Into the Woods and Out of the Woods, to Happy Ever After

So, tonight I FINALLY got to see Into the Woods. I laughed, I cried, I even beamed a little bit. All in all I think that this was a really well-done stage-to-screen adaptation. From the actors to the beautiful scenery, Disney deserves an A+.

The Actors

If you're not a Broadway thespian, many of the actors in this film may appear to be "no names." On the contrary, they are not. One thing I love about this cast is that there is a mix of movie and Broadway people, showing that this film is for everyone.

Of course, Meryl Streep was absolutely wonderful as The Witch. She definitely brought depth to the character, and showed the change in her in act one versus act two. Anna Kendrick's Cinderella was my favorite. I've always loved that character, and her performance made me more excited for "The Last Five Years", another stage-to-screen adaptation also starring Jeremy Jordan, that is being released in February. I believe that "Pitch Perfect" showed audiences that she can sing, but Into the Woods showed us that she can really do musicals. Did you know that she was nominated for a Tony at a young age? Maybe she should come back to Broadway. James Corden and Emily Blunt were a perfect Baker and Baker's Wife. Relationship goals right there. Lilla Crawford (Little Red) and Daniel Huttlestone (Jack) were amazing. Just because they are kids didn't hold them back at all. Honestly I thought they were better than some of the other actors. Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen; the princes of every girl's dream. I really couldn't take Chris Pine too seriously. I know his character is supposed to be stereotypical, as proven in his one-liner "I was raised to be charming, not sincere," but still, not sure if he is going to do another singing role anytime soon. Billy Magnusen had slightly more depth to his princely character, or I may be biased since he is Rapunzel's prince. Speaking of which, MacKenzie Mauzy as Rapunzel was beautiful. As my favorite fairytale, her part and struggles were the ones that touched me the most. She was also probably the one character that actually looked extremely similar to the Disney animated version, except her long hair was braided from the beginning. All in all, this cast was great, and each actor played their roles perfectly.

The Scenery

These physical woods actually brought me back to a time where I used to play in a patch of woods near the playground in elementary school, especially when I saw Little Red skipping to her grandmother's house. I can only imagine what it must of been like to shoot a movie in a place like that. I'm sure there were CGI effects to make it more breathtaking, but it was without a doubt a beautiful woods. One of the things I love about movies is that creators can almost go beyond possibilities with sceneries to show the audience everything before their eyes. However with musicals, the audience does have to have a bit of an imagination while watching a show. Think of the "Newsies" film versus "Newsies the Musical". Same concept of scenery was done with Into the Woods. I do enjoy the imagination part of musicals a little better, but the version the creators had was amazing.

The Story

Now, I am far from a thespian when it comes to Into the Woods. Yes I know the OBC recording, but I have yet to watch the filmed stage version, so I am not the best judge of what changed from stage to screen. The one main thing that changed the movie drastically was the removal of the Mysterious Man, who in the musical, narrates the story and turns out to also be the Baker's father. In the movie, the Baker is the narrator, and this does add a little bit of confusion. I will also say that some fans were worried that Disney would "sugarcoat" this storyline. Well, fans can quit worrying, because I did not see too much sugarcoating at all. I don't want spoilers in this post, but go see the movie to find out what I mean.

Overall

Overall, I was very pleased with Into the Woods; I may even go see it again. I believe that thespians will not be disappointed, and audiences will really take something away from this show. The audience I was in laughed, gasped, and I even heard one or two members crying during "Stay With Me." I thought the actors did a wonderful job (I'm still not over Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen's "Agony"). Yes there were some changes, but I still thought the story was great.

What did you think of this version of Into the Woods?