Film Review: Into the Woods

Belinda reviews Into the Woods.

Disney finally pokes fun at itself.

Jack and the bean stalk, Cinderella, and Rapunzel get a surprising makeover when intertwined with a fresh story of a couple who want a baby badly enough to work with the witch next door.

There is more corn in this film than the entire state of Iowa. So many great moments that made me face plant, or gape open-mouthed at the screen. There was an mix of young and not-so-young in the cinema with us. The adults snickered and groaned in all the right places and, though the film was rather long (2 hours and 5 minutes), I’m sure we all walked away smiling.

The cast is star-studded to say the least: Johnny Depp, Christine Baranski, and Meryl Streep are just some of the more well known actors. The entire cast blends beautifully, and each actor brings their own oomph to the plot.

My favourite scene has to be the duet between Chris Pine (Cinderella’s Prince)- and Billy Magnussen (Rapunzel’s Prince). The song, called Agony, tells how both of them have it so tough when it comes to their respective love lives. I’d love to know how many takes it took them to complete the scene, but I imagine that the cutting room floor was littered with golden bloopers.

I don’t know what other reviewers have said about this musical film, and to be honest I would love it if people made up their own minds. I still haven’t decided if I want to own it on DVD, but as a one-off in the cinema, it was definitely worth the entry fee.

I thought this was a wonderful outing for the last few days of the school holidays!