Yesterday I saw Into The Woods with my cousins. I was super excited to see this movie because I saw the play as a kid... and it was horrifying. Lol. I'm pretty sure that I was traumatized because there's death and people cheating on their spouses and the end isn't happy... and at the time I didn't get why this play was so sad. I didn't understand the message behind it, and now I do. Its very heavy for little kids, most will go over their heads if you were to take them... Disney did it in a way that wasn't quite as sad and traumatic... but its still a heavy musical.
So everywhere I had been hearing how wonderful Johnny Depp was in it and how cool his costume was... and I knew this wasn't really going to be a big deal. I don't remember the musical all that well, but of all the parts I definitely did not remember a wolf being in it. He was good, his costume was cool... but he was pretty much only in it for one song. The song was about how he wanted to eat Little Red Riding Hood, but it was strongly focused on her young age in particular... I never understood the meaning of that when I was little, but it seemed like a pretty strong metaphor for rape and pedophilia. The song itself is very well done because it is uncomfortable for adults but it still isn't clear. Its about the Wolf wanting to eat her, but it seems like the metaphor is quite obvious. And Red Riding hood has a song after her experience with the wolf saying that she isn't as foolish as she was then... and she is actually pretty badass and so is her Granny. She's grown up after her encounter with the wolf because she was sort of forced to grow up then. The actress that played Red Riding Hood was also amazing both as a singer and an actress. She did a really good job.
The casting of the movie was absolutely perfect as well. And a lot of people I didn't know could sing. When I saw the play the only famous person was Vanessa Williams as the Wicked Witch and she did an amazing job... but I was happy they went with someone older that isn't a beauty queen... because quite literally thats what Vanessa Williams was. She was Miss America and she's still gorgeous. And Meryl Streep is beautiful as well, but in a different way than Vanessa Williams at the time was. I also thought Anna Kenderick and Chris Pine were great... didn't know he could sing. Didn't know Emily Blunt could sing and she was FANTASTIC as the Baker's Wife. I loved the Baker too, he's a famous British actor and comedian. I thought he was cute. Tracey Ullman as Jack's mom was really good! I had no idea she could sing, but I love her and I thought she did a good job. All of them really worked well together and brought so much to their roles. I loved it.
And I think one of the important things was Emily Blunt as the Baker's Wife. I thought she did a better job than the Baker's Wife I saw on stage. It was just a really real performance. You could see that she was really conflicted when the Prince seduced her and you could understand why she did what she did. You could relate to her and feel for her.
The music in this movie/play is also fantastic. It will make you feel good even though the play deals with some very serious themes and doesn't have a happy end. I kind of want to buy the soundtrack... I wonder if I have the play's soundtrack. Its really really good.
There were some things I kind of wished happened in the play though... although I guess I should be careful what I wish for. They didn't fully go into detail with what happened to Rapunzel. I think in the play she might have died... not sure. They showed her in a fight with Meryl Streep and they didn't connect much of that afterwards. I went to the bathroom at one point, but my cousins said that they didn't really wrap that up. I thought they should have. They also should have had the Baker meet Rapunzel because thats his sister... idk I felt really let down by the Rapunzel arc of the story. I don't think they went into much detail during the play either... but they should have done something about it.
Also what happened to the cow? Did it die during the "earthquake"... I mean they brought it back to life they should have wrapped up the story.
Overall, good movie. Its something I can see myself watching over and over again. I'm happy that this director is doing Wicked.. and yeah. Go see it. It might not be the most kid-friendly musical you'l see... but I saw it as a kid and most of it went over my head and only the part where The Baker's Wife kissed the Prince and then died upset me. It would be good to take an older kid thats like 13 or so and explain the metaphors to them... it'd be a good teaching moment.
Byeee!
-Shannon
So everywhere I had been hearing how wonderful Johnny Depp was in it and how cool his costume was... and I knew this wasn't really going to be a big deal. I don't remember the musical all that well, but of all the parts I definitely did not remember a wolf being in it. He was good, his costume was cool... but he was pretty much only in it for one song. The song was about how he wanted to eat Little Red Riding Hood, but it was strongly focused on her young age in particular... I never understood the meaning of that when I was little, but it seemed like a pretty strong metaphor for rape and pedophilia. The song itself is very well done because it is uncomfortable for adults but it still isn't clear. Its about the Wolf wanting to eat her, but it seems like the metaphor is quite obvious. And Red Riding hood has a song after her experience with the wolf saying that she isn't as foolish as she was then... and she is actually pretty badass and so is her Granny. She's grown up after her encounter with the wolf because she was sort of forced to grow up then. The actress that played Red Riding Hood was also amazing both as a singer and an actress. She did a really good job.
The casting of the movie was absolutely perfect as well. And a lot of people I didn't know could sing. When I saw the play the only famous person was Vanessa Williams as the Wicked Witch and she did an amazing job... but I was happy they went with someone older that isn't a beauty queen... because quite literally thats what Vanessa Williams was. She was Miss America and she's still gorgeous. And Meryl Streep is beautiful as well, but in a different way than Vanessa Williams at the time was. I also thought Anna Kenderick and Chris Pine were great... didn't know he could sing. Didn't know Emily Blunt could sing and she was FANTASTIC as the Baker's Wife. I loved the Baker too, he's a famous British actor and comedian. I thought he was cute. Tracey Ullman as Jack's mom was really good! I had no idea she could sing, but I love her and I thought she did a good job. All of them really worked well together and brought so much to their roles. I loved it.
And I think one of the important things was Emily Blunt as the Baker's Wife. I thought she did a better job than the Baker's Wife I saw on stage. It was just a really real performance. You could see that she was really conflicted when the Prince seduced her and you could understand why she did what she did. You could relate to her and feel for her.
The music in this movie/play is also fantastic. It will make you feel good even though the play deals with some very serious themes and doesn't have a happy end. I kind of want to buy the soundtrack... I wonder if I have the play's soundtrack. Its really really good.
There were some things I kind of wished happened in the play though... although I guess I should be careful what I wish for. They didn't fully go into detail with what happened to Rapunzel. I think in the play she might have died... not sure. They showed her in a fight with Meryl Streep and they didn't connect much of that afterwards. I went to the bathroom at one point, but my cousins said that they didn't really wrap that up. I thought they should have. They also should have had the Baker meet Rapunzel because thats his sister... idk I felt really let down by the Rapunzel arc of the story. I don't think they went into much detail during the play either... but they should have done something about it.
Also what happened to the cow? Did it die during the "earthquake"... I mean they brought it back to life they should have wrapped up the story.
Overall, good movie. Its something I can see myself watching over and over again. I'm happy that this director is doing Wicked.. and yeah. Go see it. It might not be the most kid-friendly musical you'l see... but I saw it as a kid and most of it went over my head and only the part where The Baker's Wife kissed the Prince and then died upset me. It would be good to take an older kid thats like 13 or so and explain the metaphors to them... it'd be a good teaching moment.
Byeee!
-Shannon
Comments
Post a Comment