Review of Into the Woods (2014) by Thequietgamer — 14 May 2015

Several classic fairytales are tied together by the story of a baker and his wife hunting down items for a witch so that she will grant them a child. It's not out of the ordinary for a Disney fairytale movie to have musical bits. Their classic animated films like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White are known for them. This one is actually a full musical.

The great cast comes together excellently to deliver quite a few good songs as well as bits of humor and darkness. Johnny Depp in particular steals the show as the Big Bad Wolf even if he is only in the film a brief while. The film is at it's best when it follows the fairytales and it's original story about the baker and his wife collecting the items for the witch. There's humor, heart, and that classic Disney magic while all this is happening. However things get drawn out with an unnecessary final act taking place after the bakers quest for a child has ended.

The light, humor, and joy is sucked out for some dull and dark storytelling. The musical numbers in this act are tedious. It ends shortly after, but it's hard to enjoy this final stretch thanks to how obvious it is that the movie should have ended sooner. It's cool that they tried to go against the typical "and they lived happily ever after" most fairytales conclude on, but they make things too dark and bleak for it to be as satisfying. Sometimes your standard happy ending is the best way to conclude things.

Despite this flaw "Into the Woods" is still a great adaption of a broadway musical to film. There's a charming culmination of fairytales surrounding an original story that is satisfying right up until they decide to drag things out. Provided you can make it through the final stretch there is a movie you can enjoy here. It's a fairytale musical that isn't perfect, but still charming.

I give "Into the Woods" an 8.5/10.