Review of Into the Woods (2014) by Dylan R — 07 Jun 2017

This film adaptation of the beloved musical perfectly gives us everything we were asking for. From the beautiful visuals, amazing talent, and few cuts of original material, the movie brilliantly tells the story.

In the staged version, we sometimes miss out on some important things, but by the exact settings made so well by the artistic directors, we are able to envision everything and get a clear picture of this wonderful tale.

Emily Blunt and James Corden shine in the leading roles, showing chemistry perfectly, and leaving us with tears in our eyes in their rendition of "No One is Alone." The film would also not be complete without the surprisingly amazing vocals from Chris Pine, Anna Kendrick, and most importantly, Meryl Streep.

Streep does an excellent job, and as apprehensive as I was at first, the casting directors nailed this one. The two children roles, Little Red played by Lilla Crawford and Jack played by Daniel Huttlestone, also add to the wonderful talent, and are so good that you sometimes forget that they are both much younger than the rest.

Lastly, I must mention how pleasantly surprised I am by the very short performance of Johnny Depp as the Wolf. His haunting performance left me wanting more, and in this case, it sucks that the bad guy died! His rendition of "Hello Little Girl" is chilling and the perfect amount of creepy this movie needs.

All in all, excellent acting, excellent visuals, and although it may have lacked some things from the stage version, it still tells a beautiful story, and is a success in my mind. I'll definitely be back for seconds!