INTO the WOODS cleverly intermeshes several well-known fairy tales, adding some nice flourishes: A brash and gutsy Red Riding Hood, a cockney-speaking Jack of the Beanstalk, and a handsome, charming, yet philandering prince. Those who generally like this sort of thing will probably find IW worth seeing. There's also plenty of meaning if that's what you're after. A few other noteworthy lines: "Are you certain that your wish is what you want?"; "You're not good, you're not bad, you're just nice"; "Even flowers have their dangers"; and finally,"'I shall always love the girl who ran away'—'And I, the faraway prince.'" Nice performances by just about everyone, but especially Meryl Streep as the Witch, Lilla Crawford as Red Riding Hood, Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, and David Huttlestone as Jack.
The biggest problem is that IW may prove too draggy—it would have benefited from being 15-20 minutes shorter--and complicated for many younger audiences, too tame and sappy for many older ones. This film takes place in a kingdom whose citizens sing about 75% of what they say to the same old loud-rhyming riff, making it distractingly seem like a parody of a bad stage musical; the script is so much better in the remaining 25% where they speak in normal fashion. Although IW is truly funny in a few places, it tries just a bit too hard in that area, and the humor is often forced. Some nice visuals, but it's not up to Disney's usual standards. The creators of this film had a difficult and ambitious project on their hands; regardless, IW lacks both the cohesive plot and the emotional impact of something like MALEFICENT.
Oh, well. If you find the rest of the film at least watchable, you will probably find the very, very end well-worth getting to. I also have to admire the way this film addresses the mortality of its characters.
The biggest problem is that IW may prove too draggy—it would have benefited from being 15-20 minutes shorter--and complicated for many younger audiences, too tame and sappy for many older ones. This film takes place in a kingdom whose citizens sing about 75% of what they say to the same old loud-rhyming riff, making it distractingly seem like a parody of a bad stage musical; the script is so much better in the remaining 25% where they speak in normal fashion. Although IW is truly funny in a few places, it tries just a bit too hard in that area, and the humor is often forced. Some nice visuals, but it's not up to Disney's usual standards. The creators of this film had a difficult and ambitious project on their hands; regardless, IW lacks both the cohesive plot and the emotional impact of something like MALEFICENT.
Oh, well. If you find the rest of the film at least watchable, you will probably find the very, very end well-worth getting to. I also have to admire the way this film addresses the mortality of its characters.