Into the Woods—Movie Review

by Peter J. O'Connell

Into the Woods. Released: Dec. 25, 2014. Running time: 125 mins. Rated: PG for thematic elements, fantasy action and peril, and some suggestive material.

Into the Woods is a new take on some old stories. It's Disney's production, directed by Rob Marshall, of music masters Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's hit show that first appeared on Broadway in the 1980s.

In it some classic fairy tales are combined, highlighted for their edgier features, and propelled by (mostly) zippy songs. The premise is that a witch (Meryl Streep) assigns a childless couple (Emily Blunt and James Corden) to find a red cape, a glass slipper, a white cow and blonde hair. If they do, the witch will regain her lost beauty, and the couple will have the child they long for.

This assignment sends the couple into the woods and into contact with, of course, Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) and Mr. Big Bad Wolf (Johnny Depp); Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), her evil stepmother (Christine Baranski) and her prince (Chris Pine); Jack of the Beanstalk Daniel Huttlestone) and his mother (Tracey Ullman); and Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy) and her prince (Billy Magnussen).

The cast, ranging from superstars to emerging stars to veteran character actors to talented youngsters, is in top-notch form (hmmm … maybe some dissent there re. Johnny Depp). Special shout-outs might go to Streep (a commanding presence—as always), Kendrick (a pitch-perfect performance), and Crawford (who handles her post-Wolf song “I Know Some Things” with sly and subtle skill). The movie's production values—sets, costumes, effects--are what might be called “Disney familiar.” This familiarity will appeal to many, though some may feel that a more innovative approach would have better fitted the “revisionist” nature of the film.

Into the Woods moves along briskly for about two-thirds of its length. The last third, however, becomes heavy-handed (or, maybe, given what transpires, “heavy-footed” would be a more descriptive term) in making the point that the ending of fairy tales may sometimes be, so to speak, “happily ever after—not so much.” This section dissipates some of the feeling of fun (albeit astringent fun) generated by the film up to this point. Overall, though, Into the Woods is well worth a trip into your movie theatre.