Hawaii Mom Blog: Into the Woods Movie Review

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December 25, 2014

Into the Woods Movie Review


Starring Meryl Streep, James Corden, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine, "Into the Woods" is a humorous and heartfelt musical that follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel-all tied together by an original story involving a Baker and his Wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the Witch who has put a curse on them.

My family and I were fortunate enough to attend a preview of Into the Woods.  I did some research on the Disney movie and found out that it is based on the award winning musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine which premiered on Broadway in 1987.  However, Disney made some family friendly plot changes which I was grateful for since I brought my two little ones, ages 7 and 4, to the movie.

I love musicals and really enjoyed the stellar performances by Emily Blunt as the Baker's Wife and Meryl Streep as the Witch, but the performance of the song "Agony" by the two princes absolutely stole the show.  It was hilarious.  I was a little disappointed with Johnny Depp's role as the Wolf and had expected to be dazzled by Anna Kendrick's performance of Cinderella since I'm such a huge fan, but sadly I wasn't.  

Although my 4 year old son liked the movie, I could tell it was too much singing and too little action for his tastes.  My daughter, on the other hand, was totally captivated.  At times it was a little difficult for her to follow the plot told through song, but she understood for the most part.  What really put her in a spin was when Cinderella's Prince kisses the Baker's Wife.  She asked us what stray meant and why the Prince forgot about Cinderella.  Those were not questions parents of a second grader were prepared to answer so be prepared.

On the upside, the message of the movie was to be careful of what you wish for as we see the consequences of the characters' wishes.  It was a great opportunity to teach my daughter this important life lesson.  The film is rated PG and is now playing in theaters.  Running time is 2 hours and 4 minutes.  Parents of little ones, compare this to the 1 hour and 37 minutes running time of Maleficent.  It's a little long.   

Watch the trailer here
 
Thank you to our sponsor for the complimentary movie passes.      

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