Into the Woods brews mixed messages for adults and children

Movie:  Into the Woods

PG, 2 hours 5 minutes

Grade: A-

In a Nutshell:  Once upon a time, there was a Broadway musical that Disney remade as a feature film for families. This deconstructed twist on some of the familiar The Brothers Grimm fairy tales is an interesting brew of humor, music, slanted wisdom, dark moments, and unsatisfying endings.  

I had such high hopes for this movie. Two years ago we all laughed and cried and sang to Les Miserables (2012) on Christmas day.  This is definitely no Les Miserables (2012) .  It's not even last year's Frozen .  I wish…

Uplifting Theme:
      ·         Be careful what you wish for.

•          You are not alone.  No one is alone.
•          “Careful the tale you tell.  That is the spell.”   That’s good advice for Director Rob Marshall and Stephen Sondheim.

Things I liked:

•          I’ve always loved Chris Pine and his beautiful blue eyes.  Who knew he could sing too?  In an interview with Anna Kendrick, she said that Chris was very shy about his singing voice.
•          With very little CGI, the scenery and landscapes in the film are beautiful and feel like fairy tale settings. 
•            Lilla Crawford, who was FANTASTIC, replaced another girl as Red Riding Hood, after only one week into filming!  Her voice sounded like a real Broadway voice, unlike in this year’s Annie, starring Quvenzhane Wallis.
•       Some of the lyrics are pretty witty, evoking eager laughter and winces from the audience I sat with.
•       The story has not one prince, but two, played by Chris Pine and Tony nominee Billy Magnussen.  Their duet together is hilarious.
•        Anna Kendrick does a great job as Cinderella and will soon grace the big screen again in Pitch Perfect 2.  I have high hopes for that movie too.

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Things I didn’t like:
      ·         For a Disney musical, the ending was a downer.  It had a dark satire like Sondheim's style in 
            the incredibly disgusting Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street .
      ·         The messages in the songs are mixed.  Life is full of moral dilemmas and so is this story.

•      None of the melodies are very memorable.  I do remember they sang "Into the Woods!" a lot.  ha ha  Quite a few songs from the original musical were cut from the movie.
•     Several people die horrible deaths.  It’s not an innocent movie for children and is very dark in spots.   Jack’s mother smacks him often and the audience gasped each time.  Cinderella’s step-sister smacks her.  Red Riding Hood stomps on the baker’s foot.  There are some gruesome moments, but I won’t give you any spoiler alerts….just a head’s up for parents.
•   Johnny Depp's role is way too short. I would have liked to see Christine Baranski sing more as well.  She and Meryl Streep created a fun spark together in Mamma Mia! The Movie

Funny lines:
·         “I was raised to be charming, not sincere.” – Cinderella’s Prince   (The audience booed when he said that.)
·         “I wish my house were not a mess.”  - Jack’s mother (Tracey Ullman)  Me too, Tracey.  Me too.
·         “Perhaps it’ll take two of us to have this child.” – Baker
·         “This is ridiculous!  What am I doing here?  I’m in the wrong story!” – Baker’s wife
·         “I’ll gladly help you with your house.  There are times I actually enjoy cleaning.” – Cinderella

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Interesting tidbits:

•  Director Rob Marshall almost chose some of the actresses he had already worked with for the role as the witch, such as Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago), Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, and Penelope Cruz.  Can you believe he didn’t pick Idina Menzel?  Still, Meryl Streep did a great job.
•    You may have recognized the young boy who played Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) from Les Miserables (2012) .
•  James Corden plays the baker.  He begins hosting his new talk-show in just a month.
• In the original musical, there was a role of narrator.  Some big names were considered for this part as well: James Earl Jones, John Cleese, Alan Rickman, Christopher Plummer, and even Disney favorites Julie Andrews and Angela Lansbury!
• Emily Blunt, who is warm and charming as a baker’s wife who can’t bare children, was actually pregnant during the filming!  You can notice her baby bump in one of her later scenes with Cinderella's Prince.
• You might also have recognized one of Cinderella’s step-sisters, Lucy Punch.  This is her 4^th time playing this role: Ella Enchanted [HD] , Cinderella 2000, and a BBC version of Cinderella.
•  Emily Blunt (the baker’s wife) and Meryl Streep (the witch) also starred together in The Devil Wears Prada .

Tips for Parents:  There are several themes that are too adult for young children, even though this is a Disney production.  There is some violence and morbid scenes.

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The new Annie is just ok for a Redbox slumber party

Movie:  Annie

 PG, 1 hour 58 minutes

Grade: B

In a Nutshell:   In the midst of the current Sony hacking drama, the studio released a family-friendly film that is loosely based on the original comic strip by Harold Graycorny, as well as the 1982 movie.  It’s a modern take that is somewhat cheesy, and sometimes charming.   Selfies, cell phones, Social Media, and high-tech gadgets speak to a younger generation who is discovering Annie’s uplifting tale for the first time.  (I’ll bet you didn’t know there was a cell tower in the Statue of Liberty, eh?) 

This modern “Harlem” version of Annie includes some new songs, but don’t expect the big production numbers you saw in the original movie.  It’s not as magical as I wanted it to be, but it’s certainly  Redbox-worthy for a girls’ slumber party.

Uplifting Theme:

·         The sun will come out…tomorrow.  Duh.

·         “No matter who you are or what you are, you’ve got to work with what you’ve got.” – Will Stacks

·         “Sometimes what you’re looking for is right in front of you.” – Will Stacks

Things I liked:

·         Jamie Foxx (Will Stacks) is the highlight of the movie and the best singer by far.

·         Miss Hannigan is always playing good dance music in her apartment.  The soundtrack to the movie should be popular with young girls.  They might even turn off Frozen for a few minutes.

·         I loved Will Stacks’ “Smart House” apartment with the awesome, digital, changing wall designs and dancing fountains, not to mention the incredible view of New York City. 

·         New York City stars in the movie. The cast spends quite a bit of time flying around in a helicopter, giving you plenty of beautiful aerial views of the Big Apple.  We took the fam there a couple of years ago and had a great time.  What an incredible city.

Things I didn’t like:          

·         Quvenzhane Wallis (Annie ) is charming at times, but doesn’t have the million dollar voice that Broadway Annies are known for.  She should dazzle when compared to the other orphans surrounding her, but she often looks like she’s acting, and sometimes even has a vacant stare.

·         Bad transitions and editing pull energy out of scenes.

·         The moment Annie meets her parents should be more powerful since the story leads up to it, but it seemed pretty bland and dismissed quickly.

·         While I really like Cameron Diaz, I’m sad to say she can’t sing.  (I can’t either.) During her big moments, the music played louder than her voice and I wondered if it was intentional to cover up the lack of talent.  It’s not very believable to cast a beautiful young woman as the curmudgeonly foster care mother to begin with.  Strange choice.

·         While the movie is a fresh take on the original, the dance moves and music feel like the movie was made a decade ago.

Fun cameo celebrity moments:

·         Michael J. Fox      Will Stacks says “Michael J. Fox is a saint. “   Guy (Bobby Cannavale) then says “I hear there’s a tape…”

·         Rhianna

·         Mila Kunis

·         Where was Emma Thompson?  She helped write the script!

·         Where were Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith?  They helped produce this Broadway classic, along with Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, Laurence “Jay” Brown, and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith.

Funny lines:

·         “I’m ten.  I’m not an idiot.” – Annie

·         “I haven’t been to Disneyland, but I don’t think they have a paperwork ride.” - Annie

·         “Wanna go out tonight?  I got my dance pants on.”  -  Lou (David Zayas)

·         “He has nice hair.” – Grace

“I wouldn’t bank on the hair, sista.” - Annie

·         “Don’t pick that one – it’s licking it’s own hoohah.” – Will Stacks while letting Annie choose a pet dog

Interesting lines:

·         “I think when people say no, they’re really afraid of saying yes.” – Annie

·         “People shouldn’t be scared of governments.  They should be scared of cell phone companies.” –  Adewale   (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje)

Tips for Parents:

·         Some “light” foul language.

·         Sexual innuendos, including a hooker joke.  In a kid movie? Really?

·         Four barfing scenes…count them.

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