistics and consistent viewer engagement, Jack is markedly superior to the recent Hobbit.

"[42] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times said, "Jack the Giant Slayer is a rousing, original and thoroughly entertaining adventure.

"[43] Justin Chang of Variety said, "Jack the Giant Slayer feels, unsurprisingly, like an attempt to cash in on a trend, recycling storybook characters, situations and battle sequences to mechanical and wearyingly predictable effect.

"[45] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said, "Bryan Singer's take on the old fairy tale has all things money can buy — except a good script.

Both sets include the "Become a Giant Slayer" featurette, deleted scenes, a gag reel and a digital copy of the film.