Disney's Musical Romp soars out of the woods, and then back in.
Disney is no strangers to musicals. They have become the biggest corporation in the entertainment business, due to their success in animation musicals. This holiday season Disney changes their game as they bring us the live action musical "Into the Woods".
"Into the Woods" adapted to screen from the beloved Broadway musical, has many things going for it. An incredibly strong ensemble cast, a solid source material, and overwhelmingly fun music, yet it still has trouble finding its ruby slipper footing.
Right of the bat, you know the acting is superb. This ensemble cast is brilliant and have brilliant singing voices to match. We all knew that Meryl Streep would shine as the witch who sets the story in motion. There is not a single flaw to her wickedness. Other standouts include James Corden as the Baker, Daniel Huttlestone as Jack, and the best one of all Tracey Ullman as the eccentric mother to Jack. These performances shine light through the dark woods. They are memorable and electric. There is one performance that completely throws off the ambiance of this ensemble. There are good kid actors in this world. Lila Crawford is not one of them. Her performance as Little Red Riding Hood came off as nothing but annoying, and incredibly forced. This was a shame to me as it really hurt the entire cast of as a whole.
Whats the most important rule of musicals? Have good music! Well thankfully Into the Woods succeeds at this. The music is fun, funny, depressing, and energetic in all the right ways. And I know this music is being adapted from the play, so it had to be strong in the first place, but the brilliant singing voices of these actors made it so wonderful to listen to. The standout number is easily Chris Pine's and Billy Magnussen's hilarious waterfall romp.
Unfortunately, "Into the Woods" makes a tragic cinema sin. Being a adaption I completely understand that the plot points this movie takes are the ones it is intended to take and I have no issues with that. But the way these plot points are handled, and the way they are directed makes this movie fall completely flat in the last thirty to forty five minutes. And when I say flat I mean a giant just stepped on you flat. Because that what the last act of this movie feels like, a giant stepping on the audience. This last act took me out of the movie so much that it outweighed the whole scope of the film outright.
"Into the Woods" is a fine musical romp for the holiday season. It does not even compare to the juggernaut Les Miserables. Still it is a fun film with a cast that is a forced to be reckoned with, and music that is energetic and fun. But with a last act that leaves much to be desired this Disney Musical is stuck forever in the dark, damp woods.
A 2.5 out of 5
+Wonderful Cast
+Great Music
-Lila Crawford
-The Last Act
P.S - A little insight. I'm changing to a 1 out of 5 scale. This helps me out to give fairer and less biased scores. Here is a rundown of what each score means.
0 out of 5- A movie that is a complete trash bomb, and in should no way be viewed.
1 out of 5- A movie that has an intense number of flaws but may have one or two redeeming qualities.
2 out of 5- A movie that has potential, but isn't able to deliver.
3 out of 5- A movie that I certify fresh, but has its number of faults.
4 out of 5- A movie that is extremely well made, but is just short of reaching movie nirvana.
5 out of 5- A movie that is perfect in nearly every way
( I may do decimal points every now and then if I feel the movie is say better than a 2 but just not quite to a 3)
Disney is no strangers to musicals. They have become the biggest corporation in the entertainment business, due to their success in animation musicals. This holiday season Disney changes their game as they bring us the live action musical "Into the Woods".
"Into the Woods" adapted to screen from the beloved Broadway musical, has many things going for it. An incredibly strong ensemble cast, a solid source material, and overwhelmingly fun music, yet it still has trouble finding its ruby slipper footing.
Right of the bat, you know the acting is superb. This ensemble cast is brilliant and have brilliant singing voices to match. We all knew that Meryl Streep would shine as the witch who sets the story in motion. There is not a single flaw to her wickedness. Other standouts include James Corden as the Baker, Daniel Huttlestone as Jack, and the best one of all Tracey Ullman as the eccentric mother to Jack. These performances shine light through the dark woods. They are memorable and electric. There is one performance that completely throws off the ambiance of this ensemble. There are good kid actors in this world. Lila Crawford is not one of them. Her performance as Little Red Riding Hood came off as nothing but annoying, and incredibly forced. This was a shame to me as it really hurt the entire cast of as a whole.
Whats the most important rule of musicals? Have good music! Well thankfully Into the Woods succeeds at this. The music is fun, funny, depressing, and energetic in all the right ways. And I know this music is being adapted from the play, so it had to be strong in the first place, but the brilliant singing voices of these actors made it so wonderful to listen to. The standout number is easily Chris Pine's and Billy Magnussen's hilarious waterfall romp.
Unfortunately, "Into the Woods" makes a tragic cinema sin. Being a adaption I completely understand that the plot points this movie takes are the ones it is intended to take and I have no issues with that. But the way these plot points are handled, and the way they are directed makes this movie fall completely flat in the last thirty to forty five minutes. And when I say flat I mean a giant just stepped on you flat. Because that what the last act of this movie feels like, a giant stepping on the audience. This last act took me out of the movie so much that it outweighed the whole scope of the film outright.
"Into the Woods" is a fine musical romp for the holiday season. It does not even compare to the juggernaut Les Miserables. Still it is a fun film with a cast that is a forced to be reckoned with, and music that is energetic and fun. But with a last act that leaves much to be desired this Disney Musical is stuck forever in the dark, damp woods.
A 2.5 out of 5
+Wonderful Cast
+Great Music
-Lila Crawford
-The Last Act
P.S - A little insight. I'm changing to a 1 out of 5 scale. This helps me out to give fairer and less biased scores. Here is a rundown of what each score means.
0 out of 5- A movie that is a complete trash bomb, and in should no way be viewed.
1 out of 5- A movie that has an intense number of flaws but may have one or two redeeming qualities.
2 out of 5- A movie that has potential, but isn't able to deliver.
3 out of 5- A movie that I certify fresh, but has its number of faults.
4 out of 5- A movie that is extremely well made, but is just short of reaching movie nirvana.
5 out of 5- A movie that is perfect in nearly every way
( I may do decimal points every now and then if I feel the movie is say better than a 2 but just not quite to a 3)