Johnny Depp as ‘The Wolf’ in ‘Into The Woods’
Released earlier this year, Disney’s latest feature-length musical Into The Woods is a star-studded affair that is, in setting, visually stimulating and accompanied by a wonderful musical score. Set in the woods surrounding a village, fairytale characters such as the Baker, Cinderella, Jack and Red Riding Hood come together as the Baker (James Corden), and his wife (Emily Blunt) set out to lift a curse, beginning their journey and the story.
When watching Into The Woods, I found the film extremely visually stunning – the scenes were all beautifully filmed, the costumes wonderful and, as a whole, extremely delightful to watch. The cast too were wonderful – Meryl Streep as the Witch, Emily Blunt as the Baker’s Wife and Johnny Depp as the Wolf are among the few characters in the film who delivered a mesmerising performance, but none could top the strength of the movies leading role, The Baker, played by James Corden. In the entire movie, James Corden’s performance was the strongest by far, truly bringing his character to life and immersing himself in his role. Of all the characters, the Baker was the one that captured me as a viewer the most.
Not only did the characters set a great tone for the movie, but the musical score did too. There are many great songs in the movie, with one of my favourites being ‘Agony’, performed by Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen, who play the dashing princes of the movie. The song itself is fun, however it is further enhanced by an energetic and comedic scene that is beautifully filmed, stunning and humorous, and certainly one of the scenes to look out for.
The only issue I had with this movie, no matter how great I found it, was that towards the second act it began to slow down. It felt as if the movie was simply dragging itself further for certain songs which could have easily been edited out, to allow for a more concise storyline. With these irrelevant scenes, it made the film feel slow and boring. Aside from those issues however, I did enjoy what Into The Woods had to offer.
As a whole, in story, setting and music, Into The Woods is a great movie, one that was a great experience and joy to watch. Though it slowed down towards the middle, it did eventually pick up and was just as enjoyable as the beginning of the film was. For those who enjoy musicals, fairytales and beautifully shot scenes, Into The Woods is a must-see movie, and by far one of Disney’s better musicals to come out in a long time.
