Into the Woods

     

And Home Before Dark!

    Hey, you crazy cats! Welcome back! I'm super excited for this week's review. We're doing Into the Woods! Imagine a story about Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and more. Sounds loaded, right? Now imagine a twist that connects all of those classic tales. Add a little bit of music and you get Into the Woods! I'll let you know now, the Overview is pretty lengthy today, since this is a loaded musical.

    If you're used to the happier versions of fairytales, this show might catch you off-guard. These aren't the pretty stories you used to read before bed to your kittens, it's the Grimm brothers version with dark themes of death and destruction. Hopefully I haven't scared you away. I promise, it's a really interesting way to view classic fairytales! Cat's honor. 

    A film version of Into the Woods was released in 2014, and recently became available on Disney+, so I'll be talking about the film version of the show, not the actual production. Without further ado, let's pounce right in(to the woods? Hehe)!

Into the Woods

Disney+

History

    Into the Woods made its first stage appearance in 1986 at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre. It opened on Broadway on November 5, 1987, and played for almost 2 years, closing on September 3, 1989. A US tour was launched in 1988, and a West End production opened in 1990. There have been 2 West End revivals since, in 1998 and in 2010. Broadway had a revival in 2002. The film adaptation was released in 2014. In 2019, Into the Woods was performed at The Hollywood Bowl, with Broadway stars including Sierra Boggess, Sutton Foster, Hailey Kilgore, and Anthony Crivello, among others. 

Who's in the Cast?

    Get ready, because this is a star-studded cast if I've ever seen one. First up, we have comedian James Corden playing the role of The Baker, and Emily Blunt as The Baker's Wife. Legendary actress Meryl Streep portrayed the role of The Witch. Anna Kendrick starred as Cinderella, and Chris Pine acted as Cinderella's Prince. Billy Magnussen played the brother of Cinderella's Prince, Rapunzel's Prince, and MacKenzie Mauzy starred as Rapunzel herself. Famous actor Johnny Depp played the role of The Big Bad Wolf, and Lilla Crawford portrayed his prey as Little Red Riding Hood. Finally, Daniel Huttlestone played the role of Jack, while Tracey Ullman acted as his mom, the role of Jack's Mother.

    (I know I usually hold my thoughts until the end, but I'm gonna jump in right here, quickly. I think it's really interesting how most of the names of the characters are literally what their role is; a lot of them aren't given actual names! I love it.)

Overview

    Once Upon a Time! Our story begins with a narration about the various lives of the characters. Cinderella, a serving girl, wants more than anything to attend a festival the king is having, but her stepmother and stepsisters will not permit her to go. A young boy named Jack wants his cow, Milky White, to produce milk, but she's too old. His mother send him to the market to sell the cow for money. A little girl in a red cape wants to bring bread to her grandmother in the woods. A baker and his wife wish they had a child. The Witch from next door tells them that years ago, when the baker's mother was pregnant, his father stole magic beans and other vegetables from The Witch's garden. As punishment, The Witch stole the child, a baby girl, and also cursed The Baker (a baby at the time) to never have children. She tells him the only way to break the curse is to acquire 4 items for a potion: The cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, and the slipper as pure as gold. She tells The Baker and his wife that they have 3 days to get the items, in time for the Blue Moon. The Baker's Wife finds the Baker's father's jacket, and the stolen magic beans are in the pocket. The Baker prepares to leave. All of the characters head on separate paths into the woods: Little Red Riding Hood to visit her grandmother, Jack to sell the cow, Cinderella to go to the festival, and The Baker to find the items for the potion (Prologue: Into the Woods). 

    Cinderella visits the grave of her mother, upset, and the spirit of her mother gives her a beautiful golden dress with matching slippers. She runs off to attend the festival (Cinderella at the Grave). Little Red Riding Hood, lost in the woods, is offered help by a deceptive and hungry Wolf. The Wolf encourages her to stray from the path, and she picks a bouquet of flowers for her grandmother before continuing (Hello, Little Girl). 

    The Baker's Wife has followed The Baker into the woods to try to help him. They meet Jack, and they trick Jack into selling his cow for 5 of the 6 magic beans. The want to use Milky White as "the cow as white as milk" for the potion. The Baker sends his wife home with the cow, and a sad Jack heads home.

    The Witch visits a secret, tall tower in the woods, where a young woman with long blonde hair is singing. She lowers her hair to The Witch, and it's revealed her name is Rapunzel, and she is the child that was stolen years ago. Unbeknownst to The Witch, a prince hears her singing and is entranced. 

    Meanwhile, the ravenous Wolf has beaten Little Red to her granny's house, devoured her grandmother, and is dressed in her clothes. When Little Red arrives, the Wolf eats her too. The Baker, who had followed Little Red in an attempt to steal her red cape for the potion, kills the Wolf and frees Little Red and her grandmother. In thanks, Little Red gives her cape to The Baker (I Know Things Now). 

    At home, Jack's Mother is furious that Jack exchanged the cow for "magic" beans, and she throws them out the window, where they begin to sprout instantly. At the festival, Cinderella is sprinting away, even though the prince only danced with her. She runs into the Baker's Wife in the woods, who is looking for Milky White, the cow having gotten spooked and running away. The Baker's Wife is curious about what the prince was like at the festival, so Cinderella indulges her, although she is unsure about her experience (A Very Nice Prince). The Baker's Wife realizes that Cinderella's slippers are what she needs for the potion, so she tries to take them, but Cinderella escapes. The Baker's Wife is upset that she has let 2 ingredients slip out of her hands.

    The next day, a giant beanstalk has sprouted behind Jack's farmhouse. He races into the woods to find The Baker, and hands him 5 gold pieces, so he can buy back Milky White. He tells The Baker that he climbed a beanstalk and found giants and gold above the clouds (Giants in the Sky). He runs out of the woods to find The Baker's house and hopefully buy the cow back from The Baker's Wife. The Baker's Wife finds The Baker and reveals she lost the cow, and he sends her home in anger.

    In the woods, the prince from the festival runs into the prince from Rapunzel's tower, and it is revealed they are brothers. Rapunzel's prince speaks about her beautiful hair, as yellow as corn, which The Baker's Wife overhears on her way out of the woods. She runs off to find the tower. The princes converse about wanting a woman that you can't have, and how it pains them both (Agony).     

    At night, The Baker's Wife finds the tower of Rapunzel and calls her name. Rapunzel lowers her hair, and The Baker's Wife cuts some of it off before running away. Meanwhile, Cinderella is fleeing from the second night of the festival when she meets The Baker's Wife again, who again fails in taking one of her slippers. In another part of the woods, The Baker is looking for Milky White, who he finds covered in mud. The Baker's Wife finds him, and they rejoice at having collected 3 of the items, and that they have an entire day to find the last one, the golden slipper (It Takes Two). 

    Jack finds the two of them in the woods, and he brings them a golden egg that he stole from the giants. He demands they return Milky White to him, but Milky White suddenly dies, breaking Jack's heart and causing The Baker and his wife to panic. 

    On the morning of the third day, The Witch finds Rapunzel's Prince at her tower, and in rage, causes his horse to buck him into brambles, blinding him. She tells Rapunzel that there's nothing more she needs than her "mother" (Stay With Me). She cuts off the rest of Rapunzel's hair and hides her away.

    In the woods, Little Red dares Jack to return to the giant's castle and steal a harp. Jack does, but it chased by a furious giant. He cuts down the beanstalk and the giant falls to the ground, dying. The Baker and his wife agree to split up, The Baker to find a new cow and his wife to get the golden slipper. Cinderella once again attempts to flee from the festival, on its final night, only to find herself stuck in tar that the prince smeared on the steps to catch her. She decides to leave him a slipper before running into the woods (On the Steps of the Palace). As she runs into the woods she again meets The Baker's Wife, who tries to buy the slipper from Cinderella with the last magic bean. Cinderella tosses it away, and it plants itself in the ground. Cinderella exchanges the slipper for the shoes of The Baker's Wife. 

    Meanwhile, Cinderella's prince is searching the kingdom immediately to find the maiden whose foot fits his slipper. Cinderella's stepmother cuts off her stepdaughters' heels and toes in an attempt to make their feet fit the shoe, but Cinderella arrives and the shoe fits only her foot (Careful My Toe). 

    Rapunzel, who The Witch had hidden in a swamp in the forest, is singing miserably. Her prince, blinded, stumbles towards her voice. She runs to him, and cries over his face. Her tears heal him, and he is able to see again.

    As the final midnight draws close, The Baker and his wife meet up with all of the items. The Witch arrives and revives Milky White. She orders them to feed the rest of the ingredients to the cow and milk her, but Milky White produces no milk. The Witch realizes they used Rapunzel's hair for "the hair as yellow as corn," and reveals the potion won't work if she's previously touched the items. Jack suggests they use hair from an actual ear of corn, and it works. The Witch drinks the potion as the Blue Moon happens, and she returns to her youth. The Baker's Wife is instantly around 9 months pregnant. 

    All seems well. The Witch had returned to her youth, The Baker and his wife had a child, Jack got to keep Milky White, and Cinderella and Rapunzel married their princes. At the wedding ceremony, a great earthquake shakes the kingdom. When the guests try to return home, all of their usual paths are gone, and they become lost. The Baker and his wife run into Little Red, who can't find her granny's house in the woods. The trio run into Cinderella's stepfamily and the royal Steward and try to figure out what's going on. It is then the true source of the earthquake reveals itself to them: the wife of the dead giant has come down from the second beanstalk and is looking to avenge his death by killing Jack. Jack's mother runs in, looking for Jack, and yells at the giantess. The Steward throws her to the ground to quiet her, accidentally killing her. 

    The Witch finds a scared Rapunzel hiding in the ruins of her old tower. She tries to take her away from her prince, but discovers that her magic is gone, as a result of her transformation. Rapunzel leaves with her prince, and The Witch mourns her loss (Witch's Lament). Deeper in the woods, The Baker and his wife leave their baby boy with Little Red and agree to split up in different directions to look for Jack. The Baker's Wife finds Cinderella's Prince in the woods, who seduces her briefly before departing (Any Moment). The Baker finds Cinderella in the woods, who is upset to find the grave of her mother destroyed by the giantess. The Baker invites Cinderella to join them for protection.

    The Baker's Wife reflects on everything that's happened to her when the giantess finds her and forces her off of the edge of a cliff, killing her (Moments in the Woods). At the makeshift camp of The Baker, Cinderella, and Little Red, The Witch enters dragging Jack. Jack reveals he found the body of The Baker's Wife at the bottom of a cliff. The Witch wants to give Jack to the giantess, but the others won't let her. Angry at the situation, the group starts blaming each other for all of the problems, until they realize The Witch and her magic beans were the reason that everything has happened (Your Fault). In anger at the group for not accepting personal responsibility as well as handing Jack to he giantess, The Witch casts the remaining beans all over the clearing, where beanstalks instantly start sprouting. The Witch then vanishes (Last Midnight). 

    The remaining small group of The Baker (and his baby), Cinderella, Little Red, and Jack, decide to take down the giantess. They set up a trap using Jack as the bait, and wait for the giantess to arrive. In the meantime, Cinderella's Prince meets her in the forest, and she leaves him, knowing he strayed in loyalty to her. The Baker reveals to Jack that his mother died, and Cinderella and The Baker comfort the scared children (No One Is Alone). The giantess arrives, and they successfully slay her, with Jack throwing a stone at her head. Cinderella decides to move in with The Baker to help him raise his child, and they allow Little Red and Jack to stay with them, as they have nobody. They look to the future, and The Baker begins to tell his crying baby the story of the film (Finale). 

     

    

Thoughts

   When the film adaptation of Into the Woods, first came out, a lot of musical theatre fans criticized it for casting choices and film changes. As a cat who has seen both the stage production and the film, I believe that the film is able to hold its own in comparison to the stage version. 

    With that being said, I love this movie. Sure, I enjoy just being able to watch a musical that I love in general whenever I want, but I also think the cast and crew put on a good show. When I decided to review this movie, I was already excited to re-watch it and jot down some new notes. Is that cheating? That I'm supposed to be reviewing musicals but instead I just rant about how good my favorites are? Maybe. But it's my blog, so I'll continue raving. 

    BACK TO THE MOVIE. First, I want to talk about James Corden. Every time a movie comes out with him in it, there's backlash. I don't personally understand it. Throughout this film, Corden did an excellent job of portraying the irritated, stubborn yet desperate Baker. He provided a true sense of urgency to the film, without which the action sequences would have felt dead. Opposite him, Emily Blunt was paw-some in her role as his wife. She consistently showed the classic "housewife-helping-the-husband" role, yet when her character wanted to become more independent and explore on her own, Blunt was able to perfectly portray feelings of discovery, desire, and unsureness with incredible talent. 

    Meryl Streep as The Witch was phenomenal casting to me. It's hard to picture anyone else in that role now. I'd like to shake paws with the casting director. 

    I'd also like to applaud Johnny Depp. I remember again when this movie first came out, people tried to paint his character in a pedophiliac light. To be fair, his song is kinda creepy, but the whole point is that a wolf wants to eat a child. The only time Depp appears in the film is for 2 short scenes, but it is vital to the development of Little Red Riding Hood's character, and Depp did a great job providing a background for the future actions of Little Red. 

    Overall, yes, the plot is a little weird. I've always been fascinated with how the various fairytales are woven together. There is a lot of death and destruction at the end, which if you aren't prepared, can be a little unnerving. 

    I would recommend Into the Woods for older audiences, at least, not for young kittens. If you're gonna show your kids, stop about halfway through, where it seems like everything turned out for the best and everybody is happy. It only goes downhill from there. 

    Final thoughts: it's always been a weird-ish musical, but I think that's where it gets its appeal. The movie had a fantastic cast, and it's great that we now have a film version of the show to watch whenever we please.

    My only complaint is the lack of cats. There was a Big Bad Wolf and a cow named Milky White but no cats? Oh well. I guess I'll have to sit this one out. Until next time!

Ratings

Find the rating scale here.

Soundtrack          ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lighting               ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Set                        ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall                 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cat rating             ⭐

Best song: I Know Things Now/Your Fault

Best actor: Meryl Streep

Best set: The Woods

Fun Facts!

• Among other changes, stage productions feature a Narrator who is actually involved with the plot of the show. In the movie, The Baker narrates.
• Around 9 songs were cut from the stage version for the film adaptation, although a few of them are featured as background music, such as "Ever After," and "No More." 
• Into the Woods is the 4th most produced musical in high schools around the US. Grace told me that when she was in 8th grade, her own high school performed the show, and she played the synthesizer in the pit orchestra!