Into The Woods (2014)

Director: Rob Marshall

Writer: James Lapine

Music: Stephen Sondheim

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden

Rated: PG (thematic elements, fantasy action and peril, some suggestive content)

Well it was no surprise that the random pick this time would be the ever so popular movie adaptation of Into The Woods. It’s the movie people either loved, hated or didn’t care for.

For those of you who don’t know its based on the Broadway musical and the plot is fairly complex to briefly summarize, but I’ll try. So there’s a baker and his wife, a girl in a red cape, a poor girl who’s father passed away and now lives with a horrible stepmother and stepsisters, a little boy and his cow, a really badass witch, and a bunch of other people. Sound familiar? It should. The main people I’ve mentioned, however, all have specific reasons to venture into the dark and mysterious woods. Problem is, the woods apparently “change” whoever sets out into them and we see this happen over the course of a very entertaining two hour-long movie.

Now before I say anything else, I will just put it out there that I have seen, and always loved, the original show with the amazingly awesome Bernadette Peters, and was honestly apprehensive about the film’s release. Of course I was excited that a musical (yes it’s a musical) that I so dearly love was making a comeback, but I wasn’t so sure about how they would handle it, so to speak. Again, for those who aren’t familiar with the show, while it may consist of all of those classic fairytale characters we know and love, it ain’t a kid’s movie. It addresses all sorts of topics: death, love, family, revenge, and even pedophilia. (So if you want to take your kid, be prepared because you’re gonna have some ‘splaining to do).

I’ll start off talking about what I liked. I personally think that people – especially those who are fans of the original – were extremely hard on this movie and everyone involved. This was simply because they were comparing the two. Now please keep in mind that, yes, they do take some stuff out and, yes, they do kind of butcher the second act, but please, dear God, remember that this is an adaptation. Think of 2007’s Sweeney Todd; we all know that they took some stuff out and the energy level was taken down a few notches, but what made it so great was that it was different from the original. (Not better though!) What I’m saying is that, although not all of the actors were crazy good singers (Johnny Depp, I’m looking at you), they still understood the characters and stories they were portraying and put everything they had into both.

Looking at it strictly as a movie, I thought it was very good-looking. The lighting was beautiful and managed to remain both light and dark at the same time. By that weird sentence I mean that it appeared to be light and happy with just the right amount darkness to hint at the more grim undertone. Maybe you’ll see what I mean when you watch it, maybe not but that’s definitely a thought that came into my mind when I saw it.

As for the costumes, they were awesome. I mean they had Meryl Streep looking damn good with knotted blue hair and rotting teeth. Everyone looked as I would have imaged had I never seen the play in the first place, which is always very refreshing.

Okay, moving onto the music; the most controversial aspect of the film…As I said before, not everyone can sing like freaking Susan Boyle. They are actors not singers. And while, yes, you can occasionally hear a tiny bit of auto-tune, it is still evident that these people are talented. The orchestration for each song, I thought, was great and did good justice to the original and the singing from a specific few members of the cast were excellent. This includes Emily Blunt who I understand had never sung in front of others before, Lilla Crawford, who apparently played Annie on Broadway, and Anna Kendrick who we all have come to know and love. (I’m telling you, the first time I saw her in Twilight I had a feeling she was going somewhere…)

In terms of what wasn’t so good…the second act in general. Like I already mentioned, this movie addresses a whole lot of complex issues and I was honestly worried that they would tone down the maturity level and take certain things out. Well, they did. But surprisingly not everything. (For those wondering, they do leave in that thing that happens with the baker’s wife * wink wink *). But there is one major thing they take out along with a song and it just really bothered me. Yes, it was a very mature and sad scene but I feel that if you’re going to add the complexities they did, why not go a little further and just make it PG-13. Already you’re main audience consists of adults so I don’t see the problem… There is also a narrator as there was in the show; however, he isn’t visible and, therefore, a certain very charming and kind of thought-provoking sub-plot isn’t present.

 Honestly, aside from these two points, I surprisingly did not have too many issues with this movie. I personally believe it did justice to the original if you’re not looking for flaws and was fairly well casted. I would recommend it to those a fan of any member of the cast (Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kentrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, etc.) or the original show. However, if you have any skepticism, eh, maybe don’t see it. I don’t want you to be disappointed and feel that they ruined an already spectacular show.