Movie Review: Into the Woods

I'm not really one for musicals and by that I mean that if a movie has people singing in it I tend not to watch it.   There are exceptions to this rule of course, like when my sister pointed out that I didn't want to watch "Frozen" because of the singing but love "Nightmare Before Christmas" and of course I watched the "Sweeney Todd" with Johnny Depp in it and "Cannibal: The Musical" is vastly underrated.    But I think that with "Into the Woods" the singing doesn't really bother me so much because it is a Disney movie and I've grown used to Disney movies singing regardless of how I may feel about it.    It's just one of those things that Disney movies- though usually not Pixar- can be prone to busting out into song and regardless of how you feel about that you go into watching it knowing that it could (and probably will) happen.

With "Into the Woods" I'd say that if they're going to bring out the songs why not bring them out full force and have there be more singing than speaking and they seem to do just that.   The story revolves around several key characters from various fairly tales coming together and having their stories intertwined.   In that way it reminds me a bit of the show "Once Upon a Time", which Disney also owns under the ABC banner, but it still just seems like a lot of fun and what a musical should be, at least to me.   I've never gone to Broadway and seen an actual musical, but this is what one would be like if I was going to go see one and it would be among the best of them.

So that all makes me of course wonder things like- is this the musical for those who don't like musicals?  It's not "Repo: A Genetic Rock Opera" in that way, but it does feel like almost as if it is mocking musicals on some level, even though it is a musical.   And then I wonder how true fans of musicals would feel about this and if it's just so good that everyone has to like it or if it's just something that since *I* like it maybe those true fans of musicals do not.  Though from what I've read on iMDB and other sources this movie was not well received which makes me think since all of the "musical critics" don't like it I do because had it been something they all liked I wouldn't have.

There is just something about these fairy tale based characters that makes it okay for them to sing.   The story becomes one of those things that Disney does best as it has a sense of magic to it.   There is humor, drama, action and all of that just as well, but I really do like the fact that you have Red Riding Hood and Jack from "Jack and the Beanstalk" coming together here with other such characters (Yes, even Cinderella!) and amidst it all Johnny Depp is the Big Bad Wolf.   Clearly you should enjoy this one if only for the short stint of the Big Bad Wolf.    But yes, this feels to me like one of those movies critics will overlook and write off now but down the road they'll say "Well, maybe it's not so bad after all" and eventually they might just start to enjoy it as I do.    Even if they don't, I don't care.  I still like it and will continue watching it with my son who also enjoys it.