If you go Into The Woods today...
Opening in 1988 in the West End, ‘Into The Woods’ is not a new musical by any standards, but it is new to the Silver Screen.
By Nicole Williams
*BEWARE: This contains major spoilers! Do not read if you plan to watch the film and don’t want to know what happens. This will ruin everything.*
The musical is based on a whole host of fairytales by the Brothers Grimm and features old character favourites such as Cinderella(Anna Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy), Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) and his Beanstalk, as well as new characters, The Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt).
I liked the film a lot. I liked how the introduction of The Baker’s story tied together some of those famous fairytales we all know and love, as well as created plot twists which kept the audience from getting bored whilst watching stories that they already knew.
There were some points in the film that I did feel like I could just switch off and it wouldn’t matter too much. It got a bit repetitive when Cinderella ran from the prince for the third time. (Told you there was spoilers.) And some of the songs simply felt like they were included to drag out the story more. Also, what’s the big deal with the Happily Ever After wedding of the Princes and then it’s like “haha, just kidding, we’re not finished yet.”?!
And another thing that confused me? Why was Johnny Depp as The Wolf advertised so much even though he’s in the film for about as long as The Baker’s Father. (Around 5 minutes altogether.)
That being said, the soundtrack is extremely catchy and you’ll be guaranteed to have “Into The Woods” stuck in your head forever which gets really annoying really fast.
Overall, I did enjoy the film. Yes it was unnecessarily long. Yes it had some really irritating moments. But it was fun, as a huge fairytale fan, it was nice to see all my favourite characters in the same film.
Songs to look out for:
I Know Things Now – Lilla Crawford (Red Riding Hood)
Agony – Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen (The Two Princes)
The Steps Of The Palace – Anna Kendrick (Cinderella)
Into the Woods – Company
As a special bonus, I’ve summed up each storylines ending within this movie in one simple sentence for you guys. (Obvious spoilers here.)
• If a guy tries to eat you and your family, the best revenge is to kill him and wear his skin as a trophy.
• If a guy is persistent enough to chase you after you run out on him three times, he’ll probably get bored after you’re married and cheat on you.
• If your witch mother doesn’t like the guy you’re dating, you should probably keep him away or she’ll use her powers to blind him. But don’t worry, crying on his eyes will bring back his sight, no problem.
• If you’re stupid enough to sell your cow for beans, don’t try and buy it back with giant coins. Greed will kill your mother.
• What’s the point in a whole quest to get a child if you’re gonna give it up the second it’s born because you had a crap father? Also, your wife might be dead but Cinderella is divorced now, she’ll be an instant replacement.
• The best way to kill a giant is to hit it in the forehead with a pebble. Apparently.
Have you seen this film? What did you think? Let us know on Social Media or by leaving a comment!
