Being the totally mature 23 year old ‘adult’ I went to see
Into the Woods this week just gone. Not being the usual suspect for a film of this nature, I can
only imagine my readers are perplexed and crying out for humanity whilst
reading the previous sentence. What can I say, I was suckered into it by the
trailers because of how eerie and different it seemed to the rest of the recent
barrage of kids films (Plus, Johnny Depp is always a winner). The trailer I saw displayed a sort of
Brothers Grimm sort of vibe, which is very different for kids films in general,
and just generally seemed more interesting than a singing snowman with a buck
tooth.
So I go into the picture house without any expectations, and
I am greated with a full blown sing out, something I really did not expect!
Maybe I should have researched before I decided this should be the film we saw,
as I am really not one for musicals (My favourite one being Tenascious D and
the Pick of destiny) but none the less I didn’t lose all hope in the film. The
singing was good and bad in parts, of course the rhymes were pretty good, but
sometimes it seemed so off key and just needless. I understand this is a kids
film, and kids easily forget things, so singing (apparently?) may help them
understand the message better as well as sell a fair few more pieces of merch,
but really, monologues were being sung out, unfunny monologues at that! Maybe
this is why musicals just don’t do it for me, in my mind if they don’t make you
laugh or are silly, then it just turns me into a bitter lemon slice of a person
who hates happiness. I just don’t see the point.
The cinematography was great for a CGI film, there were
really funny points and the acting was phenomenal, but there was something
missing from it which just made me miss the days of watching Snow White in my
youth, guffawing at the turtle falling down the stairs, and admiring the story
as well as the imagry it created. I think the subjects it brings up, like how
it is okay for Mummy and Daddy not to be together now because Daddy is a serial
kisser, was quite interesting to watch, and I did like how this could possibly
make a child/children feel better if they are in the midst of a parental melt
down. At one point, though, the story could have ended with the traditional
‘happy ending’ but decided to show how a utopian setting can go dystopian at
the drop of a brick from a kingdom. This was something I was a little unsettled
by mainly because I personally believe that kids should enjoy things without
the burden of thinking ahead/worrying about the future (ohhh my deranged
outlook on life!!! I blame Disney!).
All in all, I’m not sure if I liked Into the Woods, and I’m
not really sure of why this is. Due to this, I’m not sure if I would recommend
or not, and to whom. If I was a parent, I can only imagine I would be getting
bombarded by questions that the child may have had due to the non-traditional story
lines and themes, which depending on how old they are, may be a little bit hard
to figure out how to answer. Thankfully I am not the birther of a little human,
so I don’t have to worry about possible repercussions and possibly non stop
medleys of the sometimes irritating songs displayed in the film. Due to this I
recommend any parents that go/are forced to see Into the Woods to prepare their
ears and souls for the next few weeks and pray that the DVD/BluRay release
doesn’t come for a considerable time there after.
Until next time,
Jessiefer.
