Review: Into the Woods(2014)

Review: Into the Woods(2014)
*Mild Spoilers Alert
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Official 'Into the Woods(2014)' Poster.

      Not your average Disney fairytale movie, the film adaptation of the same-name Broadway musical achieves the success of the revitalization of musicals.

"Meryl Streep".

"Emily Blunt" and "James Corden".

     In the hopes of lifting the curse that kept her youth and beauty away, the witch(Meryl Streep) heads towards the baker(James Corden) and his wife(Emily Blunt). Once there, she deceptively convinces them to acquire the required objects needed in order to lift her spell. But instead of telling them the truth she lies and tells them that the retrieval of these objects is a must in order to allow them to have a beautiful child they always wanted but couldn't have. Moreover, they only have 3 days to acquire these objects. While the baker's quest commences, what he does not know that this quest will lead his path to cross other storylines, making all these iconic fairytale character's fates entangled with one another. We have Cinderella(Anna Kendrick), 'Cinderella''s prince(Chris Pine), young 'Jack'(Daniel Huttlestone), 'Jack''s mother(Tracey Ullman), Little 'Red' Riding Hood(Lilla Crawford), 'Cinderella''s stepmother(Christine Baranski), 'Rapunzel'(MacKenzie Mauzy), 'Rapunzel''s prince(Billy Magnussen), 'Cinderella''s stepsisters 'Florinda'(Tammy Blanchard), 'Lucinda'(Lucy Punch), 'Cinderella''s mother(Joanna Riding), the steward(Richard Glover), the baker's father(Simon Russell Beale) and the wolf(Johnny Deep). Each of these characters are trying to achieve what they are wishing for, not knowing that one must be careful what he/she wishes for.

"Anna Kendrick".

"Chris Pine". 

      Over the last few years, movie adaptations of popular Broadway musical shows have been nearly a yearly event. With 'Chicago(2002)' revitalizing this genre many movies soon followed. Most prominent of these movies are  'The Phantom of the Opera(2004)', 'Hairspray(2007)', 'Mamma Mia!(2008)', 'Nine(2009)', 'Rock of Ages(2012)', and 'Les Miserables(2012)'. Though each of these movies did have their share of critical and commercial success('Chicago(2002)', 'Les Miserables(2012)' and 'Mamma Mia!(2008)'), other failed to have the impact many expected ( 'Nine(2009)', 'Rock of Ages(2012)'). When Walt Disney Studios announced that the Broadway musical 'Into the Woods' was going to be their next musical-fairytale adaptation to the big screen many were intrigued as well as surprised. Though the play's story does make use of many Disney fairytale characters, their usage in the play does differ in terms of showing us what lies behind the happily ever after. This leads to many changes in the character's ultimate endgame as well as the use of many events, actions, terminologies and themes that do not fit with the status quo of what we come to expect from the studio. Ultimately, changes were made, some that fit while others that felt a bit underwhelming.

"Daniel Huttlestone" and
"Tracey Ullman".

"Lilla Crawford".

      Emmy and Academy Award winner and nominee director "Rob Marshall"('Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strangers Tides') was chosen to helm his third musical feature movie after the successful 'Chicago(2002)' and the tedious 'Nine(2009)'. His direction of presenting the more 'grown-up' material of "Stephen Sondheim"'s Tony Award winning Broadway musical was a successful one. The ability to playfully move from one story line to another felt very much cohesive, so not to disturb the audiences. Writer of the same-name book "James Lapine" also was in charge with the screenplay, which ended up for the most part being a solid and decent one. The changes that were applied and approved were successful seeing the younger audience to which this mature play is addressed to. These changes felt more adequate, though still audiences must be aware that his movie is not your average Disney fairytale movie. "Stephen Sondheim"('Sweeney Todd') who is the one who wrote the play's music was in charge of the music in the movie, and provided with the changes to complete this specific feature adaptation.

"Meryl Streep" and
"MacKenzie Mauzy".

"Lucy Punch", "Christina Branski"
and "Tammy Blanchard".

      Choosing to add recorded versions of the movie's music rather than live-recording the actors/actresses singing could divide fans of the play that prefer live representation of the song with regular audiences who prefer polished song versions. The actual production set and dark design of the movie was very much spectacular. It was able to blend with the dark themes that the movie wishes to present, while at the same time maintaining the fairy-tale feeling of the movie. Costume and Make-up representatives must also be applauded for their spectacular job. Also the limited use of special effects was to the benefit of the movie. The opening number 'Prologue' that introduces us to basically all the major characters in the movie is one of the best opening musical sequences ever. Within the first 12-15 minutes, the current status quo of the entire character is presented in a very comical-musical-entertaining manner, establishing the personalities of each of these characters and the goals of these characters. Other highlight scenes include "Anna Kendricks"'s rendition of 'On the Steps of the Palace' with the exquisite time pausing scene, "Chris Pine" and "Billy Magnussen"'s cheeky and entertaining performance of 'Agony', and the emotional 'No One is Alone'. The ending is also not your traditional Disney definition of happily ever after.

"Anna Kendrick" and "Emily Blunt".

"Johnny Deep" and "Lilla Crawford".

      Once again, as in all musicals, the cast includes an array of established, young and upcoming group of artists. The star of the movie is surely and without a doubt(nor shock) "Meryl Streep". Her captivating performance in every single scene proves that she’s an actress that can perform anything she is given. From her saucy and malicious portrayal of the witch to bringing the more emotional side of her character in 'Stay With Me', "Meryl" surely steels every scene she is present in. Finally "Emily Blunt" is given the opportunity let loose and shine in her scenes, that provided both the amusing yet vulnerable side of her character, with a shockingly beautiful voice. "James Corden" also takes this chance given to show his amazing acting shops. "Anna Kendrick" kills it as 'Cinderella', portraying her own spin and being in one of the most beautiful scenes of the entire movie ('On the Steps of the Palace'). "Chris Pine" shines as the Prince, also being in one of the funniest scenes of the movie alongside "Billy Magnussen"('Agony'), who performed as he was given. "Lilla Crawford" and "Daniel Huttlestone" delivered breakthrough performances as 'Red' and 'Jack', while acclaimed actresses "Christina Baranski" and "Tracey Ullman" performed in line with their long acting experiences. "Johnny Deep"'s cameo appearance as the wolf was both enjoyable yet a bit disappointing, with many expecting more, and "MacKenzie Mauzy" failed to impress with her under-developed and under-used character. While small roles for "Tammy Blanchard" and "Lucy Punch" were enjoyable.

       'Into the Woods' manages to be a gratifying musical, with its own twists that many will not be expecting, which should be credited to Disney's decision to expand upon what it wants to deliver.

Official 'Into the Woods(2014)' Poster.

-'Into the Woods(2014)' Info:
-Based on: 'Into the Woods' by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapin.
-Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, MacKenzie Mauzy, Billy Magnussen, Tammy Blanchard, Lucy Punch, Joanna Riding, Richard Glover, Simon Russell Beale and Johnny Deep.
-Studio(s): Lucamar Productions and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
-Directed by: Rob Marshall.
-Screenplay by: James Lapine.
-Music by: Stephen Sondheim.
-Running Time: 124 minutes.
-Budget: $ 50,000,000.
-Box Office: -Domestic(US): $ 126,296,000.
                -Foreign: $ 45,900,000.
-Ratings: -IMdb: 6.4/10.
            -Rotten Tomatoes: 72%.
            -Metacritic: 69%.

            -PERSONAL RATING: 8.5/10.

**Still Showing in Theaters Across the World.

-'Into the Woods' Trailer: