I have no shame in saying that I am a huge musical theatre nut. The feeling of watching a story play out on stage right in front of you is indescribably fun and worthwhile. However, hollywood has recently kickstarted an obsession with adapting musical theatre to the big screen with Chicago, Mamma Mia, Les Miserables, Sunshine on Leith and the recently announced but inevitable Wicked. My all time favourite musical has always been Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim's hilarious amalgam of classic 'Brothers Grimm' fairy tales, all ingeniously interwoven using the story of a witch, a baker and his wife. With some musical theatre adaptations not quite hitting the mark, how does Rob Marshall (director of the very well adapted Chicago) handle Sondheim's classic?
The original story of Into the Woods follows a Baker and his Wife on their journey to lift a curse placed on their house by a wicked Witch. The ingredients they require to do so bring them into contact with several well known Brothers Grimm fairytale characters, all in the woods for their own personal reasons. With princes chasing damsels, beanstalks growing to the skies, giants causing havoc and a multitude of incredible Sondheim songs, Into the Woods is a touching, hilarious, tear inducing and magic filled story of trust, love and being careful what you wish for.
The film starts, like the show, by bringing us straight in with the 'Prologue' number that introduces us to the Baker, his wife, Little Red Riding Hood, the Witch, Cinderella and Jack (of beanstalk fame). From the very start it's clear that this film is very considerate towards the source material; instead of drastically changing any story lines, Marshall simply cuts any scenes or songs that are, while wonderful, unnecessary to the main story lines. Sondheim was actually a major voice behind the filmmaking as well so the changes are very much in keeping with his vision. The humour is still there with a great many scenes remaining as laugh-out-loud funny as in the original. Those familiar with the music absolutely must see this film, if nothing else to see the song Agony. This scene was as close to perfect as any adaptation of any song could ever be; it has great singing, it's completely ridiculous with shirt ripping, waterfall splashing, cliff climbing and the classic one-upmanship between the two princes that hardcore fans of the musical have come to expect. This scene literally had the entire cinema in fits of laughter, to the point where it was hard to hear the actual singing. Perfection.
The cast was exceptionally chosen, with Meryl Streep (as always) owning the role of the Witch and further demonstrating her awesomeness in every role she chooses. Chris Pine goes in with guns blazing and gives a spot on performance, balancing melodrama and sleaze perfectly as Rapunzel's Prince. Johnny Depp shocks in his extremely entertaining performance as the Wolf, taking melodrama and bordering on pedophilia perfectly, exactly as Sondheim intended. Emily Blunt stuns as the Baker's Wife, demonstrating a previous unknown but lovely singing voice as well as adding to her already brilliant acting range. James Corden, while not as vocally adept as some of the cast, gives an immensely satisfying performance as the Baker, though some of the emotional weight he has to carry in the second half does seem to overpower him a little. The entire cast is well chosen and all have a great chemistry, with some shining performances from the child actors as well; Lilla Crawford and Daniel Huttlestone are fantastic as Red Riding Hood and Jack respectively. This is a relief since some of the most well known numbers are on them to deliver.
As with any film adaptation, changes must be made, but Rob Marshall has done as excellent job picking and choosing what to leave in the film. There are no serious changes to the story, with only a couple that in the end do not affect the progression in any way; as a matter of fact some of the changes do actually seem to improve upon the musical, with a couple of loose ends from the play actually being solved and wrapped up in the midst of scenes we already know and love. A few moments/characters that would be considered major in the show are cut, and as a result a couple of great songs are cut from the film. This is disappointing as one of the true tear jerk numbers is utilised instead as brief instrumental background music. In all fairness to Rob Marshall however, this is completely understandable, as will become apparent in a moment:
The original musical is done in two halves, with the first act being a truly hilarious fairy tale homage and the second act paying homage more to Game of Thrones than Brothers Grimm, with a lot of characters getting offed in 'icky' fashion. However, to lighten the mood Rob Marshall has cut a lot of the second act depression by changing the fate of one or two characters and cutting a few songs. While this may seem irritating to serious musical buffs, it really assists the film's pacing and tone by avoiding too many tears but keeping just enough depression to off-put any film critics expecting cheers from start to end.
This film is both a great introduction to Sondheim musicals for those who are unfamiliar with his work and a fitting homage to the original show for those who love it already. While some cuts may disappoint serious fans, there are no changes that detriment the story in any way and all the classic songs are here for us to enjoy over and over again. The entire cast is brilliantly chosen and they all put 100% into this ridiculously fun and touching adaptation of the classic Sondheim story. I would not recommend to those who do not enjoy musicals, or to those who find melodramatic, over-the-top acting too cheesy rather than fun. However, to those who can appreciate a stage adaptation that only makes necessary changes to benefit its pace as a film, appreciate the use of over-acting to comedic effect, love the music and songs that all remain as stunning as ever, combined with great direction and an amazing cast should definitely give this one a watch!
The original story of Into the Woods follows a Baker and his Wife on their journey to lift a curse placed on their house by a wicked Witch. The ingredients they require to do so bring them into contact with several well known Brothers Grimm fairytale characters, all in the woods for their own personal reasons. With princes chasing damsels, beanstalks growing to the skies, giants causing havoc and a multitude of incredible Sondheim songs, Into the Woods is a touching, hilarious, tear inducing and magic filled story of trust, love and being careful what you wish for.
The film starts, like the show, by bringing us straight in with the 'Prologue' number that introduces us to the Baker, his wife, Little Red Riding Hood, the Witch, Cinderella and Jack (of beanstalk fame). From the very start it's clear that this film is very considerate towards the source material; instead of drastically changing any story lines, Marshall simply cuts any scenes or songs that are, while wonderful, unnecessary to the main story lines. Sondheim was actually a major voice behind the filmmaking as well so the changes are very much in keeping with his vision. The humour is still there with a great many scenes remaining as laugh-out-loud funny as in the original. Those familiar with the music absolutely must see this film, if nothing else to see the song Agony. This scene was as close to perfect as any adaptation of any song could ever be; it has great singing, it's completely ridiculous with shirt ripping, waterfall splashing, cliff climbing and the classic one-upmanship between the two princes that hardcore fans of the musical have come to expect. This scene literally had the entire cinema in fits of laughter, to the point where it was hard to hear the actual singing. Perfection.
The cast was exceptionally chosen, with Meryl Streep (as always) owning the role of the Witch and further demonstrating her awesomeness in every role she chooses. Chris Pine goes in with guns blazing and gives a spot on performance, balancing melodrama and sleaze perfectly as Rapunzel's Prince. Johnny Depp shocks in his extremely entertaining performance as the Wolf, taking melodrama and bordering on pedophilia perfectly, exactly as Sondheim intended. Emily Blunt stuns as the Baker's Wife, demonstrating a previous unknown but lovely singing voice as well as adding to her already brilliant acting range. James Corden, while not as vocally adept as some of the cast, gives an immensely satisfying performance as the Baker, though some of the emotional weight he has to carry in the second half does seem to overpower him a little. The entire cast is well chosen and all have a great chemistry, with some shining performances from the child actors as well; Lilla Crawford and Daniel Huttlestone are fantastic as Red Riding Hood and Jack respectively. This is a relief since some of the most well known numbers are on them to deliver.
As with any film adaptation, changes must be made, but Rob Marshall has done as excellent job picking and choosing what to leave in the film. There are no serious changes to the story, with only a couple that in the end do not affect the progression in any way; as a matter of fact some of the changes do actually seem to improve upon the musical, with a couple of loose ends from the play actually being solved and wrapped up in the midst of scenes we already know and love. A few moments/characters that would be considered major in the show are cut, and as a result a couple of great songs are cut from the film. This is disappointing as one of the true tear jerk numbers is utilised instead as brief instrumental background music. In all fairness to Rob Marshall however, this is completely understandable, as will become apparent in a moment:
The original musical is done in two halves, with the first act being a truly hilarious fairy tale homage and the second act paying homage more to Game of Thrones than Brothers Grimm, with a lot of characters getting offed in 'icky' fashion. However, to lighten the mood Rob Marshall has cut a lot of the second act depression by changing the fate of one or two characters and cutting a few songs. While this may seem irritating to serious musical buffs, it really assists the film's pacing and tone by avoiding too many tears but keeping just enough depression to off-put any film critics expecting cheers from start to end.
This film is both a great introduction to Sondheim musicals for those who are unfamiliar with his work and a fitting homage to the original show for those who love it already. While some cuts may disappoint serious fans, there are no changes that detriment the story in any way and all the classic songs are here for us to enjoy over and over again. The entire cast is brilliantly chosen and they all put 100% into this ridiculously fun and touching adaptation of the classic Sondheim story. I would not recommend to those who do not enjoy musicals, or to those who find melodramatic, over-the-top acting too cheesy rather than fun. However, to those who can appreciate a stage adaptation that only makes necessary changes to benefit its pace as a film, appreciate the use of over-acting to comedic effect, love the music and songs that all remain as stunning as ever, combined with great direction and an amazing cast should definitely give this one a watch!