Into the Woods (2014)
Writers: James Lapine (Screenplay,Musical), Stephen Sondheim (Musical)
Cast: Anna Kendrick (Cinderella), Daniel Huttlestone (Jack), James Corden (Baker), Emily Blunt (Baker's Wife), Christine Baranski (Stepmother), Tammy Blanchard (Florinda), Lucy Punch (Lucinda), Tracy Ullman (Jack's Mother), Lilla Crawford (Little Red Riding Hood), Meryl Streep (Witch), Simon Russell Beale (Baker's Father), Joanna Riding (Cinderella's Mother), Johnny Depp (Wolf), Billy Magnussen (Rapunzel's Prince), Mackenzie Mauzy (Rapunzel), Annette Crosbie (Granny), Chris Pine (Cinderella's Prince), Richard Glover (Steward), and Frances de la Tour as the Giant.
The beginning of the film we have Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) singing about going to the King's festival, while she cleans her stepmother's house. A young boy by the name of Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) is distressed about his white cow giving milk. The Baker (James Corden) and his Wife (Emily Blunt) breaks out in song wishing they could have a child. Cinderella's stepmother (Christine Baranski), with her daughters Florinda (Tammy Blanchard), Lucinda (Lucy Punch), hate Cinderella, and sing about her unable to go to the great festival in the king's castle, hopefully the prince (Chris Pine) will catch a glimpse of Lucinda, and Florinda. Meanwhile, Jack's Mother (Tracy Ullman) wishes her son had more sense, and sings of more money. Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) takes trip to the baker's place and sings about going to see grandmother, but first she must have pastries, skipping, dancing, "Into the woods," she goes to see her good granny. No money to pay for the pastries, she sings at the baker so that she could have the pastries without paying.
Meanwhile, back at Cinderella's house her stepmother (Christine Blanchard) tells Cinderella (Kendrick) pick up all the lentils, and only then she could go to the three day festival. Afterwards, Cinderella calls her bird friends to help her with the task.
Jack's Mother (Tracy Ullman) tells her son to sell the cow for some money, he calls the cow (Tug) he considers the beast a friend, displeased he travels into the woods, no other way to get to town.
Back at the Baker's place, Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) continues to skip, dance sing as she steals anything she can get a hold of, for grandmother is important to her, the baker's wife (Emily Blunt) calls this young girl, sweat. The baker calls her a thief. The girl with the red hood continues on into the woods, but inside the dark place, something is waiting, what can it be? maybe the dark sinister evil that's inside the woods, awaits the girl with the red hood.
Suddenly the door to the baker's store, blows open and a Witch (Meryl Streep) arrives with displeasure. she sings about a tale, a tale of a curse she had put on the ones that live in the particular house that they happen to live in. She continues about the Baker's Father (Simon Russell Beale) and how he plotted against her. The beans (Magical properties) were stolen from my home by your father, which then i grew angry and cast a spell over your father. Sings on how horrible, wretched of a man he is, she continued with one sole solution. The spell is effect his family as well, they will no longer be able to bare child. The only way to break the curse is to bring the witch what she needs to release the curse's pull over the baker's family. A cow of white milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper pure as gold. Those items must be given to her in three days time, the night of the blue moon, which only occurs within 100 years, but only then will the curse be lifted and a child will be born.
Rant: Into the woods a stage musical turned into a film adaption, a musical on the screen budget was set at 50,000,000 (estimated), and an opening weekend on December 26,2014 made a whopping 31,021.000. World-wide it grossed almost 200,000,000. Not bad for a film that received either middle rating or a almost high ranks from big wig critics, it's almost impossible to understand some of these high rated critics because they're coming from a unique point of view, look if the film is good, say it is; if the film sucks then write about the negatives and positives so folks could at least make up their own minds about the film.
The box office is really nothing, it made that much because it is a Disney flick and it just happens to be based off of the stage musical which was released on a major holiday. I love musicals but, this one i had a real problem with. Not the underline tones of the "Wolf" scenes or the way the lyrics were a bit much for children. The problem i had was neither of what was mentioned, in fact the opening sequence was great, but afterwards the film was repetitive, and i really hate to say this, but boring. I had seen live musicals, which are long, even after there breaks it came to be about, 2 hours and 45 minutes. Wicked, Mama Mia, Les Miserables, all these i have seen and i never fell asleep or even felt it was boring.
The acting and singing was enjoyable, but something wasn't there, it was as if a piece to the unsolved puzzle was sold to the public without notice, or warning of the missing piece. How? would you like to buy something, and to your disappointment, it either wasn't what you thought it was or it just didn't do it for you. That's how i felt about this film. My favorite part was the Rapunzel scenes, they were pretty good, i absolutely love the story of Rapunzel, so seeing it live action, and it being a musical was nice.
Remember the connection i had mentioned in some of my reviews, well here is an example, In the film version of Mama Mia, Amanda Seyfried played Sophie, her connection with all the other characters were so good, you could feel it, this young actress really gave it her all in the part of Sophie. For some reason Into the Woods had the steller cast but, lost the feeling. Out of all the many different scenes and plots i enjoyed Rapunzel's the most because it was the most tragic, she had lost everything, trapped in a tower, lived all her life in isolation, it was that particular scene that really got me, because you almost felt bad for the witch, the very person that has trapped her but, felt the need to explain, or sing about the evils outside the tower, and how the people that live outside will never love her the way she did. Powerful scenes, that was the missing piece, which the film only delivered on some levels.
Not blasting the film, but i was really struggling with this review, so in end i would advise you to check it out if you want a good nights sleep. My opinion, take it or leave it, but in case you do, check out Mama Mia, and Wicked because those performances will blow you away.
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