Dream Factory: Into the Woods

Into the Woods
Director: Rob Marshall
Original release date: Disney 2014
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy 2015 nominee
Rating: PG
Grade: B

Summary from Rotten Tomatoes: Into the Woods is a modern twist on several of the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. This humorous and heartfelt musical follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel -all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch who has put a curse on them.

As an aficionado of both fairy tales and musicals, I had been anticipating the release of the film version of Into the Woods for some time, especially since it's an adaptation of a Stephen Sondheim musical.  Of course, I knew that there would be changes since Disney was marketing it as a family film, but there were still more than I expected.

A number of songs have been truncated or excised completely to shorten the length of the show, which I feel is to its detriment.  Some of the songs that were removed included "Ever After" and "No More,"  which both appear only as instrumentals.  The reprise of "Agony" has also been removed and with it the subplot of the Princes' respective affairs with Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.  I suppose it was to be expected that the "adult" subject matter would be removed or significantly toned down given Disney's involvement, but it muddled the plot in regard to Cinderella's decision to leave her prince.  It should be noted that the violence has been altered, as well.

I appreciated that this version of Cinderella's story used her dead mother's spirit instead of the fairy godmother that has become so iconic. I had worried that it would be changed for the film.  It's worth noting that Rapunzel's prince is still blinded, but Rapunzel neither bears a child nor dies in this version.  

As for production values, the costumes and sets are all fairly detailed and the effects, such as the bean stalks and the Witch's transformation, are pretty impressive.  There's also a good mix of celebrities and stage performers who all do a good job performing the songs.  I don't think Meryl Streep deserves awards nominations for her role here, but considering the shoes she had to fill, I still enjoyed her performance.  

All in all, Into the Woods is a good film that may serve as a great introduction to Sondheim.  It can't replace a live performance, however.

The Dream Factory: Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie directed by Tim Burton
Walt Disney Pictures 2012
Rated PG
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Nominee 2013
BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film Nominee 2013
Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film Nominee 2013
Annie Award for Best Animated Feature Nominee 2013
A-

I can clearly remember being seven and first seeing advertisements for The Nightmare Before Christmas in my Disney Adventures magazine.  Mr. Burton's ghoulish ink illustrations, used as promotional art, captured my imagination and I began to entreat my parents to take me to the film, though no one else in the family was particularly interested in going to see it.  The film, my first experience with stop motion animation, ignited a lifelong love for the art form, as well as for the story's writer, Mr. Burton.

Since 1993, Mr. Burton has both inspired me and disappointed me, but as I sat in the cinema waiting for his latest creation to begin, I had high hopes that Frankenweenie would belong to the former group and I was not disappointed.

The film follows the same storyline as that of the 1984 short (which I have fond childhood memories of watching every Halloween on the Disney Channel).  When Victor Frankenstein's dog is hit by a car, he attempts to resurrect him with electricity on a stormy night and succeeds.  The film, needing to flesh out the plot, introduces a science fair at Victor's school, and discovering Victor's project, the other students (all of them parodies of some horror figure or other), resurrect their own pets.  But, their motivations being quite different than Victor's, the pets rampage through the town and Victor must devise a way to stop them.

I wasn't expecting this film to be a comedy, but I found myself laughing aloud quite frequently at the numerous horror references sprinkled throughout the film.  Most of these jokes went over the heads of the children in attendance, and I think my husband and I were the only ones laughing most of the time due to the demographics of our particular screening.  But the relationship between Victor and Sparky, his dog, are something all people with pets can relate to, so the references shouldn't prevent non-horror fans from enjoying the film.

Aside from what felt, to me, like a mixed message about science and the failure to teach younger viewers a valuable lesson about letting go, the film hit all the right notes.  This is Mr. Burton as himself, filled with whimsical nostalgia and none of the soulless commercialism of his last few films.