Meryl Streep
Emily Blunt
James Corden
Anna Kendrick
Chris Pine
Tracey Ullman
Christine Baranski
Johnny Depp

James Lapine

125 mins.
Adventure, Fantasy, Musical
December 25, 2014

Rated PG for thematic elements, fantasy action and peril, and some suggestive material. (MPAA)

Rob Marshall’s film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods” is a good one overall. We still have the blend of four fairy tales – “Cinderella,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Rapunzel” – bound together by the story of the Baker and his wife, a story that was written for this musical. As a veteran director of musicals, Marshall understands that the music must be the driving force. Note to Clint Eastwood, who directed “Jersey Boys”: It should propel the action forward.

There are a few lulls here and there, though. My eyes glazed over more than once when they glossed over a few key moments. Also, they cut two great songs from the stage musical: the “Agony” reprise and “No More,” whose music played in the background during the Baker’s scene with his father. That’s a shame. I understand the desire to make sure that the film isn’t overly long, especially since many kids will see it – this is Disney, after all. But something is lost without those two moments, along with a few others. As a result, the ending seems a bit too easy. Plus, they allow the Baker to talk for too long over the reprise of “Children Will Listen” at the end of the film, and they don’t show Meryl Streep (or any of the other actors, for that matter) as she leads the singing of it; so the power of that moment is completely lost.

As for the visuals, they’re a mix of a heavy dose of what’s become the standard look of the contemporary family fantasy genre (think “Oz the Great and Powerful” and “Maleficent”) and a touch of the more realistic approach to fantasy displayed in “The Lord of the Rings,” especially in some parts of the woods. You can tell, with ease, that they are on a set and that there is a lot of CGI. This is not a criticism, though. There should be some artifice, because that supports the aims of any fairy tale. Fairy tales are life lessons, and they have a bite. The artifice helps the audience to remember that this is a story; it makes audience members much more self-aware so that they remember to think about what they’re seeing. The woods are a place where change happens. Children grow up; adults are forced to face themselves; what we’ve wished for, in reality, turns out to be something that we didn’t expect; what seems to be bad may be a lot closer to good than we thought; and what seems to be good may be a lot closer to bad than we thought. The woods represent the grays of life, instead of a more reassuring yet false black-and-white perspective.

Another theme is in regards to parents and their children. This is explored in two ways: The baker and his wife want a child, while the witch has a child whom she doesn’t want to grow-up. After all, isn’t the witch just an overprotective parent? To their children, don’t many parents come across as witches? Which is worse: your witchy parents or the dangers of the world that they know you must face someday? “Witches can be right. Giants can be good. You decide what’s right. You decide what’s good.” (from “You Are Not Alone”) I could go on; this musical has layers upon layers of layers.

As for the music, it’s deceptively challenging. Of all of Sondheim’s musicals, this one may seem to be one of the easiest because of its accessibility. However, that’s completely misleading. This is difficult stuff to pull-off. Just check out “Your Fault,” which disappointingly is slowed down a hair in this film. Sondheim’s music requires performers to be great actors and proficient singers. You have to be good enough to convey the complexities of the message without letting the idiosyncrasies of the melodies and rhythms get in your way. In this film, the sound engineers deserve a ton of credit. They slathered the actors’ voices with all of the auto-tune that those voices could handle. I’m thankful for that; the film adaptation of “Les Miz” shows what can happen without that kind of support for actors who lack appropriate vocal training. In this film, the actors are allowed to focus on the acting.

As the witch, Meryl Streep, of course, nails each moment. She doesn’t miss one beat change. The witch is the meatiest role in the show, perhaps one of the meatiest in musical theater history, and Streep milks it. When she flashes onto the screen, you get a welcome jolt. When she leaves the screen, you miss her. She’s ferocious. Scenery beware! Emily Blunt is equally good, in a much subtler way, as the Baker’s wife. James Corden, as the Baker, acts with ease; he and Blunt are matched well. Daniel Huttlestone, as Jack, does a wonderful job with “Giants in the Sky” and everything else that he is called upon to do. Tracey Ullman, who plays Jack’s mother, is reliably spot-on in a brief role. Christine Baranski also does a great job as Cinderella’s step-mother, another brief role.

However, perhaps the briefest starring role is the Wolf, played by Johnny Depp. Depp is out of his depth here. The Wolf requires a singing voice capable of boldness and nuance. It’s a character that’s the very definition of split personality. Depp doesn’t have the chops for this. Contrastingly, Anna Kendrick, as Cinderella, is the best singer of the bunch. But, she misses some of the acting beats in the songs. She lands many of them, but, unfortunately, not all of them. I still like her as an actress, though. Chris Pine, as Cinderella’s Prince, brings nothing to the role that isn’t already on the page. That role is hard to mess up because of how it’s written. The sound engineers essentially do the singing for him, but he doesn’t capitalize on their work. He doesn’t bring something interesting to the role. Instead, he gives us a variation on his version of James T. Kirk. The audiences may love him, just because of the role. But, he barely skims the surface here, and he needs to get on-voice. Lilla Crawford, as Little Red Riding Hood, is adequate yet forgettable. She doesn’t shine in the same way that Jack does. As for the actors who play Rapunzel and her prince, Mackenzie Mauzy and Billy Magnussen, they take a backseat in this film. They seem to be afterthoughts.

Overall, this film will appeal to most families, as long as the kids aren’t too young. A Christmas Day release makes a lot of sense. The kids will enjoy the fairy tale characters, the look, and the music. The adults will enjoy how those attributes are balanced with darker themes, some of which will fly over their kids’ heads (adultery, anyone?). While not as good as it could be, this film is entertaining enough. It could have been much, much worse.

Verdict: Good

About: (Source: disney.com/into-the-woods)

From the director of Chicago and the producer of Wicked comes a modern twist on the beloved fairy tales you thought you knew. Meryl Streep stars in this epic musical saga about daring to venture Into The Woods. Iconic characters, such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel, find their fates intertwined with a humble baker and his wife, whose longing to have a child sends them on a quest to reverse a witch’s (Streep) curse. With an all-star cast, this spellbinding adventure is everything you could ever wish for!