Ryder: Into The Woods

INTO THE WOODS (2014)
​

The original fairy tales were more like cautionary tales to warn the children to behave. They can range from didactic to downright cruel so as to keep children fearful of the world. When fairy tales do teach a moral lesson, however, their ending - no matter how dark and terrible - can be quite satisfying, as the shock from the awful ending will ensure we always remember to not steal, to not cheat, and to not be cruel to your loved ones or suffer the ruthless wrath of karma.

Disney has had a long and notorious tradition of toning down those stories into "family-friendly" naivety, supposedly protecting children from the harsh reality of that oh so cruel world - even though it hypocritically taught little girls to sell yourself for a man you don't know just because he's cute (The Little Mermaid). But with "Into the Woods", Disney hopes to redeem itself by adding a dash of realism to their collection of fairy tale classics. The Big Bad Wolf is a borderline pedophile creep, the prince is blinded for pursuing Rapunzel, and oh sweet, sweet infidelity. Nothing like a good slice of adultery to ruin your romanticized love story, because who knew Prince Charming could get horny for other women? Woo hoo!

All that being said, Disney being Disney, they still manage to find a way to tone this down to a PG rating, and the result... is actually not that bad. Disney actually makes a good compromise with this movie, given the type of family-friendly brand they are. The story ends up serving the same purpose as fairy tales of old - to remind children about the dangers of the woods - while at the same time, it cautions parents to be wary of the type of stories you tell your children. It even goes the extra mile of deconstructing its own family-friendly nature in the process, reminding that the light is not always right, and the witch can sometimes be telling the truth. Taken on its own, without comparing to the play it's adapted from, it's an impressive step from where Disney had gone before.

The singing portions of the movie, however, can be a hit or miss. I personally enjoyed even the more idealistic musical numbers like "Giants in the Sky" and the prologue song, "Into the Woods", but there are a few other ones that felt like fluff, like they are pushing the 'family-friendly' nature of Disney a little too hard. One particular song that annoyed me was "It Takes Two", which felt like a poor man's version of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", or any other love song you can think of in a Disney movie. I sort of understand the point of that song, but I feel that a more subtle approach to portray the closeness between the baker and his wife would've been much more effective than this lovey dovey crap.

Aside from the pacing issues caused by the songs, I actually liked the ending quite a bit. It's a clever way of representing dark fairy tales in the Disney fashion, and I recommend anyone else who's ever nauseated by the up-in-the-clouds fluffiness in 'classic' Disney movies to watch this as well.

8/10