Into the Woods

Director: Rob Marshall Rob Marshall

Overview

Stephen Sondheim's +Into the Woods is adapted in this musical from director Rob Marshall and Walt Disney Studios. Inspired by a choice selection of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, this plot centers on a baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) who incur the wrath of a witch (Meryl Streep) while attempting to start a family. Subsequently cursed by the vengeful hag, the hapless couple find their fates linked with those of Cinderella (Anna Kendrick),Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy) and Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) of Jack and the Beanstalk. Johnny Depp, Chris Pine, and Lucy Punch co-star.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/24/2015
UPC:	0786936845884
Original Release:	2014
Rating:	PG
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:05:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Meryl Streep	The Witch
Emily Blunt	Baker's Wife
James Corden	The Baker
Anna Kendrick	Cinderella
Chris Pine	Cinderella's Prince
Johnny Depp	The Wolf
Tracey Ullman	Jack's Mother
Christine Baranski	Stepmother
Daniel Huttlestone	Jack
Lilla Crawford	Little Red Riding Hood
Billy Magnussen	Prince
Tammy Blanchard	Florinda
Lucy Punch	Lucinda
Joanna Riding	Cinderella's Mother
Simon Russell Beale	Baker's Father
Frances De La Tour	Giant
Annette Crosbie	Granny
Richard Glover	Steward
David Georgiou	Actor
Gioacchino Jim Cuffaro	Actor
Andy Hayes	Actor
Scott Plumridge	Actor
Mackenzie Mauzy	Rapunzel
Bern Collaco	Actor
Bern Collaço	le cordonnier
Pamela Betsy Cooper	une villageoise
Simran Singh Buttar	Villager
Karl Farrer	Village Man
Paul Gemignani	Conductor
Stephen Sondheim	Composer
Michael Higham	Composer

Technical Credits

Rob Marshall

James Lapine

Stephen Sondheim

Rob Marshall	Director,Producer,Screenwriter
James Lapine	Screenwriter,Playwright
Stephen Sondheim	Playwright,Screenwriter
John DeLuca	Producer
Callum McDougall	Producer
Marc Platt	Producer
Angus More Gordon	Producer
John Casali	Sound Effects
Michael Zimmer	Producer
Kev Cahill	Special Effects
Juan Alonso	Special Effects
Tony Smart	Special Effects
Nick Chopping	Stunts
Daniel Dow	Stunts
David R. Grant	Stunts
Paul Howell	Stunts
Shane Steyn	Stunts
Matthew Stirling	Stunts
Edd Osmond	Stunts
Tiffany Canfield	Casting
Rocco Landesman	Producer
Heidi Landesman	Producer
Frederic H. Mayerson	Producer
Bernard Telsey	Casting
M. Anthony Fisher	Producer
Rick Steiner	Producer
Francine Maisler	Casting

Editorial Reviews

Into the Woods is arguably the most beloved of Stephen Sondheim's musicals because the typically excellent compositions serve a story that's all about the importance of telling stories. Rob Marshall's big-screen adaptation is a highly entertaining movie that manages to be a total crowd-pleaser without shying away from the plot's darker elements. This mash-up of famous fairy tales features Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), and Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) of the beanstalk fame. The three of them cross paths with a baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt), who are unable to have children due to a curse an evil witch (Meryl Streep) placed on the baker's family. In order to lift the curse, the couple must retrieve three precious items, one from each of the famous characters, and present them to the witch. As is to be expected from Sondheim, the songs in Into the Woods are fantastic. Characters trade lines back and forth with conversational ease, allowing the often witty rhymes to be entertaining while also serving the story. Just as crucially, the actors rise to the challenge of these exquisite compositions. Anna Kendrick, who proved her vocal bona fides in Pitch Perfect, glows as Cinderella. She has a first-rate singing voice, coupled with excellent comic timing. Streep continues to prove that she can do anything superbly, and Emily Blunt carries much of the weight of the movie. The entire cast are absolutely charming, though that adjective should probably be saved for Chris Pine, who is deliriously, perfectly hammy as Cinderella's Prince, a character as handsome as he is shallow. Director Rob Marshall, who helped drag the movie musical into the 21st century with Chicago, smartly chose to shoot Into the Woods with a purposefully artificial look -- he understands that making these fantastical tales seem "real" would distract from their primal appeal. It's the audience's connection to these overly familiar narratives that lies at the heart of the film's theme: the necessity of telling stories, of passing folktales down through the ages. This material is shot through with darkness. It isn't shy about confronting death, and Sondheim's lyrics slyly allude to the sexual metaphors in Little Red Riding Hood. However, while all of this is present in the movie, Marshall never allows it to overtake the rest of the story. This is rated PG for a reason, yet at the same time, Sondheim and play co-author James Lapine's vision hasn't been Disneyfied. It's entertainment for the entire family, not because adults will tolerate it, but because the sharply written material works on various levels. Into the Woods is a grandly satisfying experience -- one rooted in old-fashioned storytelling, peerless songcraft, and a genuine respect for the viewer's intelligence.