The first Into The Woods trailer is out! And though we don't get much by way of plot or storyline (especially for those of us who are unfamiliar with the musical), we do get a glimpse of the all-star cast in it. Plus we catch some instrumental tunes from the all-important soundtrack to this musical.
As a backgrounder, Into The Woods is a musical created by Stephen Sondheim that was first debuted in 1986. Its story is spun off storylines from different well-loved fairy tale characters such as Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood. But the treatment is not so much an homage, but an irreverent poke at the stereotypes and the happily-ever-after formula of the fairytales. So don't expect wholesome princesses and neat, tidy endings here.
The Into The Woods trailer features some of the biggest names in movies today. We see here Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Lilla Crawford, MacKenzie Mauzie and James Corden. We don't actually see Johnny Depp's Big Bad Wolf in this trailer, but we do catch a slice of his furry arm -- which makes his character all the more intriguing and a must-see.
Into The Woods will be seen on Christmas, and just as the topics tackled in the movie are controversial, the movie treatment of these topics have become something of a controversy as well.
Much of it has stemmed from comments made by the musical's creator and composter Stephen Sondheim. At a New York city event, he was reported as saying that Disney is dialing down the sexual content and other more adult themes of the musical. Specifically, the romantic encounter between Prince Charming and the Baker's wife, the death of Rapunzel, and the nature of the relationship with Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.
"You will find in the movie that Rapunzel does not get killed, and the Prince does not sleep with the Baker's Wife . . . Disney said, we don't want Rapunzel to die, so we replotted it. I won't tell you what happens, but we wrote a new song to cover it . . ." Sondheim is reported to have said. Sondheim has since retracted these statements after the furor that erupted from devoted fans of the musical.
So has Disney toned down these themes from the movie? We'll have to wait for Christmas to find out.
In the meantime, enjoy the Into The Woods trailer here:
