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In recent years, fairy tales have been making a big comeback, with everything from big-screen blockbusters to TV dramas presenting their own twists on classic stories. Now, Chicago director Rob Marshall sets several of your childhood favorites to music with Disney’s adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Tony-winning musical, Into the Woods.
Into the Woods sings its way through the intertwining stories of a number of beloved fairy tales. When a baker and his wife (played by James Corden and Emily Blunt) are given the opportunity to break the curse that’s been cast on their family by the witch next door (Meryl Streep), they’re sent on a scavenger hunt through the nearby woods. Along the way, they encounter all sorts of hopeful young characters—from an easily distracted little girl who’s off to visit her grandmother to a poor boy who’s forced to sell his beloved cow to a young woman who’s desperate to attend the king’s festival and meet the handsome prince. And as their wishes come true, they discover that each one comes with its own consequences.
With its twisted, tangled tales all wrapped together and set to music, Into the Woods is magical and clever, with an often wicked sense of humor. This isn’t the same old fluffy fairy tale, with brainless princesses falling madly in love with handsome princes. Sure, there’s still some of that, but the stories are told in a way that’s unconventional and tongue-in-cheek. Here, the princesses sometimes have second thoughts, the handsome princes are amusingly vain, and the witch is every bit as delightfully unhinged as you might expect. The pitch-perfect cast, meanwhile, only adds to the fun—because it’s clear that, while battling wolves and belting out lyrics, they’re thoroughly enjoying themselves.
But Into the Woods isn’t just a silly fairy tale satire. It has its share of dark moments, too—moments that both look back to the original Brothers Grimm versions and look ahead to the film’s eventual change in tone. After all, just when you think that the characters are in the clear—when it seems as though their stories are making their way to the typical happily-ever-after—the film takes yet another turn. One small oversight leads to disaster, turning the traditional happy ending into one tragedy after another. And though I can appreciate the twist on the same old fairy tale, the change is abrupt and absolute. The lightness of the first two acts is completely overtaken, replaced by a grim conclusion that goes just a bit too far, ending the film on a surprisingly low note.
Cleverly written and perfectly cast, Into the Woods offers a magical, musical twist on a handful of familiar stories. It’s a fun-filled adventure for anyone with both a lifelong love of fairy tales and a solid sense of humor—but the drawn-out story and dismal conclusion make it heavier than you might expect.
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