For the Christmas season, Disney decided to release their own adaptation of the Sondheim Broadway musical, Into The Woods, which happens to also be the second adaptation of a Broadway musical Disney has made after Babes in Toyland back in 1961. The factor which has made me really interested about it is from what I've heard about it, people seem to have reservations for Disney being the company to adapt it for the big screen due to the adult themes & dark moments in the original stage show despite the fairytale setting. And just to be clear, I did listen to the Broadway soundtrack & watch the original Broadway stage version on Youtube before seeing the film to get a taster before going in. With an all star cast Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski &
Chicago director Rob Marshall, will a Disneyfication of a classic Broadway show make it better, or was it too big of a risk? Well, you'll be surprised to know it in fact does live up to high expectations, although not quite better than it's source material.
Despite being under the Disney name, I just want to warn parents right now that if planning to take young children to see this, the film keeps all of the dark elements from the stage show, including the entire second act (which would be removed for obvious reasons in primary school productions) with the themes of death/grief, the sexual undertones between the Wolf & Little Red Riding Hood, even adultery & the main theme of wishes having consequences which all of the characters are forced to deal with in a realistic manner. Even then that's toned down obviously for the PG rating with almost all the deaths being heavily implied, the violence mostly being played for laughs & the adultery being a kiss between the Baker's Wife & Cinderella's Prince instead of full on seduction & the Agony reprise mentioning the princes having affairs with Snow White & Sleeping Beauty being entirely cut out. The themes of consequences & having to face them along with the well known moral 'children will listen' are very strong ones thanks to the characters & how most of them develop throughout the story, especially the Baker due to his experiences with his father & how he mustn't run away from his problems. Like any Sondheim musical, this does have the opportunity to be comedic as well as dark, although it varies including a darkly comic scene where Cinderella's stepmother cuts off her daughters' toes & heels to fit the slipper & the hilariously over the top Agony sequence thanks to some intentionally hammy acting or moments where the characters have to deliver lines in a very deadpan manner.
The visuals in this movie look fantastic, going for a fairytale look akin to that of a storybook, with immaculate production designs from Rapunzel's tower, the village in the kingdom to the woods themselves (which is a combination of sound stages & actual forests) along with the limited use of CGI on the occasional green screen effect or animals like the ravens which frequently appear & of course the giantess in the second act. This can also be said for the costume designs, including Cinderella's golden dress, Red Riding Hood's outfit similar to Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, the Witch's outfit post transformation & the interesting choice of Johnny Depp's Wolf character wearing a zoot suit, with eagle eyed fans knowing that this is a tribute to Tex Avery's Red Hot Riding Hood, another Red Riding Hood adaptation with the theme of seduction. This can also transcend into the musical numbers as the orchestral arrangement compared to the original is very luscious & beautifully haunting to listen to, as well as being catchy of course thanks to Sondheim's witty & memorable lyrics which will make all the songs get stuck in your head & clearly the cast they chose for this were capable of the libretto they were given, especially Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Lilla Crawford, Anna Kendrick & Johnny Depp.
Speaking of the cast in this, they are all very wonderful & what carry the movie forward. Despite a star billing next to Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp in fact only appears in two scenes which last up to two minutes, although he manages to make them worth it in his rendition of Hello Little Girl. The other actors like James Corden, very familiar to British audiences in shows like
Gavin & Stacey, his Tony award winning stint in
One Man Two Guv'nors and more recently
The Wrong Mans, plays a likeable lead as the Baker with a surprisingly good singing voice (it may not be Broadway quality like the other cast members but he still carries a charm to the character given that he's pretty much the protagonist compared to the more comedic roles he's known for playing) along with Emily Blunt as his wife in particular when conflicted with her feelings towards after committing adultery during Moments In The Woods & both have great chemistry during It Takes Two.
Pitch Perfect'
s Anna Kendrick also shines as Cinderella with her comedic timing & Broadway style singing, in particular during On The Steps of The Palace while Chris Pine manages to be charming yet hilariously over the top as her prince opposite Billy Magnussen as Rapunzel's Prince during the Agony sequence or his very adorkable scenes with Rapunzel. The choice to have child actors as Jack & Red Riding Hood instead of adults like in the stage productions while a risk was thankfully pays off as Daniel Huddlestone (Gavroche in the 2012 film adaptation of Les Miserables) does a great job opposite Tracey Ullman as his mother while Broadway actress Lilla Crawford (from the 2014 revival of Annie) manages to be hilarious throughout, especially when she has to be deadpan, despite the controversy surrounding her age & the context of t and considering they originally intended Sophia Brownlee to play her, I personally thought Lilla was the much better choice thanks to her more theatrical resume & I believe she really does have a great career ahead for herself after this film. But despite all them, this is definitely Streep's movie, as she manages to make the Witch her own character, in particular during the musical numbers Stay With Me & The Last Midnight being intimidating yet having a charisma to her, also managing to give her a surprisingly sympathetic side during her scenes with Rapunzel. She may not shine as much as Bernadette Peters in the original but she isn't supposed to as she manages perfectly switch from over the top to more subdued & she isn't a downright villain despite all of her actions.
Despite all of these praises, there are a few problems, in particular
with the change in Rapunzel's plot as she does not share the same fate
as in the original & is practically ignored as she's never seen nor
mentioned again after the scene where she confronts the Witch & rides off with her prince. Moreover, some of the songs that have been cut out like No More & So Happy that would have helped the plot more make the second act feel less symbolic with the main theme they're trying to get across & at times in the second act (but I will give credit that there are instrumental versions of some of the cut songs in the scenes they would have been in), the directing can be inconsistent with how it wants to execute different sequences, for example a hilariously over the top Agony sequence or the theatrical look of I Know Things Now while others like are treated more like scenes like Any Moment & Giants In The Sky than musical numbers. But the second act in particular did drag on too long compared to the first as it doesn't feel like it's a second act but more like a continuation of the first, also making the themes less symbolic.
Overall, despite a few issues with the second act, Into The Woods is thankfully an example of an adaptation from stage to screen which pays off thanks to the very likeable cast, the gorgeous visuals & the same wit & charm as the original thanks to Stephen Sondheim himself & James Lapine's screenplay. Despite being Disney made, this is a very different turn for them & takes risks which most of the time pay off thanks to director Rob Marshall & the cast they got for this.
Overall: ****
