Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney and today, we conclude our Return To The Theater as we look at one of my favorite musical movies from recent memory as we head Into The Woods. Into The Woods. But first, a heads up, I have a lot to say on this movie, so this review will be broken up into two parts. In the first part, I'll cover The Plot, and Characters, and give My Thoughts on the movie as a whole. In the second part, I'll look at the music as that in my opinion deserves it's own blog. Into The Woods is based on the Stephen Sondheim musical that debuted in 1987 on Broadway and Into The Woods is perhaps one of the earliest examples that I can think of intertwining fairy tale characters and using them to explore more of the morality of their tales and show that sometimes, the happy ending that you thought you wanted isn't the one that you needed. Now, I will admit that I have never seen a production of Into The Woods in person but I've always wanted to but the night before I saw the movie, I watched a digital copy of the original Broadway production that was released on DVD and digitally. Now, having seen the original Broadway production and seeing this movie, it's clear that some things were toned down and some things had changed and as far as musicals go, it makes a bit of sense as there is a lot of things in the original and it would be hard to transfer them all over but I do think that overall, this was a successful adaption. And overall, I greatly enjoyed this movie.
Now, I'll freely admit that part of my interest in this movie stemmed from being a Oncer and unlike a certain reviewer that did a badly done review of this, I do remember this movie being advertised as a musical and while that is what got me interested in seeing this movie, I will say that this movie in my opinion is better than any season of Once. Before we get into the review, I want to look at the history of getting this film made. As there were attempts before this one to bring the film to stage such as in 1990, there were plans to adapt this film with Robin Williams in the lead role as The Baker. At the same time in 1991, Jim Henson Productions was working on a film version with Columbia but nothing came. And finally in 97, Columbia picked plans back up and this time, Billy Crystal would have played The Baker. Though, again that never came to fruition.
Years later, after directing Chicago, Rob Marshall approached Sondheim about adapting one of his musicals such as Follies or Sweeney Todd but Sondheim suggested Into The Woods and Marshall agreed. And that is how we got the movie that we have today.
As I mentioned, I have seen the original Broadway production and do know that there were some major things cut such as certain songs including one of my favorites, No More and that of The Mysterious Man, who is The Baker's Father. And in the musical, there is a narrator that is one of the funniest moments is killed off by the characters feeding him to a giant but I'll come back to how they handle that, later on in the review. One of the other changes that didn't sit well with a lot of people is that in the stage musical, Rapunzel dies while with child after running away from The Witch and instead, she just runs off at the start of the second act with Her Prince. And yeah, that is problematic as it takes away part of the morality and themes of Into The Woods. You can read more into this with this article by an author that had a lot of issues with this nixing.
With that outta the way, let's head into the woods and look at how the lot unfolds in this tale.
The Plot
We open in a small village where people all want a wish such as a Baker and his wife wish for a child but have been placed under a curse by The Witch because of his father stealing her greens and that caused her mother to place a curse of ugliness upon her. Now, The Baker and his wife must receive items for The Witch to reverse the curse such as as a golden slipper, a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, and hair as yellow as corn. The Baker and his wife's journey to find these items bring them into contact with the other fairy tale characters that have wishes of their own such as Cinderella wishes to go to the ball, Jack and his mother wish for a better life. Really, the only one that doesn't seem to want for anything is Little Red Riding Hood. She still plays a part in the curse as it is her cape that The Baker at first attempts to steal but yeah, that doesn't go over too well. Which brings me to a change that I didn't really care for. One of the most uncomfortable numbers in the whole production of Into The Woods is The Wolf's song, Hello, Little Girl. As with the tone that he is singing, it's made clear that The Wolf desires to have sex with Little Red Riding Hood. And keep in mind that Little Red Riding Hood is presented as a little girl. Most stage productions get around this by casting an adult to play Little Red Riding Hood.
The movie did not as they a then newcomer Lilla Crawford, whose only other previous credit included playing Annie in the 2001 Broadway revival and at the time of filming Into The Woods, she was only 12. Now, I have no issue with such a young actress in the role of Little Red Riding Hood and in many ways, having The Wolf as played by Johnny Depp many years her senior does add to the uncomfortableness of that particular number but I don't think that Depp needed to play The Wolf.
Depp is a fine singer to be sure but... in most productions of Into The Woods, The Wolf is played by the same actor that plays Cinderella's Prince. Such as in the original Broadway run, both characters were played by Robert Westenberg.
The idea of having The Wolf being played by the same actor as Cinderella's Prince is meant to highlight that just as The Wolf is preying on Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella's Prince is also preying on a young woman. And having a different actor play this role misses that point. As much as I love this movie, I feel that was a huge misstep as there was no need for Johnny Depp to play The Wolf and really, his part in the movie felt like nothing more than an extended cameo for name recognition. Which you really don't need, when you have Meryl Streep playing The Witch.
I do like this movie a lot but there was no need for Depp to play The Wolf and perhaps Pine couldn't have pulled off the role but I really wish that the film had stuck to this. Let's get back to the review, so The Baker goes out to get the items but his wife soon follows him as she knows that he can't remember the items and that is what brings our two main characters into the story with meeting the other characters as they enter the story. The Baker's Wife, the first two nights comes into contact with Cinderella as she runs from The Prince's Festival. The Baker comes into contact with Little Red Riding Hood and attempts to steal her cape but it doesn't go over very well but after saving her and her granny from The Wolf, she gives The Baker her cape as a cape and hood will not protect you the way, they should.
On their way back, The Baker and his wife come into contact with Jack as he is travelling to the next village over to sell his cow as she has rumps on her lumps and is in poor condition. And they trade the cow, Milky-White for some magic beans that The Baker's father stole from The Witch's garden. They use a lie to trade them but they are indeed magic as we see a beanstalk grow in the yard of Jack's house. Which Jack uses to steal items from The Giant, so Jack and his mother get their happy ending. Cinderella gets her prince and The Baker and his wife get their child. However, this does come after a mishap as The Baker's Wife goes to the tower that Rapunzel is being locked in to tear off a piece of her hair but The Witch cannot use it as she cannot have previously touched any of the items but they found a way around this as Jack suggest using the hair from a piece of corn that The Baker had been using to compare people's' hair to. So, it appears that everyone has gotten their happy ending or have they?
As we come to the second act, which starts with the wedding of Cinderella and her Prince, we see a Giantess attack the village in reaction to Jack killing The Giant in the first act after stealing from The Giants. Now, how did the Giantess get down, another beanstalk as The Baker's Wife traded a magic bean that she had for one of Cinderella's golden slippers. And Cinderella just tossed it away in the woods.
The second act is perhaps my favorite part of Into The Wood's story as it explores the characters and how happy their happy endings truly mean and just because you get the happy ending that you thought you wanted, that doesn't mean that is what you thought it would be. Now, I've heard some people argue that second act of Into The Woods drags and it becomes a bit too serious for it's own good.
I would like to rebut that the point of the second act of Into The Woods is meant to be a bit more serious than the first act as the first act is where we see the characters go through the motions of getting their happy endings and it's a bit light and humorous. Whereas the second act is a bit more tragic and serious because of the events of the attack from The Giantess and it allows the audience time to explore what the characters are going through as their world comes crumbling down upon them. I feel that the central theme of the second act can be summed with this line from Children Will Listen.
Careful the wish you make
It shows that just because you get the wish that you thought that you wanted, doesn't mean that it's going to be everything that you dreamed. And these are the examples of how that comes to fruition in the musical, The Baker is a father to a son but fears that he can't be a father as he had no father of his own. (And this is why I hate that they cut No More). Cinderella married her prince but he isn't faithful as we see him partake in extramarital affairs. Jack and his mother are wealthy and living off the riches that Jack stole from The Giant but that leads The Giantess to come and attack. The Witch had her youth and beauty restored but in turn lost her magic. And I want to go into The Witch here a bit more as we have already observed that in the stage production, she loses more as Rapunzel dies as she is squashed by The Giantess but Rapunzel's death was cut from the movie. Which I think was a mistake as it lessens the impact of The Witch's loss. And secondly, I find it odd as the other deaths are kept intact as Little Red Riding Hood loses her grandmother and mother. Granted, that is only mentioned offscreen. Jack's Mother dies and The Baker's Wife dies. Jack's Mother dies in scuffle with The Steward and The Baker's Wife is killed as she falls off a cliff after partaking in an affair with Cinderella's Prince.
Which we have seen throughout as The Baker's Wife is shown to have a rather not-so-secret crush on Cinderella's Prince and Cinderella's Prince is well a bit of a scumbag. The best way to put it is that I do believe that Cinderella's Prince did love Cinderella but he can't keep in tucked in. It's actually a bit toned down from the stage production but showing Cinderella's Prince and The Baker's Wife helps to show the scummy ways that Cinderella's Prince acts. Which I think the Prince's actions are best summed up with this line.
I was raised to be charming, not sincere.
As that perfectly sums up, who Cinderella's Prince is to a tee but I honestly think that Cinderella herself has the best line in Into The Woods to describe what the characters are going through.
My father's house was a nightmare. Your house was a dream. Now I want something in between.
This line reinforces the notion of careful, the wish you make as just because you get the wish that you thought you wanted doesn't mean that the wish is always what you need or that the wish may come with consequences. Which interestingly, Jack's song, Giants In The Sky has a line similar to that of Cinderella's line.
And you wish that you could live in between
I do not know if Sondheim meant to reflect these two lines as when Jack sings it, it is in a rather happy joyous tone but when Cinderella says her line, you can hear in her voice all the despair and hopelessness. This goes back to why I think the second act is so important to the story of Into The Woods. Without it, you don't see the characters go through the journey that and they discover that their happy endings aren't all that great. Which is why I take issue with the Jr. version of this musical as it cuts the second act completely and that misses the whole point of the story. But we aren't here to talk about that version. Let's finally get to Rapunzel and my thinking on why her death may have been cut. Well, I actually have two thoughts on this. First, it may be because there are already other deaths in the movie such as the aforementioned death of The Baker's Wife and Jack's Mother but I'm not too sure that's the case. The other possibility that I've considered is that this movie came out 4 years after Tangled and while I would hope that Disney wouldn't treat their audience like idiots, they may have thought that killing off Rapunzel may have caused viewers to think that a Disney Princess just died. Again, I have no concrete proof that this is why Rapunzel's death was cut and this is only speculation. After all this time, our remaining characters fight over how this happened and who is at fault. Which leads to one of the best songs in the film, Your Fault. And they ultimately blame The Witch, who is annoyed that none of the other characters are willing to take any of the blame for the parts that they played in bringing The Giantess to the woods and attacking them and this is when The Baker runs off and confronts The Mysterious Man that is his father.
And just...just..just....
First, I wish that the movie hadn't reduced his role to only two scenes as he is meant to pop in and out throughout the entire story. And more importantly, my big issue is taking out No More. Oh, they keep it in as an instrumental piece. Hear take a listen.
But that's not the same. You need the lyrics as this song is supposed to be the moment that The Baker realizes that he has to face his problems and his fears and be the father that his son needs. Listen to this version from the 1991 taping of the show and you'll see why this song should have been left in.
Removing the lyrics and only keeping the lyrics diminishes some of the weight of what is a powerful moment for The Baker. And while I can look past the cutting of Rapunzel's death and even The Wolf being played by a different actor. This cut stings the most as this song more than any other really captures the heart of what The Baker goes through as his world was shattered and he discovers that he is about to his infant son in the same position that he was put in by his father. I honestly find this cut rather inexcusable.
Again, I really like this movie. As I said, it is one of my favorite musical movies of recent memory but just because I like it so much, doesn't mean that I am blind to it's flaws. This is the moment that causes The Baker to come back and realize that he needs to be there for his son. And he does return to help the other characters to kill The Giantess by using Jack as bait to trick her to fall into a tarpit. The attempt works and she does fall to her death but the character's lives are not that much better. Jack and Little Red Riding Hood are now orphans but they move in with The Baker and Cinderella leaves The Prince and decides to come with them as well. The Baker's Son starts to cry but he soon comforts him by telling him the story of the events that unfolded. Now I mentioned in the beginning of this review, that I would come back to how they handled the narration. All throughout, James Corden the actor that played The Baker narrated the first act of the movie but just like the second act, the narration suddenly stopped. Though seeing The Baker tell the beginning of the story to his son makes me think that we had been watching that all along as The Baker tries to impart the lesson to his young son that children learn from their parents and that shapes them and who they are. After all....
Wishes are Children
Into The Woods is a movie that I love but it frustrates me at the same time as I know what it could have been. I still think that it's an excellent movie and it does capture the tone and spirit of Into The Woods rather well but at the same time, I have to acknowledge that it is far from a perfect adaption of it's source material.
By no stretch, do I think it's a bad movie. I've pointed out many times that I greatly enjoy this movie and it's always one that I am happy to watch but I can't ignore its shortcomings. I still think that this movie is worth a watch, if you are interested.
Let's move onto what is perhaps the most important part of Into The Woods, the characters.
Characters
Main Characters
Now, it is best to keep in mind that Into The Woods is an ensemble piece. Yes, we do start out following The Baker and his wife but the story comes to encompass the story
The Baker played by James Corden
This was the first thing that I ever saw James Corden in and I must say this was pleasant introduction to Corden as he was fantastic in the role of The Baker. He really sold this role and made you feel for him with everything that he went through. And when he lost his wife, you truly felt bad for him as you saw the emotions on his face.
The Baker's Wife played by Emily Blunt
You could truly tell that The Baker and The Baker's Wife did love each other even in their childless marriage. Yes, ultimately, a child is the wish of The Baker and his wife but as we see after they get their wish, having a child doesn't make your life better. Now, this is not meant to be a bit on those of families with children but Into The Woods, I think is attempting to show that just because you have a child, your life will not be the happy ending that you thought it was going to be as taking care of a child is work. And sometimes getting through the motions will come with unexpected speed bumps and in the case of The Baker and The Baker's Wife, that speed bump happens to be her death. Which is reinforced with the appearance of The Baker's Wife in the end of the movie as she tells The Baker to calm the child and father and mother to the child.
Cinderella played by Anna Kendrick
If I remember correctly, this was the first movie that I ever saw Anna Kendrick in, and what an introduction. She was great and really brought a lot of depth to the role of Cinderella as you could clearly that she understood what Sondheim was attempting to show that with Cinderella, that being kind doesn't mean letting people trample all over you. And that is wonderful to see and I must admit that I love how the story handles Cinderella's Fairy Godmother by having her mother take on that role as Cinderella goes to visit her mother at her grave. Which is sadly ruined in the attack by The Giantess.
Little Red Riding Hood played by Lilla Crawford
This was Crawford's first film. She had previously played Annie on Broadway and for the most part, she made a great transition from stage to film and I greatly enjoyed her as Red Riding Hood. She was rather comical in the film but you still felt for her as everything happened to her. Now, I will admit that I did have one minor issue and it is a bit hard to get across in a text review but one of her line readings towards the end of the movie felt off.
Oh dear, how uneasy I feel.
I can't honestly explain what my issue here is but something about Crawford's line delivery here felt off. For a lack of a better word, it felt a bit too stagey. Now I know that this movie is based on a stage musical but line deliveries for stage and for movies are different.
Jack played by Daniel Huttlestone
Now, Huttlestone was also in another adaptation of beloved musical as he was also in Tom Hooper's film adaptation of Les Mis.
As I mentioned in the plot section, in the stage productions, Red is typically played by an adult and the same is also true of Jack but I will say that I actually liked the decision of having Jack played by an actual child as I feel that adds more to severity of his loss, when he learns that his mother had died. I know some people said that they took some issue with this as they made it feel as though Jack's Mother was being abusive towards a child and they were okay with that in the stage production as Jack was played by an adult but not here. Me, I think that I can look past that because I think that is a bit okay as Jack's Mother is at her wit's end and Jack is a child that isn't the brightest. And Huttlestone delivers that wonderfully.
Supporting Characters
Cinderella's Prince played by Chris Pine
I love how Pine plays Cinderella's Prince as this scummy sleazebag that thinks that just because he is the Prince, he can get any woman he wants. Which makes Cinderella all the more desirable to him as she keeps running away but alas, he doesn't get to stay with her as Cinderella's Prince is unfaithful to her. But I like I said, I do think that he loved Cinderella but he just couldn't keep it tucked in.
Jack's Mother played by Tracy Ullman
Jack's Mother as discussed with when he talked about Jack is at her wit's end with her life and everything that is going on in her life. She wishes for a better life as do so many of the other characters and you can see the frustration in her with the situation that she has found herself in.
Cinderella's Stepmother, Florinda, & Lucinda played Christine Baranski, Tammy Blanchard, & Lucy Punch
Cinderella's step family is quite cruel and vicious to her. They do get their comeuppance though as Cinderella's bird friends peck the eyes out of the wicked stepsisters and cause them to become blind. So, that was a great touch. And it seems to have humbled them a bit, not much but still.
Rapunzel played by MacKenzie Mauzy
Admittedly, Rapunzel doesn't have a lot to do in the movie and cutting out her death takes even more out of the story leaves her with very little to do. Still, she is a bit effective in the story but her overall contribution to the story is minimal.
Rapunzel's Prince played by Billy Magnussen
Rapunzel's Prince had even less to do because in the stage production, he too became unfaithful after Rapunzel died with child. So yeah, I guess points to Disney for not having two scumbag princes in your movie but at the same time, I dunno, it just felt abrupt how Rapunzel and her prince ran off and they were done in the movie.
Antagonists
I'm not using villain because other than The Wolf, the antagonist characters go beyond that archetype.
The Wolf played by Johnny Depp
I've pretty much gone over this extended cameo and how there was no need for Depp to play The Wolf. And that missed the point of what the story was trying to accomplish the parallels with The Wolf and Cinderella's Prince. However, I didn't bring up that The Wolf's costume design was inspired by Tex Avery's Red Hot Riding Hood.
So, that's pretty cool.
The Witch played by Meryl Streep
The Witch did seem to start out as the story's antagonist as she was the one that placed the curse on The Baker's family but as the film goes on, we come to see that there are more layers to her and you do come to see that she does care for Rapunzel as her own. But you also see the aggravation in her as the attack happens and no one is willing to do what needs to be done to stop The Giantess. Interesting note, The Witch is based on the The Witch from the story of Rapunzel and Donna Murphy who voiced Mother Gothel in Tangled also played The Witch.
The Giantess played by Frances de la Tour
Again, even with The Giantess, I can understand her anger at Jack and she has a right to be angry at him for killing her husband. Yes, she is clearly angry and wants Jack for retribution but to me, it came across as though The Giantess while serving as the obstacle that the main characters must overcome was at her breaking point and didn't know what else to do. And in her mind, killing Jack was the only option.
My Final Thoughts
I do love this movie a lot. It's one of my favorite musicals of recent memory but as I've said throughout the review, this is also a movie that frustrates me because I know what it could've been. I don't think that makes it bad but I feel like it could have been so much more. It's not bad and I say that it's worth a watch and for everything in the movie, I do think that it captures the spirit and message of it's source material rather well. Join me next time as we look at the music of Into The Woods.
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