JEFFREY PELAYO ’17
2015 is predicted to be the year for bigger, better, and bolder movies. The year has barely begun, yet viewers are already excited for what 2015 has to offer. Although 2014 had the least viewer ratings for cinematic history, the film industry is trying to make 2015 the year where it all changes.
There were some movies that ended 2014 with a bang. This helped bring the excitement for 2015. But some 2014 movies were terrible and Into the Woods was one of them. Though many families loved this movie, it was very overrated. Around the holiday season, families were given the opportunity to see a play from the 1960s transformed into a Disney movie filled with famous actors such as Anna Kendrick, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine, and Meryl Streep. It is evident that Disney uses famous celebrities to lure in more viewers as they did with Angelina Jolie in Maleficent.
The plot is about a baker and his wife who go to a witch to help them bear a child, under one consequence, they have to gather materials from every fairytale story such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel. People who watch this movie will either love it or hate it. Children will love the magic and the music, but the more mature audiences will be a little skeptical.
Right when the movie started, the cast began to sing and many viewers were caught off guard because the advertising did not give off a hint that it was in fact a musical. There were some very memorable songs such as “Agony” and “Your Fault”. It was basically broadway on the silver screen.
The movie’s producers decided to include the original Grimm Brothers’ fairytales instead of the classic cartoon Disney ones that many know and love. This was a bad idea especially for child viewers who witnessed the amputations of Cinderella’s step sisters’ feet to squeeze into the glass slipper, the blinding of Rapunzel’s prince from a thorn bush, and the Big Bad Wolf’s stomach being cut up after eating Little Red. Having the stories of famous fairytales intertwine became confusing and frustrating.
Right when you think the movie is going to end after everyone’s happily ever after, another conflict occurs. A giant appears and basically in the end, everyone dies. The witch disappears into mud, Jack’s mother over exaggerates her death after a fake-looking fall to the ground, and the baker’s wife is smushed by the giant’s foot after cheating on her husband with the prince.
This year is the year for Disney fairytale movies to come to life with movies like Maleficent, Into the Woods, and Cinderella. Cinderella will be coming out this March and hopefully it will not be as terrible as Into the Woods.
