Disney

PG 124 min

I am more a fan of studio albums than live albums. Still I can appreciate when a band pulls off an amazing musical feat live. It's amazing to hear someone like the Fab Faux recreate side two of Abbey Road almost flawlessly. Still I think Abbey Road it's a brilliant work of art. That being said I am truly amazed at the people who walk in suit up and perform a Broadway musical at a world-class level. I like to think I'm a pretty damn good singer. So when I saw Phantom of the Opera live on Broadway a couple weeks ago I was truly humbled. These people are great. I felt like the guy with the four handicap playing beside Arnold Palmer in the Pro Am.

The reason I mention all this is that INTO THE WOODS is a film version of a 1987 Broadway musical by Stephen Sondheim. So allow me to lurch back to my popular music analogy. These days a singer has the option to cut and paste and redo and over dub and pitch control every note on the record. In the old days, as it is on Broadway or any live stage, you are performing without a net. Frank Sinatra used to walk into the studio stand in front of the orchestra and sing the song, and even he had the luxury of deciding whether or not his take was good enough.

That's kind of a long and boring way to tell you that while I was impressed by the singing and dancing of the stars on the silver screen it's not nearly as amazing as if I'd seen them perform this live as it was written.

The story itself is a conglomeration of a few Grimm's fairy tales all brought together for an uplifting climax. There's Rapunzel and Jack and the giant and the ugly stepsisters and Cinderella, at least two handsome princes and of course the great Meryl Streep as the Wicked Witch. The interwoven tales are centered on a baker and his wife whose quest is to complete a fantastic scavenger hunt so the witch will remove the spell that has kept them childless.

Being a Disney production much of the sexuality present in the original Broadway play has been sanitized for your protection but as in the Brothers Grimm there are still slightly disturbing segments of the story. People do actually die. Don't forget Bambi's mother and Old Yeller...

Of course in a Broadway musical it's the music and the singing and dancing that should, and do carry the show.

I was duly impressed with each and every cast member but I did keep in mind that this was not a live performance. You can clean up a lot of things on a Hollywood set, but this is a movie after all and the important thing to remember is that the final product looks great. The music is very nice and you might remember the big song, Children Will Listen, which is been performed dozens of times from Mandy Patinkin to Bernadette Peters to Barbara Streisand.

This is a serious project and despite the Disney label and the promotion campaign I wouldn't suggest this for children. For adults? It’s a pleasant surprise.

B+

WSS