Although Stephen Sondheim has his niche audience of musical theater lovers, most people that see Into the Woods (2014) won’t be familiar with the acclaimed play upon which this Disney adaptation is based. I’m one of them. As such, I’m not in a position to complain about Disney’s sanitation of Sondheim’s dark vision — a common criticism of the film — nor can I compare the two versions to determine which is more successful. In fact, I’ve never seen a Broadway musical. However, I have seen enough movie musicals in my lifetime to determine if this latest one is worth the audience’s time. Spoiler alert: it’s not.
Rob Marshall’s Into the Woods is a cinematic adaptation of Sondheim’s Broadway musical, which itself is an adaptation of numerous fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk. Those that are familiar with the play and fairy tales will certainly get more out of this adaptation, but such exposure isn’t necessary. The film’s narrator sets the story up clearly, and like most Disney movies, it’s simple to follow and made for the whole family.
A childless baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) are greeted by a witch (Meryl Streep), who sends them on a quest to procure magical items in order to reverse a curse that was put on their family tree. If they bring these items to the witch, she will give them a child. During their travels, they cross paths with characters from famous fairy tales, including Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy), and Jack (Daniel Huttlestone), who will soon grow his beanstalk. All of this takes place in the woods, where the darker side of humanity comes to the surface.
The entire cast is terrific. Streep continues her Joan Crawford diva phase and hams it up as the Witch. Unlike her roles in other recent films like Doubt (2008), The Iron Lady (2011), and August: Osage County (2013), the Witch requires her to be over-the-top. It’s nice to see the screen legend let loose, and just when we think the Witch has nothing else to do but shriek at the other characters, Streep’s beautiful rendition of the song “Stay with Me” forces us to feel for the old hag. Other standouts include Blunt, Corden, and Kendrick, as well as Huttlestone and Crawford, two young actors that hold their own against the A-list cast.
The Blu-ray comes with a number of special features, including Streep’s performance of “She’ll be Back,” a song that Sondheim wrote specifically for the film that ironically isn’t in the final cut. This is another forceful reminder that Streep elevates the film into something magical whenever she’s on screen. In addition, there are a few behind-the-scenes featurettes about the film’s production, including “The Cast As Good As Gold,” a thankless collection of interviews about the actors’ experiences on set.
Unlike other movie musicals, including Marshall’s masterpiece Chicago (2002), Into the Woods lacks stand-alone musical numbers. For the most part, the actors sing their lines throughout the film, which resembles The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) in style, but lacks that film’s whimsical charm and gorgeous aesthetic. Ideally, movie musicals should feature show-stopping spectacles (see Singin’ in the Rain [1952] and Moulin Rouge! [2001]) or emotionally intimate songs that make the audience feel something for the characters (see Dancer in the Dark [2000] and Once [2006]). Unfortunately, Into the Woods fails to deliver in both areas. The productions, while competently performed, never dare to blow the audience away, and with the exception of Streep’s “Stay with Me,” we don’t form an emotional connection to the characters through the music.
It’s a shame, really, that for all of the talent on display, Into the Woods is such a forgettable movie. Part of this has to do with the aforementioned musical approach, in which dialogue is sung but songs aren’t performed, but it’s also because the film’s aesthetic isn’t as imaginative as it should be. The majority of it is set in the woods, which is supposed to symbolize the dark side of human nature, and yet none of it feels particularly menacing. What’s worse, as the fairy tales are deconstructed in the daring second half, the film loses stream and starts to feel repetitive when it should be gaining momentum.
Into the Woods isn’t as embarrassing as Mamma Mia! (2008) or Annie (2014), but the bar shouldn’t be that low. With all of the wonderful movie musicals that have been made, it’s frankly not enough to be a little bit better than two of the worst in recent memory. Die-hard Sondheim fans may enjoy this adaptation, but the rest of the world should revisit Chicago and wonder why Marshall hasn’t been able to capture that film’s magic since.