A fairy tale that might prove more a nightmare for small children. In this very spectacular and overly-hyper musical opening scene it plays out more like Les Mis than family Disney. Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) is trying to bypass her evil stepmother (Christina Baranski) to get to the ball via ‘into the woods’ while Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) is trying to sell the cow for the magic beans but he has to get ‘into the woods’ and Little Red Riding Hood (Lila Crawford) must go ‘into the woods’ to get to grandma’s house but of course she’s encountered by a Bad Wolf (Johnny Depp.) The Baker’s wife (Emily Blunt) is trying to have a baby but she’ll have to go (guess where?) ‘into the woods’ where it seems all the stories align in a very noisy ensemble that plays out more like a complicated soap opera of mature themes (cheating, affairs, murders.)
While the rhymes, the poetry and the singing are over-the-top brilliant, and Meryl Streep steals the movie and a Golden Globe nomination with her performance as the witch, the film is very dramatic and dark. As the plot chugs along, one can’t help reminisce on the musical Chicago which might make sense, since this is directed by the man who directed that….Rob Marshall.
As a parent…the message of a philandering Prince Charming (Chris Pine) might not set well. Apparently, this disjointed story takes two hours to get to its tender message of “you’re not alone.” ♔ ♕