Into the Woods (2014)

[justcuttinhair]

i can appreciate/understand that...sometimes i hold off on watching or listening to things, because, I want to be in a situation where I can fully take them in; does that make sense? Also, without giving out too much info or "spoiler" material, I can honestly say that I feel that the soundtrack along with the art diretion of the film, are things that will be given extremely high recognition and praise. For the performances, I can only go by what I have seen in the couple of clips which have been posted, and from listening to the soundtrack album. Being a fan of the original cast, I do not feel that the film's cast undermines or discredits any of the play's musicality, but, they do bring some new aspects to the roles.....Meryl Streep brings an entirely different approach to the Witch....it is so different than either Bernadette Peters or Vanessa Williams...."Stay With Me" and "Last Midnight" sound fantastic! as I stated earlier in this thread....the orchestra's size really adds a fullness to the score that has never been done before. Gorgeous! From what we hear on the record...only tells me that the acting in these two scenes are going to be highlights on the film. While I prefer Kim Crosbie's Cinderella to Anna Kendrick, I still give AK the props she deserves for doing the performances at all.....the songs for Cinderella as some of the most difficult. In my opinion, if any of the songs in the score had a "pop" feel to them, I would say that "It Takes Two" get's that distinction, especially the Baker's sections. In this version, I hear instruments in the background, that I've never heard before, on stage or on a recording. A xylophone? bells? french horn? This for me, is James Corden and Emily Blunt's best performance...I may change my mind after seeing the film. "No One Is Alone"...........I see this becoming a high school talent show staple after this film. The arrangement is somewhat different than I've heard before, the pacing seems to be a bit faster. The voices of Kendrick and Corden compliment one another very well. I miss the last verse that has been omitted, but, beggars will not be choosers.

[UmbrellaFish]

I was wondering, is this the first time Disney studios proper have adapted a pre-existing musical? I can't think of any other examples.

[Fflewduur]

I was wondering, is this the first time Disney studios proper have adapted a pre-existing musical? I can't think of any other examples.

There's one, anyway: "Babes in Toyland" existed for decades before the Disney film adaptation.
(I confess I'm not too familiar with the original; I have a feeling "Into the Woods" is probably more faithful to its source material...)

[estefan]

I was wondering, is this the first time Disney studios proper have adapted a pre-existing musical? I can't think of any other examples.

Their television division adapted Annie and The Music Man, but I can't think of any feature film examples.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

"No One Is Alone"...........I see this becoming a high school talent show staple after this film. The arrangement is somewhat different than I've heard before, the pacing seems to be a bit faster. The voices of Kendrick and Corden compliment one another very well. I miss the last verse that has been omitted, but, beggars will not be choosers.

Yeah, I wish we got the whole song for the film (or at least the second verse: "Sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood"), but I've gotten past that.

I think the soundtrack is pretty great. Meryl and Anna do quite well, in my opinion, and the other actors are fine. None of them are bad per se, but Meryl and Anna are the standouts for me (Lilla and Billy do well, too).

[Disney's Divinity]

They cut some of "No One Is Alone"? Well. That sucks.

[blackcauldron85]

2 more clips:
http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disney-wat ... een-73802/

I'm holding off on buying the soundtrack before I see the film (which is rare for me) since I'm not familiar with the show except what I've seen/heard from the Disney film, so I want to make sure I like the songs enough first!

[Disney Duster]

I am a bit surprised that this thread is not getting more discussion than it is, especially since we are this close to the release date.

Yea, I am mystified as well. I thought people here were so into Into the Woods and excited about this adaptation.

Additionally, the added part of the curse( the blue moon) is pretty cool.

They added that to make more sense of why the Witch chooses this time to finally remove the curse on her and them.

I'm holding off on buying the soundtrack before I see the film (which is rare for me) since I'm not familiar with the show except what I've seen/heard from the Disney film, so I want to make sure I like the songs enough first!

Wait, that doesn't make sense...you want to make sure you like the songs first, so you won't buy the soundtrack before you see the film?

I hate Anna Kendrick's acting in that one clip. I think she is, like, hardly emoting at all.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

I'm holding off on buying the soundtrack before I see the film (which is rare for me) since I'm not familiar with the show except what I've seen/heard from the Disney film, so I want to make sure I like the songs enough first!

Wait, that doesn't make sense...you want to make sure you like the songs first, so you won't buy the soundtrack before you see the film?

That makes perfect sense. Why pay more money for a soundtrack when you don't even know if you'll like the songs? I've done that for quite a few musicals over the years: see the movie first and then get the soundtrack.

[Disney Duster]

Wait, that doesn't make sense...you want to make sure you like the songs first, so you won't buy the soundtrack before you see the film?

That makes perfect sense. Why pay more money for a soundtrack when you don't even know if you'll like the songs? I've done that for quite a few musicals over the years: see the movie first and then get the soundtrack.

Ohhhh...I get it. She wants to hear the songs in the movie first, and that's how she'll know if she likes them enough to buy the soundtrack. I thought she was saying she wanted to know she liked the songs before she saw the movie, to decide whether she'd see the movie.

I am a bit surprised that this thread is not getting more discussion than it is, especially since we are this close to the release date.

Yea, I am mystified as well. I thought people here were so into Into the Woods and excited about this adaptation.

[Musical Master]

New clip. I'm loving how it's shot and edited, it's like Rob Marshall and his crew are calming down on the film compared to Chicago and Nine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cffIbcY6_NE

[PatrickvD]

I'm still excited about this one. Very much so.

But of course it's coming out in January here, so I will have to wait. Reviews make me cautiously optimistic that they got it right. Most of the negative reviews seem unfamiliar with Sondheim so I don't bother to read those anyway.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

I'm fairly excited for the film, too. Even though I'm only recently acquainted with the musical (I borrowed the OBCR from the library back in June), it's very Sondheim and I love it. As a fan of fairy tales, as most of us Disney nerds are, I enjoy the retelling of the stories within a new story. I think having a cinematic representation of the musical will only enhance it (because, let's face it, even with so much technology, the theater is still somewhat limited in comparison to the cinema). I'm just glad that we already have a recording of the musical, and so it'll be fun to (somewhat) needlessly compare it to the film.

I've really been enjoying the deluxe soundtrack. I'm a sucker for the longer/more narrative songs in Sondheim's repertoire (Prologue: Into the Woods, Weekend in the Country, A Little Priest), because his music and lyrics seem to be even more top-notch than his other songs (or maybe they just appear to be so for me; for example, "Quick little birds, flick through the ashes. Pick and peck, but swiftly sift through the ashes into the pot"; "Look, ma'am, an invitation. Here, ma'am, delivered by hand. And, ma'am, I notice the stationery's engraved and very grand!"). So, I've definitely listed to the Prologue quite a bit (I just have to get the lyrics down), as well as Giants in the Sky, Stay With Me, On the Steps of the Palace, Agony, Any Moment, Moments in the Woods, Last Midnight, No One is Alone, and the Finale. The packaging of the set is nice, too. It's certainly not overly done, but the included booklet is a welcome inclusion.

[Disney Duster]

As a fan of fairy tales, as most of us Disney nerds are...

Glad I'm not the only fairy tale nerd here. Have you checked out the Disney live-action Cinderella stuff yet?

(because, let's face it, even with so much technology, the theater is still somewhat limited in comparison to the cinema).

Dude, the point of theater is it's live and you use your imagination...

To the rest of your post, I find I love Sondheim's longer, story propelling songs so much, too. "Stay With Me" is my favorite song in Into the Woods but second is "Prologue" and then "Finale".

[EZLiver9139]

I was wondering, is this the first time Disney studios proper have adapted a pre-existing musical? I can't think of any other examples.

Well, there was Evita. I'm surprised we've all forgotten. Perhaps since it was released through the Hollywood label, we can't necessarily associate it with the Disney brand.

BTW, official projectionist's letter:
http://digitalcinema.bydeluxe.com/site/ ... _90xxx.pdf

I approve of the Cinderella trailer being attached, but not Tomorrowland. Shouldn't McFarland USA need that extra boost of awareness right now?

[Joshua Clinard]

Let me start off by saying I am a big fan of the Stage Play, and that I have seen it on video many times, and I also own the soundtrack, and know all of the songs by heart. At first I was worried that they would cut too many songs, or change some of the adult themes. I also feared that I would not like the witch's portrayal in this film, because I think Bernedette Peters was much prettier than Meryl Streep

My fears proved to be unfounded. I saw it at 2:00 this afternoon, and the theater was just packed. It proved to be very faithful to the original story, and the songs were just about identical to the originals.

What happened during "Any Moments" was kind of left up to the imagination, but it was clear that the two were more than just kissing. He was really leaning over her, and were partially hidden by the tree. I think I prefer it that way.

The only songs that I really missed were "I Guess this is Goodbye/Magic Beans", and "No More." They replaced "No More" with some dialog that has less feeling, but still conveys to the Baker that he shouldn't run away from difficult situations. I think they cut the song because the film was running long. Wish they had kept "I Guess This is Goodbye" and "Magic Beans" though.

They also cut "Ever After" and "We're So Happy", but those songs are different from the other numbers. The other numbers were the characters singing to each other, or to themselves. "Ever After" and "We're So Happy" were sung to the audience. They were the cast summarizing what has happened in the story so far, and kind of takes you out of the story, and reminds you that you are watching a play. So I think I'm glad they took it out. They are neat songs though, and I'd like to see them as a deleted scene maybe.

The effects were very well done, as was the acting, and singing. Meryl's performance was better than I expected. I guess I don't have any major complaints about the film at all. I hope everyone will see it, and I think the box office returns will be big. I will also say that this was the best Disney live action film since their last Narnia film. I'm not really fond of the last two pirate films.

[bradhig]

It sounds like a sad story to me. I don't think I would like it. They have Cinderella running away and Rapunzel running off I think sad. I never saw the play.

[Disney Duster]

Yes, it is a sad story in the end...but there is some happiness, too.

Here's my review, with lots of SPOILERS for anyone who doesn't know the whole show.

This movie adaptation of Into the Woods was beautiful. Great. Fantastic. Wonderful. Amazing. All the little tiny “bad” things, were really just fine.

The whole ensemble is so strong and give such great performances. Everyone did great, really. My favorite character was the one I played in high school, Rapunzel’s Prince, partly because I played him but mostly because of his character, that his actor talked about, trying to be the best prince charming but failing hilariously…oh, and he’s so cute, of course.

I wish we saw the Witch actually transform like we saw for Cinderella. The camera showed us Cinderella's transformation in it's entirety but not the Witch’s. I felt gyped.

Emily Blunt really sang and acted so beautifully, her “Moments in the Woods” was so good and I felt so bad when she was about to die. Though, her death could have been shown slightly more, it was kind of hard to tell what happened to her until Jack said it.

I rationalized Rapunzel’s non-death and the “Witch’s Lament” as that the Witch is worried Rapunzel could die from the not listening to her because of the Giant out there and Rapunzel will meet a bad fate because of that, as opposed to when she actually does meet a bad fate via the original’s death. Her death still would have made more actual sense of the “Witch’s Lament” lyrics, and of the Witch leaving the world (I still wonder why she would leave it when Rapunzel’s still in it and there’s hope for her to be with the Witch?). I admit giving Jack to the Giant could be her way of saving Rapunzel from the Giant, but the question of why she leaves the world still lingers for me. Thankfully her “Last Midnight” was glorious and she didn’t “turn into” a tar pit, she sank into the earth and it left behind tar. So there is still the possibility she went to live with her mother, and made ugly again, as she asked for. Or at least, it fits that she got taken "away from this bunch".

Cinderella’s Mother’s appearance and singing was so beautiful. It makes me wonder why if her and the Baker’s Father and the Baker’s Wife could reappear, why not the rest of the cast singing the “Finale” as the living characters left the woods and rebuilt a home for themselves? It was an idea I had and one that James Marshall thought of but for some reason decided against in the end. The ending was beautiful, but then the "Finale" was reduced to a credits song that people got up and left during which I thought was quite bad to do to that wonderful music.

A lot of problems people had, like the children being too young or the tone shift and quick pacing and being too claustrophobic and feeling like a set and cutting too much from one story to the next and no imaginative directing – I found NONE of such problems with the film. The songs “I Know Things Now” and “Giants in the Sky” were kind of halting, but I think they did about the best they could do with them. Probably the only thing that could have improved them would have been if maybe Little Red sang to her Granny about why she strayed and caused the whole wolf problem (and just change the “at the end of the path was granny once again” to “at the end of the path, were you once again/I found you once again” or something), and if we saw the land of the giants. But the budget didn’t allow for that, as James Lapine revealed in an interview. And I guess Jack should have been merely climbing the tree (like climbing the beanstalk) and acting out things on the tree, not so much just walking on it and "dancing" on it. Also, would have been nice to see Cinderella’s ball, at least for the first time she danced with the prince and she ran away, but Lapine said the budget didn’t allow for that, either. I actually don’t think the characters singing “I Know Things Now” and “Giants in the Sky” to themselves, ala Cinderella (without the time-slowing) would have been bad…

I wasn’t even bothered by Johnny Depp, I thought he was pretty good, and the weird visualization of Little Red getting eaten and falling into his stomach to find granny was only a little poor, like how his stomach looked like sheets, but that was about it.

I think the editing and cutting that makes movies actually improved upon the show, allowing for things to happen quickly. I wish Cinderella’s transformation and Rapunzel’s tears had magic special effects (leaves blowing around Cinderella were actual leaves and not actual magic, the magic was invisible, and I wish it was visible, like the flashes of light, puffs of smoke, et cetera in the rest of the film. I would have chosen a sparkly glow for Cinderella's transformation and a tiny glimmer of light as the tears heal the prince's eyes for Rapunzel.).

The title of the film should have appeared at the very beginning! And we go through the letter “o” into the next scene just like the leaked script described! Oh well...

I found it odd when “On the Steps of the Palace” had the lyrics “you’re starting to stick to the steps of the palace” and “you’re still standing stuck in this stuff on the steps” and…Cinderella was doing none of those things. Her shoes were, which kind of “represented” it, and I know that her moving around the steps is much more dynamic, but I found it weird and I think we could have just gotten enough acting and movement from Cinderella’s upper body as she stood in the pitch to make a little more sense of the song…

The Prince’s dalliance with the Baker’s Wife was great…but when we come back to them at the end of it, instead of acting like they were only kissing, they should have changed it and left it open for audiences to think “maybe they did have sex” that would fly over kids and even some parents heads, because honestly, they would not merely want to kiss each other.

Oh, the Witch should have told Rapunzel “I was going to come back for you when you had learned your lesson” so we know she wasn’t banishing Rapunzel for good. That part got cut and I wonder why, I feel they mistakenly did it. I feel James Corden should have started to show the pain and sad emotions over his wife’s death as soon as he learned of it. He did finally show it in the scene after, but if you learn your wife’s dead…I don’t know, I think you would act a little more emotionally the very first time you hear it. I also felt Jack should have showed more emotion over Milky White’s death. And over his mother’s death, though he did show some emotion, just…think he needed more…but I thought this of the original Broadway cast show performance, too. And I think Cinderella should have been sadder about her mother’s grave being destroyed. I think Cinderella should’ve had more emotion and thought in her learning of what the prince did. However, I started to cry when James Corden finally does cry.

I, too, felt the film was kind of too quick and didn’t “breathe”, but it’s really, really minor, and really fine.

I think they should have finished the entire "No One Is Alone" instead of being cut off by the Giant. They were singing it so beautifully!

In the end, this film was a triumph. A wonderful adaptation of a brilliant show into a magical movie. It finally made it to the screen, and made it well. I loved it.

[justcuttinhair]

I was very pleased with the film! I went to the cinema last night with a group of 6 people, and everyone was thoroughly entertained and praised the music, scenery/costumes and layered storylines. my grandmother was the one who commented on how deep she felt some of the "values" and "moral" aspects are, but, could be overly dismissed if you were not looking for them. as someone who has seen the play done by a few highschool and community theatre productions, i was curious to see how truncated the story had become. sure, there are a few things that i felt could have been ironed out better. the relationship between the prince and rapunzel....was a bit fleeting. the last act..is where i think the movie suffered the most...it was too rushed. all in all, i loved it and Disney has produced a film that i think can easily sit alongside their other live action cannon, and be something to be proud of.

[DisneyJedi]

I saw the movie with my family and I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I was the only one who really loved it thoroughly.

Of course, I learned why my family wasn't as into it as I was is because they were extremely confused and didn't understand the gist of it. Not the plot, mind you. They didn't get the message of it because it went over their heads. I had to tell them that the moral was simple: "Be careful what you wish for." And I even told them that the point of the movie/musical was that it was supposed to take the whole idea of "Happily Ever After" and turn it on its head, to quote Anna Kendrick from an interview I saw on Disney Channel.