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Story presents quirky adventure,

Into the Woods is just what it seems: a wacky and fun adventure into the woods of fairy tales, with stories that intertwine together, a mysterious fantasy world full of people ready to break into song. It gives exactly what it promises: a good musical and story.

The tale follows an array of characters: a baker and his wife who want a child, a little girl with a red hood traveling to see her grandmother, a girl named Cinderella who just wants a chance to go to the king’s festival, a poor boy named Jack and his mother, two charming princes, a girl locked away in her tower and a witch who will bring them all together in the most chaotic and amusing way.

All the characters have a wish, but the focus is the baker and his wife (James Corden and Emily Blunt), who cannot have a child because their neighbor, who happens to be the Witch (Meryl Streep), cursed their house long ago when the baker was a baby. To break the spell they must meet her demands by bringing her four specific items.

The Witch asks for a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, a slipper as pure as gold and a cow as white as milk. It just so happens that Little Red (Lilla Crawford) has such a hood, Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) a golden slipper, Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) a white cow and Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy) golden hair. An easy task on the surface, but as each of those characters pursue their wishes and wants, things begin to get a little bit chaotic.

The movie is well produced, with superb acting, singing and filming. This movie is not the stereotypical bright Disney movie. It is funny and cheery in spots, but is generally darker than most Disney movies in points. The story is entertaining and fun, but while it isn’t in any measure bad it isn’t enough to merit a second viewing for some.

The songs are clever and catchy, with snappy lyrics that stand out and stick in your head. Well composed and performed, whether the sections were sung live during filming or recorded in studio, the songs that vary on the emotional scale from dealing with sadness and loss to ridiculous hilarity.

I have not seen the stage version, but know the story has been altered in spots and characters as well as songs cut. Fans of the original may be a little let down to see parts left out, but the story still stands just fine with the pieces cut.

The movie never has a slow moment, and is a fun twist on fairy tales with nods to the original stories. Into the Woods is quite good, but nothing outstanding. Those who do not want to see it badly could wait till it comes out on Netflix or hits the shelves, but fans and those interested should consider going to the theater to watch.

Follow The Feather via Twitter and Instagram: @thefeather and @thefeatheronline. This writer can be reached via Twitter: @ejLadd.

For more reviews, read the Jan. 5 article, Final novel concludes The Giver Quartet, solves unanswered mysteries.