Granted, the film was misleadingly advertised(where I came from though the advertising made it very clear that it was a musical) for some people who clearly had no prior knowledge of the source material and, as is apparent in a lot of the reviews here, Stephen Sondheim's music is not for all tastes, so the dislike is understandable. But as someone who's a fan of musicals, one of those who likes Sondheim, who considers Into the Woods as one of his best and as a fan of the production with Bernadette Peters, while it has its problems to me this film was enjoyable. While as said before the dislike is understandable I do think the amount of hatred it's gotten is over-the-top(this is nowhere near the worst movie ever by any stretch of the imagination) and unfair(mostly from people who didn't know it was a musical or those who have a stereotypical view as to what a Disney film should be like).

Into the Woods has a very problematic second half, not all of it is so but a lot of it is, enough to make it an issue. The first half was witty, upbeat, colourful and mostly close to the story of the musical, but the second half slackens in pace a little and the tone shifts rather discordantly to something darker and less cohesive due to cutting things that would have made it make more sense. The second act of Into the Woods is dark in the first place(and there are people who do find the second act heavy for them) but not to this extent, never did it feel like two different shows. It also did a much better job balancing any tone shifts, and is funnier and more poignant than in the film version. Agony is hilarious and Children Will Listen evokes a lot of pathos here so the film is not devoid of those qualities, just that they're stronger in the musical, and those qualities would have come stronger here if the second Agony and No More were kept intact. Lilla Crawford is also obnoxiously shrill and a complete blank expressions-wise as Little Red Riding Hood.

On the other hand, Into the Woods is great-looking stuff, loved the beautiful but creepy and colourful but foreboding woods setting as well as the cinematography which was a delicious mix of dream-like and macabre. Sondheim's music here has been criticised for being forgettable and samey, criticisms that I do not agree with at all, if anything does repeat itself it's called a motif which Sondheim uses a lot. The score is rousing, beautiful and haunting and of the songs The Last Midnight, Agony and Children Will Listen particularly stand out here, which all have completely different moods to one another. The lyrics are some of Sondheim's smartest and more complex as well, funny as well as meaningful. All the musical numbers are charmingly and cleverly staged, especially Agony and The Last Midnight. Hello Little Girl will be too much for some and the creepiness is a little overdone and disconcerting here, Johnny Depp acts it brilliantly though. Rob Marshall shows great technical skill as a director and captures the mood of the musical more than competently. And apart from Crawford the cast are excellent with Meryl Streep's imposing Witch(she kills The Last Midnight and thrillingly),Chris Pine's hilarious Prince and Emily Blunt's nuanced and heartfelt Baker's Wife. Anna Kendrick is a charming Cinderella, James Corden endears as the Baker, Daniel Huttlestone does admirably despite Jack being written incompletely and Johnny Depp is very memorable, his Wolf is certainly not one to trust, in his short screen time.

To conclude, Into the Woods is problematic but doesn't deserve anywhere near the amount of vehement hatred it's gotten on here, and it's far superior to the mediocre at best Annie also from 2014. It's not for everybody but judging from the reviews it's like it's almost illegal to like the film let alone love it. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox

Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) cannot conceive a child. The Baker has been cursed by the Witch (Meryl Streep) after his father stole from her garden. She offers to lift the curse if they get her a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold. They go off into the woods. They get the cow from idiot Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) for 5 magic beans that were stolen from the witch. The Baker rescues Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) from the Wolf (Johnny Depp) and she gives him her cape in gratitude. Baker's wife gets the hair from Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy) and the slipper from Cinderella (Anna Kendrick).

It is non-stop talk-singing Broadway style from the cast. Everybody seems game for it but it does become mind-numbing after awhile. That's not my biggest complaint. The movie reaches a natural ending at about 75 minutes and I made it all the way to that point relatively unscathed. With a little padding, it could have been made into 90 minutes and finish nicely. However the movie goes on an extra trip into the woods which does nothing but grind me down. It's 50 minutes that is better eliminated.

I remember waiting for this movie to come out. I'd grown up listening to Bernadette Peters. Performed lesser characters myself until I finally got to be the Witch. This movie had an all star cast and I was so excited.

End credits roll, and I sat there more angry than sad. A musical with so many moral lessons and all the movie can focus on is KILLING the Giant as the big finale. The whole movie ends with Children Will Listen and all I can think of is the kids who just learned that it is ok to kill to get what you want.

Yes the Giant dies in the musical but because of the limitations of stage the scene is less about getting that giant but focuses on the people struggling to survive against giant odds. Also, the true finale of the musical has a wonderful lesson that is completely cut out the movie. ...

There is one last reprise of the theme "Into the woods" One verse says, "... Into the woods but not to stray or tempt the wolf or steal from the giant." Because, let's face it, the giant is the most innocent party in the whole play. She was kind to the thieving, murderous boy, Jack.

"Into the woods, each time you go There's more to learn of what you know. ..Into the woods to mind the wolf, to Heed the witch, to Honor the giant. .... into the woods. Then out of the woods -- and happily ever after!" Then Cinderella says, "I wish..." and everyone looks at her in horror .... because, let's face it, the one thing humans are good at is forgetting life lessons.

None of this is in the movie ...

Not to mention the missing characters such as the narrator/father (well, the many funny theater scenes) ... and all the much needed comic relief crafted into the second half of the musical. (Because the body count is no laughing matter. :)

The musical has an intermission after they all get their happy ever after ... so when you see them again time has passed & they are all back to wanting more. Then the giantess starts destroying things as she looks for Jack (because he murdered her Husband ... can't stress that jolly tidbit enough) and their petty wants get pushed aside as life completely is changed for everyone.

I would like to say that my disappointment is like that of one whose favorite book is made into a movie ... not everything can fit into those 2 hours. However, this movie did a disservice to those who have never seen the real deal. I have see it/been in it. Can spout almost every line ad nauseam and yet I still cry at the end of even High school Productions. This movie left me cold. I still cry at the "eyes of an angel..." animal commercials, but the movie just didn't provide me with an emotional connection.

Then there is the scene where the baker runs off after finding out his wife has died. In the play the mysterious man (aka his father) says, "We disappoint, we disappear, we die but we don't. . . " and the baker sing a short heartbreaking song that ends, "...No more giants waging! Can't we just pursue our lives w/our children & our wives 'til that happy day arrives, how do you ignore All the witches, all the curses, the false hopes, the good-byes, the reverses All the wondering what even worse is still in store All the children All the giants .... just, no more "

In theater we are taught that the actor NOT crying is powerful. You sob because his words resignate, not because he is showing us how sad he is. It's the writer's version of show don't tell.

Then there are the children. According to the bonus features, the director feels its supposed to be children and not teenagers. I very very much beg to differ. Hello little girl is a seduction song and has many innuendos that worked sort of ok as Lilla looks 13 -14. Jack is a simpleton but not a child. With them as teenagers, there is a growing up they are suddenly forced to do. They truly have no one. The song, No one is alone didn't seem as powerful because these kids are so young that obviously someone will take care of them. And it seems odd that the baker is willing to say no to letting them stay with him when Jack can't be over 10. Now, if they were teens, then his reluctance is more understandable. Red is a bit scarier in the musical, pulling out her knife ... a fact which makes it funnier when the baker is horrified his wife would leave the baby with Red.

The baker and his wife do not argue as much as they do in the play. Theirs is NOT a perfect marriage. No marriage is, but the reality in their relationship are what allow her to be seduced by the prince and let us accept it as paet of her character flaw.

In the play, Rapunzel blames the witch for her unhappiness and says, "because of you, I will never be happy again." The Witch, whose own mother was NOT great example of motherhood (I mean seriously, who puts a curse on their own child?) Truly tries to protect her child by going to the way opposite extreme (there are parents out there like that). Yes, she does some horrible things in the name of love and she is definitely not a nice person. Her mistakes and how they affected her child go with the theme of the play. Later, Rapunzel is stepped on by the giant as she runs away from the Witch who is trying to save her which changes the whole tone of the Stay with me reprise ... they should've just got rid of that reprise if they were going to change that storyline.

I rewatched the movie recently thinking maybe I was so disappointed in 2014 because I had too high of expectations. But no, it is because they took a deep, well-crafted musical and morphed it into an odd sort of movie. They should have just done act 1 and ended it there. Oh, wait, that's basically what they did.