"Oh boy! A new, fun and happy original live-action musical from Disney?!"
Umm...no.
For those of you who are unaware, Into the Woods is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by the great Stephen Sondheim
and book by James Lapine. It premiered on Broadway in 1987, and has since been revived many times, and even overshadowed Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera for a very brief time.
The quote IMDB, "It combines the well-known fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood with the story of the Baker and his Wife who desperately want a child. Unfortunately, the Baker and his Wife have been cursed with childlessness by a witch and must perform various missions involving the characters in the other fairy tales to break the spell. The Baker and his Wife must bring the witch
a cow as white as milk,
a cape as red as blood,
hair as yellow as corn,
a slipper as pure as gold.
After a series of failed attempts, the Baker and his Wife finally are able to perform the tasks necessary to break the spell. Once the characters have accomplished their goals, however, they learn about the pitfalls of greed and gluttony. Finally, they learn about the need for community and family when they must unite to fight against the wife of the giant Jack killed who has decided to come back for revenge."
This plot will also apply to Walt Disney Pictures adaption of the same name and source material. It marks the first theatrical film adaptation of a Broadway play or musical ever produced by The Walt Disney Company in its history.
However, it is not all happily ever after. In the original play, there are sexual innuendos, violence, death, murder, and much sadness.
Despite that though, I really enjoyed this musical when my school performed it not too long ago, and I'm curious is to how Disney will pull this off. But not to long ago, Stephen Sondheim revealed some changes to the film that Disney changed from the original musical. And so far it doesn't look all that satisfying for the average theater fan. Those who have seen the original musical will understand why.
Here are links going into detail about these changes.
"Oh boy! A new, fun and happy original live-action musical from Disney?!"
Umm...no.
For those of you who are unaware, Into the Woods is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by the great Stephen Sondheim
and book by James Lapine. It premiered on Broadway in 1987, and has since been revived many times, and even overshadowed Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera for a very brief time.
The quote IMDB, "It combines the well-known fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood with the story of the Baker and his Wife who desperately want a child. Unfortunately, the Baker and his Wife have been cursed with childlessness by a witch and must perform various missions involving the characters in the other fairy tales to break the spell. The Baker and his Wife must bring the witch
a cow as white as milk,
a cape as red as blood,
hair as yellow as corn,
a slipper as pure as gold.
After a series of failed attempts, the Baker and his Wife finally are able to perform the tasks necessary to break the spell. Once the characters have accomplished their goals, however, they learn about the pitfalls of greed and gluttony. Finally, they learn about the need for community and family when they must unite to fight against the wife of the giant Jack killed who has decided to come back for revenge."
This plot will also apply to Walt Disney Pictures adaption of the same name and source material. It marks the first theatrical film adaptation of a Broadway play or musical ever produced by The Walt Disney Company in its history.
Here is the cast list: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2180411/
However, it is not all happily ever after. In the original play, there are sexual innuendos, violence, death, murder, and much sadness.
Despite that though, I really enjoyed this musical when my school performed it not too long ago, and I'm curious is to how Disney will pull this off. But not to long ago, Stephen Sondheim revealed some changes to the film that Disney changed from the original musical. And so far it doesn't look all that satisfying for the average theater fan. Those who have seen the original musical will understand why.
Here are links going into detail about these changes.
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/screenwriter/2014/06/22/disney-bowlderises-sondheims-in-the-woods/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2014/06/19/into-the-woods-and-why-disney-cant-tell-grown-up-stories/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/06/20/disneys-into-the-woods-changes-wont-hurt-box-office/
The film is set for release on Christmas Day 2014.
What are you thoughts, hopes, and/or impressions of the original musical and the upcoming film?