Movie Review: Into the Woods

Into the Woods/Rated PG/Dir. by Rob Marshall/Walt Disney 

The concept of different fairy tale characters mixing together is not only unoriginal anymore, it's almost cliche.  Thanks to the Shrek's and the Once Upon a Time's of the world, we've seen so many variations of the fairy tale tropes that it's hard to remember where the real fairy tales end and the revisionist versions begin.  However, for all the skewering and mixing, these versions still fall into the same old platitudes that they claim to be dissecting.  For all it's bawdy humor, Shrek is still peddling the same message found in most every other children's entertainment:  "Be yourself!"  For all it's cross-story pollination, Once Upon a Time is still all about happy endings.

Well, long before either of these cultural touchstones, Stephen Sondheim threw several common fairy tales into a surprisingly tart melting pot called Into the Woods.  Unlike the newer fairy tale spoofs, Into the Woods brings the characters together to serve a greater purpose in theme and plot.  It took 27 years since it's Broadway debut, but the story has finally made it to the silver screen and, I'm happy to report, the movie version keeps the complexity, wit, and lightness/darkness of the seemingly unfilmable stage version.

The story centers around a childless Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt), a somewhat slow-witted boy named Jack (Daniel Huttlestone), a precocious little girl in a red hood (Lilla Crawford), a put upon young woman named Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) and a wicked witch (Meryl Streep).  Their stories intertwine throughout the first half of the film, with each so focused on their own happy ending that they fail to notice how their actions influence those with whom they interact.  However, the story turns dark when the cost of their endings become more apparent.

When it was first announced that Disney was moving forward with a film version, there were many worried that the adult themes of the stage musical would be "Disneyfied".  While there are some minor changes that were clearly made to make the movie more family friendly, the film version retains all of the depth and complexity that makes this one of the great artistic efforts of my lifetime.  In the end, Sondheim and the writer of the book for the play, James Lapine, (who both were responsible for the screenplay for the movie) have crafted a work that bridges many wonderful and meaningful themes....and one highly questionable one (I'm looking at you Baker's Wife).

The movie is zippy and cinematic without losing the intimacy of the stage version and it is filled with surprisingly fantastic performances.  When I initially heard which actors had been hired for the film version, I was worried.  Sure, Meryl Streep is an amazing actress, but I had never heard anything from her to indicate she could pull off one of the biggest show-stoppers of the last 30 years ("The Last Midnight").  The Cups song from Pitch Perfect is fun, but I had never heard anything to indicate that Anna Kendrick could handle the lighter than air melodies written for Cinderella.  I most certainly had never heard anything to indicate that Chris Pine (playing Cinderella's Prince Charming) could even sing, let alone pull of the pompous masterpiece that is "Agony".  My worries were incredibly off base.  Into the Woods may be the only Hollywood musical adaptation in recent memory without a single glaring weak link in the cast (*cough, cough* Russell Crowe...Pierce Brosnan...*cough, cough*).

The play has always been pretty divisive, with faithful superfans and those that find the 2nd act a total downer, and the movie will be no different.  There is a sharp change in tone that you'll either go with or hate.  However, if you focus on the messages and realize that the story has been a supremely and complexly constructed life-lesson delivery system, there is so much to glean from this glossy cinematic treat.  

As a fan of the original Broadway production (which can be purchased here), I can honestly say that this is as faithful and as enjoyable film version as could be expected from such a labyrinthine masterwork.  Long story short, I left the theater humming the tunes with a big smile on my face.  Into the Woods is one of the best film musicals of the last decade and one of my very favorite movies of the year.

Grade: A