Into The Woods: Movie Review

The movie starts off with a baker and his wife setting up their shop with baked goods such as bread and pastries. Little Red Riding Hood enters the shop telling them both about her visit to her grandmother’s house and heads off with a basket full of bread. She encounters the wolf that she kills with her grandma while inside his belly when they’re both escaping. The story then shifts to Cinderella picking out lentils with helps from the doves from the fireplace so she can join her stepmother and stepsisters in attending the ball to meet the prince. Back at the bakery, the witch gives the baker and wife a list of things to collect so they can have a curse lifted and become pregnant. Jack’s mom sends Jack to the village to sell Milky White and he returns with “magical” beans that the mom throws on the ground. Overnight, a beanstalk appears from which Jack retrieves numerous goods. Cinderella gets transformed to be beautiful again and goes in her carriage but it continues to rewind everyday with the prince chasing after her. Rapunzel sings in her tower and begins meeting with a prince secretly but cuts her hair when she gets caught which results in the witch losing her powers. Everyone continues going through their dreams and their own catastrophic events. The movie ends with everyone reflecting on their true destinies and walking off together.

In the movie, a thematic concept is to be aware of the consequences that something you desire may bring. In the end, everyone came to the realization that their dreams can’t always end up being perfect. For instance, the baker had lost his wife over the desire to become a father. The big bad wolf ended up meeting death over the craving for little red riding hood. Cinderella wanted to end up with a prince and got a cheater instead. The step sisters lost their toes and eyesight for trying to end up with a rich man.

A universal concept seen in the movie is desperation. Every character in the story starts off missing something in their life. When they receive a slight indication of hope it drives their desperation to achieve it. The baker and wife had gone berserk when the witch told them they could have a baby that they dropped to desperation in front of others to get the items on her list. They tricked Milky White’s true value for beans from Jack and begged for Little Red Riding Hood’s cloak. Both princes had also sang “Agony” where they both were desperate to be with Cinderella and Rapunzel. The desperation of all these characters continued throughout the whole movie till the end where they reflected on their actions.