The critically acclaimed Stephen Sondheim musical “Into the Woods” has finally made its way to the big screen after its original debut on Broadway back in 1987. A unique and sinisterly dark fairytale, “Into the Woods” tells the story of several of our favorite fairy tale characters from our childhoods.
The tale begins with the story of The Baker (James Corden) and The Baker’s Wife (Emily Blunt), who both long to have a child but cannot, as they discover their family is cursed by The Witch (Academy Award nominee Meryl Streep). The only way to reverse the curse is to retrieve four items for The Witch in three days’ time: “The cow as white as milk, the hair as yellow as corn, the cape as red as blood, and the slipper as pure as gold.” They venture into the woods, to find their quest complicated as they run into Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) on her way to her grandmother’s house, a poor young boy named Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) on his way to market to sell his family’s only cow, a naïve Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), desperate to attend the prince’s festival, and a lonely Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy) sitting locked in a tower. And while the story begins with the hopefulness of wishes coming true and eager faces, the story quickly takes a dark turn as the characters find that not everything is what is seems to be.
At first glance, it seems that this story has been done before by countless others authors and filmmakers throughout the decades: a mash-up of characters from various stories all combined into one new, central plot. “Into the Woods”, however, stands apart from the others. While many modern incarnations of fairy tales have a more positive spin, such as the much loved Disney films, “Into the Woods” follows the darker aspects of the original Grimm stories. The concept of these tales was to teach a lesson about the harshness of life and death, and that not all stories have happy endings.
The beautiful musical score by Stephen Sondheim truly brings this film to life, as the characters explore the dangerous woods and find the magic that lies within them. It is must-see for musicals lovers and regular movie-goers alike, and for anyone of any age. With drama, romance, action, adventure, and the bit of magic only a musical will have, make sure to catch “Into the Woods” before it leaves theatres soon!
