All images courtesy of Walt Disney Media.
Disney’s Into the Woods | 10 Reasons to See Christmas Day #IntoTheWoodsEvent
Just a few short days ago I sat in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, the official “Academy” theater, in Beverly Hills waiting anxiously to screen Disney’s Into the Woods. While that is an honor in itself, I was also seated just a few short rows away from the cast and filmmakers. Yes, that includes the amazing Meryl Streep! As I sat there watching Into the Woods, with a huge smile across my face, I couldn’t help but keep thinking about my son and how much he would absolutely love it!
Into the Woods is about a witch (Meryl Streep) that tasks a childless baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) with finding magical items from the woods. The magical items are from known classic fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Jack in the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella. The baker and his wife are sent to find them to reverse the curse put on their family tree. The beginning of the movie quickly sets the tone for a fun musical filled with magic and mystery.
Here’s my top 10 reasons why you should take your family to see Into the Woods on Christmas Day.
1. Meryl Streep… Academy Award winning Meryl Streep. I honestly don’t need to give any reason why that’s my number one. She is absolutely amazing. When you read my Meryl Streep interview tomorrow you’ll find out exactly why I think she is so amazing!
2. It’s a Musical! A musical is the perfect reason to take the whole family to see Into the Woods on Christmas Day. It’s perfect for kids. I think the music keeps it exciting and fun for the little ones. My son loves any reason for a good song and dance so I know he will love it. It also gives a lot of great hidden messages that are important for kids to learn.
Anna Kendrick plays the perfect Cinderella! Watch her sing “On The Steps Of The Palace” below!
4. Modern Take on Grimm Fairy Tales. Into the Woods is a modern take on grimm fairy tales, The Brothers Grimm fairy tales. I love learning about the grimm fairy tales and how different they are than what we actually let our children believe. Into the Woods shows us that what you wish for can actually come true. You should be careful what you wish for. Although it is about grimm fairy tales, I believe it’s fine for the whole family and children six or seven and older. I know my son would have been fine watching it at age six. Although this is a darker movie for Disney, I do not believe this is a scary movie… at all!
5. The Voices. I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing voices by the whole cast. Every song was magical and impeccable. One of my favorite scenes is when Cinderella’s Prince (Chris Pine) and Rapunzel’s Prince (Billy Magnussen) come together to sing. The crowd in the theater was clapping by the end of their performance.
I was completely blown away by Lilla Crawford as Little Red Riding Hood. Her voice is amazing! You will be pleasantly surprised by the voice of all cast members!
6. Cinderella’s stepmother and Stepsisters. Christine Baranski plays the perfect stepmother. The stepsisters Florinda (Tammy Blanchard) and Lucinda (Lucy Punch) play the perfect roles to what we all know about the Cinderella fairy tale. The outcome of these stepsisters is definitely one that will have you laughing in your seat.
7. Jack and the Beanstalk. Tracy Ullman plays the perfect peasant as Jack’s mother to recreate Jack and the Beanstalk. The two struggle to make ends meet and you’ll be chuckling as they drag Jack’s prized cow, Milky-White, around the countryside. Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) will definitely be an actor we will see in the near future!
8. Emily Blunt and Jack Corden. Who knew Emily Blunt had such an amazing voice? The baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) make the perfect duo as they struggle with the curse of their family tree. Be sure to check out my interview of these two on the 29th. They are hilarious!
9. Rob Marshall. After being able to interview Rob Marshall, the thing that stuck with me the most was how much he thought of the cast. It was really like they were a big family. He was admittedly blown away by the voices of the cast. He has directed five actors in Oscar nominated performances!
10. Anna Kendrick. We all know Anna Kendrick can sing but she makes an even more beautiful Cinderella. I love how she isn’t your typical Cinderella. Director Rob Marshall had so many amazing things to say about her but you’ll have to wait for my post when we interviewed the two of them together!
The movie was outstanding and received a standing ovation at the SRO screening at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. After screening the movie we had the opportunity to watch the cast and filmmakers in a live Q&A with director Rob Marshall and cast members Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Chris Pine, Anna Kendrick, Christine Baranski, and Tracey Ullman as well as costume designer Colleen Atwood, producers John DeLuca and Marc Platt, screenwriter James Lapine and cinematographer Dion Beebe.
Into the Woods is rated PG and opens in theaters on December 25th – Christmas Day! Be sure to like Into the Woods on Facebook and follow on Twitter @intothewoods.
Watch the trailer below:
All images courtesy of Walt Disney Media.
114 responses to “Disney’s Into the Woods | 10 Reasons to See Christmas Day #IntoTheWoodsEvent”
Yes we are going on Christmas Day.
Very excited, but waiting for the weekend.
Oh, I want to see this but I don’t think I will be going on Christmas day, I will be too tired. But, I love movies like this and will try to make time sometime soon. How lucky you are to have been able to conduct the interviews you did. Thanks for the review.
haven’t seen it
I would love to see this! Meryl Streep is one of my favorites.. looks great.
Looks like a really great movie. I will definitely be watching this with my son!
I’m going just for Chris Pine 🙂
Love to see this movie, Chris Pine is good in whatever he does. Seen previews and like Meryl Streep.
I definitely want to see this movie! It’s exactly what I like!
I would like to see this movie
I might like to see the movie I think it will be better then the movie the Interview
This movie looks GREAT! I hope to see it this weekend.
haven’t seen it
Have not yet seen it, hopefully soon
I have not seen this yet. It looks to be something my children may like!
Wondering if my 2 grand with autism would enjoy this movie.
haven”t seen it
I would love to go see this but I am probably going to have to wait for it to come out on Blu-ray.
This movie seems fun and I love Anna Kendrick so I may just have to go see it 🙂
It looks awesome, will defi itely be seeing this with the family
I am really looking forward to watching this movie.
This sounds like a lot of fun. Meryl Streep is outstanding.
Have Not seen it as yet…but looking forward to going next week with my Son and DIL
Sounds interesting.
My husband was going to take me to see it today but I came home from work with a head cold so I am staying home instead.
Love Meryl Streep, not too sure about seeing it if it’s more of a musical though. I’m sure my daughter would love it either way!
interesting
We have not seen it but want to looks really great
I’ll be going to see it b/c my daughters want to go
Have not seen it yet.
I saw Emily Blunt on Kelly & Michael and I’m really looking forward to seeing it! It looks fun!! I would love to take my twin granddaughters!
U better bet I am gong to see this right away! <3
I have not seen it yet, but am REALLY looking forward to it!
Haven’t seen it yet, but can’t wait
can’t wait to see, love meryl streeps voice and can’t wait to hear the others sing
I haven’t seen it yet but can’t wait to watch it
planning on going to see this movie looks very interesting
You had me at Johnny Depp!
My friend from work and I plan on going next week!! I can’t wait! Thanks for your review, it makes me that much more excited to see it
I plan on going to see it. I like any move with Meryl Streep in it.
hopefully will get to see it soon.
Any movie with Meryl in it, gets my vote.
Meryl Streep is a talented lady!
I love Meryl Streep and I will be going to see the movie:)
I’ve loved this musical for at least a couple of decades and am so excited there’s a new version to check out! If anyone can hope to play the witch as well as Bernadette Peters did on the stage, it has to be Meryl Streep. I may not make it to the show until it gets to the second-run theater near our house, but I bet I’ll see it at least twice and wear the DVD out. Such a great, great show!
looks very interesting
At first I didn’t think I would be very into this movie but the more I hear or read about it, the more i do want to see it! Plus I love Meryl Streep and Emily blunt!
I can not wait to see it!
Now I am definitely convinced I want to see this. 🙂
Off to see the movie tomorrow.
I have not seen this yet although it does look like a great movie with some wonderful actors and actresses. I will definitely see it at some point.
Can’t way to see it
I am going to see the movie. I haven’t seen it yet but it looks like it’s going to be a really good movie. Meryl Streep is one of my favorite actresses.
I have not seen this movie yet, all though I am told that it is a good movie.
Can’t wait to see this movie!
This is definitely on my must-see list! I love the story, and the cast is amazing!
I will be going and taking my niece
I have not seen this movie yet, but do plan to sometime soon!
I would love to see this one! I will have to go without the hubby though – he hates movies where they spontaneously start to sing.
I really want to see this! I love Meryl Streep!
Haven’t seen it yet. I think I’ll wait for it to come out on DVD
I have been wanting to see this movie ever since I saw the preview in the movie theater. Your review only makes me want to go that much more! My whole family will love this movie.
Just having Johnny Depp in the movie is enough for me to go and see it I think my grandson is maybe a bit to young at 4 to go and see it
Love Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep also so looking forward to seeing this movie. It won’t be boring and combines other fairy tales.
What a cast! Can’t wait to see it…
I think my kids are almost as excited about seeing this as I am! I will watch anything with Meryl Streep, much less Meryl Streep AND Johnny Depp! I grew up with my Mom reading fairytales from the Brothers Grimm, I really didn’t know there was any other kind of fairytale until I was a teen! So these are my most favorite fairytales. And I must say I am so happy to see Tracy Ullman in this blockbuster. She is one of the most hillarious women I have ever seen on television or the big screen!
I’m getting over the flu. So when I’m better I’m taking my daughter to see this. I can’t wait 🙂
I would love to see this has a lot of great cast in it. Plus who can resist Johnny Depp because no matter what he plays he will rock it!
Love this review, do not usually go out to theaters to see movies, friend gets them for me to watch, vut might just go see this one to get full effect!!
We will be seeing this weekend! My daughter played the step mom in her high school play so we are very excited about the film.
I have thought about seeing it. Have not yet though. 😉
I am going to go see it in theaters!
We havent seen it yet. But we really hope to soon
Meryl Streep is amazing! It’s great movie!
haven’t seen it yet, but it looks good
Have not seen this movie,but your review makes me want to run out tomorrow to see it 😀
Depp :o) We like musicals and will see it on dvd.
I am totally going to love this movie, my girls and hubby not so much and only because it’s a musical, but it sure does have a lot of amazing actors!!
I plan to see this with my “movie friend”. Love musicals and it has a great cast. Enjoy “Once Upon A Time” on tv and am looking forward to to the big screen twist on fairy tales.
Into the Woods seems like a powerhouse of talent…will have to go see it after this smashing review of yours, Melanie!
I really want to see this movie but will probably wait until it is released on itunes
Haven’t seen it yet but will soon.
Havent seen it yet… May go and see it when it comes out
I haven’t seen it yet. Love to see it one of these days though!
This is not my kind of movie so I don’t plan on seeing it, although I agree that Meryl Streep is generally a good enough reason to see a movie.
We havent’ seen it and will probably wait until it’s on Directv Cinema
I’m wait for the DVD and then decide if I want to see it
This looks like a great movie! We will probably wait until it is on DVD to see it though.
I want to see this movie but will probably wait until it is released on DVD.
I am excited about going to see this movie!
I didn’t see it in the theater but as soon as it’s out on DVD I’m buying it. Meryl Streep is an amazing actress and one of my faves.
I don’t think I’ll go and see this movie, will wait until it’s on TV.
i think this is going to be a great movie, cant wait to see it
I have not seen the movie yet, but plan to.
I have not yet seen “Into The Woods” but am looking forward to seeing with my family soon.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
cant wait to see this!
I have not seen this yet but will definately go see it with my adult son. This looks great.
I’m sad that I didn’t see this until now! I love the plot, and we all know that anything with Meryl or Johnny has to be good!! (:
Oh! And I haven’t seen this yet, but I’m planning to go with my family!
Havent seen it yet, but have every intention too do so within the next week!!
i haven’t seen the movie yet, but am going to. Looks great!
I’ll probably watch it just because Meryl Streep is in it.
As is our Christmas Day tradition (We’re Jewish and only celebrate Chanukah), my daughter and I once again went to the movies and this year Into the Woods was our choice. A bit darker than I expected but loved all the stars in it.
Several of my friends have seen it and loved it, so I will probably go and see it as well.
I will probably go to the movies to see it…the music is lovely
We haven’t seen it yet. Since going and seeing Big Hero 6 and Annie over the Christmas break, we will probably have to wait until it’s out on DVD!
I have not seen it yet but it is on my list.
No young kids anymore & not a movie buff, I didn’t even know what it
was about… however, I’m now going to do my best to see it! Sounds
wonderful!
I would love to see this movie but there is a huge snow storm coming. 3 to 5 inches!
I haven’t seen it but it looks interesting
I’ve seen the previews. Awesome! I REALLY want to see this movie!
This is one of the movies my husband and I have been wanting to see.
I will try to see the movie.
I have not see this movie yet but want to go see it soon. It looks like a great movie!