Yes No Maybe So: Into the Woods
Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 7:25PM After a number of official still images, a lovely teaser, rumblings of behind-the-scenes drama, an extended featurette, a bunch of EW covers, and plenty of anticip... ation, the trailer for Rob Marshall's take on Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's classic musical, Into the Woods is here! More so than the teaser, this trailer introduces us to the main conceit that brings all these characters together: the search for a way to have a curse reversed, something that can only be accomplished by, as the Witch tells us, going into the woods and getting,
One: the cow as white as milk,
Two: the cape as red as blood,
Three: the hair as yellow as corn,
Four: the slipper as pure as gold.
Will the Baker and his Wife (the lowly, unfairy-tale couple at the heart of the show) be able to break the curse and survive the treacherous woods? If you've seen the show, you know "happily ever after" only takes you to the end of Act 1. But enough exposition, here's Manuel playing YES NO MAYBE SO, trying to keep our excitement for this Disney property in order.
YES
- Meryl Streep.
- Meryl Streep. Singing. Sondheim. Need we say more?
- Meryl Streep looking amazing..
- (I can’t help it, she’s front and center in the marketing material. They know what they’re selling and what we’ll be buying; I appreciate the pandering, embrace it, even!)
- Can we talk about how lush and gorgeous Sondheim’s score sounds?
- “I was raised to be charming, not sincere.” Chris Pine, delivering the line of his life.
- “Oh dear, how uneasy I feel.” Runner-up for best line reading in the trailer; Lila Crawford nails the droll delivery (both wistful and jaded) required for this piece to work.
- There's music! Finally a musical billing itself as a musical and not playing the bait-and-switch game (remember Sweeney Todd?)
- Colleen Atwood and Dion Beebe are definitely bringing the pretty (in another version of this post I would merely put up hundres of screengrabs: That popping red cape! Those thorny branches! That golden Cinderella dress! Those amazing step-sister outfits/hairstyles! The Witch’s makeover look! Kendrick on the steps of the castle! Wet princes running our way!)
- I actually love the ethereally earthy (can I trademark that?) look of the piece, at once grounded in the grime and mud of the woods while also using metallics to connote the necessary element of fantasy that pervades this world.
- I love so many of these ladies (Kendrick! Baranski! Ullman! Blunt!), but then we probably all said the same about Marshall’s last musical. Indeed, I’m crazy about the entire cast except for...
NO
- ...Johnny Depp. Obviously the biggest deterrent (and that costume isn’t helping matters, is it?) The Red/Wolf scene is going to be particularly hard to pull off; has it been defanged by Disney execs and/or by Depp’s cartooney take on the Big Bad Wolf?
- The CGI-ness of it all gives me pause; might it overwhelm the material?
- I can’t decide if “Be careful what you wish for” is barely serviceable or merely uninspired.
- I promise I'm trying to find other things to notch as NOs, but I'm afraid I'm besotted by this trailer.
MAYBE SO
- Whither be our Billy Magnussen? (get out of the way, bushes!) I know he can’t get any type of billing, but there’s not enough of that big hunk of man in this trailer. #Agony
- I’m curious and hesitant about Blunt; this is a tricky part (one which fellow Streep co-star Amy Adams had trouble with a couple of years ago in Shakespeare in the Park)
- Am I the only one noticing that Meryl may not be the best at lip-syncing?
- That giant is… giving me Bryan Singer's Jack the Vampire Giant Slayer vibes.
- It’s still unclear how the numbers will be staged (thankfully away from Marshall’s tried and true stage-as-fantasy conceit) and whether Marshall & co. have managed to ‘open up’ the musical without sacrificing the dramatic beats that make Sondheim and Lapine’s piece work so well on stage. We get a glimpse of Meryl’s number but I’m more curious to see that first ensemble piece play out; the proximity of all these characters is what makes those group numbers sing; can it be replicated on screen?
Ed. Note: Watch it below (and thanks to Anonny for reminding me that in my stupor I'd forgotten to include the trailer itself!)
Unsurprisingly, I’m a "YES! I wish I could have this film in front of me now!" (Though maybe I should be careful what I wish for?) I love the material and this trailer shows there’s potential for greatness. Am I blinded by my love for Streep? By my obsession with Sondheim? By the pretty pretty pictures? Chime in! Calling all the Sondheim purists, the Marshall skeptics and the “I’m over Meryl”s, bring me down from my Into the Woods-induced high! Point me to things that should temper my giddy excitement!
Reader Comments (28)
Johnny Depp's Wolf is a yes.
♫don't you know what's up there on the screen?
meryl yes but billy's chest unseen
christmas day can not come soon enough...♫
YES
Yes - meryl takes my breath away...
Take Sondheim's music, fabulous production values, and a cast to die for, and of course I will go. It may or may not be the best musical adaptation we have ever seen, but I'm certain it will be watchable.
It's true Johnny Depp may have worn out his welcome and that costume isn't doing him any favours, but he is bankable and that's why he's there. I'm betting that the joy of seeing such a cast perform will outweigh any overacting that Depp usually brings.
I don't think Emily Blunt would have been chosen if she hadn't crushed it in the audition. Let's give this a chance, honestly it looks like a great show. A big Yes for me.
Just popping in for my usual contrarian take on Streep (eg. I've liked her in pretty much nothing this decade *other than* Osage County - and okay, her aged scenes in Iron Lady).
Obviously there's not much to glean about the performance based on this trailer alone, but the little bit of Streep-singing we're granted is just so... I don't know, what's the word for sub-Bernadette-Peters?
I can't completely make up my mind about the visual style. I think I like it.
Oh, this has been a 'yes' for me as soon as I heard they were making it...whether it lives up to my hopes and expectations is another story, but there's no way I won't be seeing it.
Am I the only one who thinks this looks almost uniquely ugly? Like awful? These color schemes, the photography, the CGI - maybe the film will have pluses, there would seem to be some in the cast & the score is amazing - but I don't remember the last trailer whose visuals rubbed me in so negative a way.
That was unexpectedly good.
I will probably see this as even a bad production of good material is usually bearable and I love this show......but my expectations of Marshall are pretty low. I may be alone in this, but I find the costumes erratic and odd, especially the glam witch and the wolf. I'm also bothered by the casting of a child to play Red Riding Hood and I feel Kendrick is miscast. And don't get me started on how wrong Depp is in every way.
I guess that makes ma a Yes with reservations.
Yes!!!! Streep looks fierce as the transformed witch and just that one line delivery..."not always....."
Well, I am a Sondheim purist, a Marshall skeptic, and an over-Meryl, and I am... cautiously hopeful? The color correction makes everything feel a bit waxy. I won't follow ScottC all the way to "ugly", but it's definitely not very pleasant. And Depp looks like a waking nightmare.
But for the most part, the cast seems to be in the right place. Feeling a bit more "Jackman's act-singing in Les Miz" than I want to from Streep, but everybody else feels right, and Chris Pine NAILS that line.
Hate to say it, but there is absolutely nothing about this trailer that appeals to me. I'm a solid no.
Most important parts of the "Yes, No, Maybe So" feature:
1. The TRAILER
2. The Yes
3. The No
4. The Maybe So
You are missing the most important thing
YES.
Some of my favorite film musicals
butcheredre-imagined some of my favorite stage musicals (see On the Town, Cabaret), so I'll reserve judgment on any changes until I've seen the thing.Now I want Hugh Jackman as the wolf....
Why do I smell category fraud? Streep is clearly gonna OWN this. Even with little screentime, this may be a Hannibal Lecter situation, in which you can feel the presence the character even when he's not there, making it a leading role.
I have a feeling she may win her 4th for this.
Anonny: You are totally right! Post has been amended with the trailer itself.
Yes, yes and.... YES!
I had my concerns, although I like Marshall's films more than anyone (yes, I even enjoyed Nine and The Geisha), but from what it looks, it looks really exciting and the singing sounds great too, so far.
Meryl's voice is crytal clear and she sounds so tenderly and motherly in that short "Stay with Me" glimpse she already had me tearing up a little. And I'm quite released she looks so fierce and fabuous post transformation, I can now watch with excitement how she get to look like that.
I don't know the stage play, so I'm glad I don't have much high expectation, but the trailer made me really excited. I think I'm going to love this. Without a doubt.
<3
Yeah... I'm iffy on the color scheme, which makes things look just a touch too fake and CGI-ed. BUT it might work on the big screen. That score sounds the best it's ever sounded, instrumentation-wise, and Streep's singing is good, but definitely sub-Bernadette (I'm not anti-Streep YET - although each of her performances since Prada have felt more and more like PERFORMANCES to me, not always to their detriment - but I'm still wishing we had gotten Bernadette or Donna Murphy as the Witch). Totally sold on Chris Pine now - fingers crossed he can sing!
Oh why bother analysing it... I'm a YES.Always have been. The curiosity is too strong!
Yeah... I'm iffy on the color scheme, which makes things look just a touch too fake and CGI-ed. BUT it might work on the big screen. That score sounds the best it's ever sounded, instrumentation-wise, and Streep's singing is good, but definitely sub-Bernadette (I'm not anti-Streep YET - although each of her performances since Prada have felt more and more like PERFORMANCES to me, not always to their detriment - but I'm still wishing we had gotten Bernadette or Donna Murphy as the Witch). Totally sold on Chris Pine now - fingers crossed he can sing!
Oh why bother analysing it... I'm a YES.Always have been. The curiosity is too strong!
Of course, yes. But I still worry about the Disney-fication as the "kids", Red and Jack, seem to be fairly prominent in the trailer which may entice more families to see this. Hoping parents of young children don't come to MY screening cuz ABC's Once Upon a Time this ain't, and I don't want to hear about it.
Can we talk about how beautiful Emily Blunt looks? Wasn't she actually pregnant during filming? Wish there was more Christine Baranski and Lucy Punch; they look like they're having a grand time in that carriage. And, yes, more Billy, please!
Of course, yes. But I still worry about the Disney-fication as the "kids", Red and Jack, seem to be fairly prominent in the trailer which may entice more families to see this. Hoping parents of young children don't come to MY screening cuz ABC's Once Upon a Time this ain't, and I don't want to hear about it.
Can we talk about how beautiful Emily Blunt looks? Wasn't she actually pregnant during filming? Wish there was more Christine Baranski and Lucy Punch; they look like they're having a grand time in that carriage. And, yes, more Billy, please!
Meryl Streep can sing legit musical theater music. Anyone whose seen Alice at the Palace/Alice in Concert can attest to that. I'd say her wonderful Mother Courage in the park, but that was not filmed and so readily available. I wasn't sure she could handle the witch, but the trailer is giving me hope. That's not the hardest song in the score for her, but it is the quietest and the one that requires a pretty and gentle touch.
I'm a yes on this because it's Into the Woods.
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. It's a musical. Featuring Meryl Streep. There's no room for 'maybe' or 'no' here.
I'm still a solid yes, even with the Johnny Depp uneasiness. It's not a big spoiler, but Depp will be gone after the first hour, if not sooner and will not appear as one of the princes as is usually customary for the actor playing the wolf. He can't ruin the film with 20-30 minutes of "acting" I assume. Streep's "...With meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" gives me goosebumps. No, she's not Bernadette, but I expect Streep to bring her usual nuance and skills to the role.
Yes- it's the big Christmas musical event- let's just hope is more "Chicago" than "NINE"
Am I the only one hearing Monty Burns with Streep's speech pattern as the Witch? This palette.... did they consult Clint Eastwood or something? I can see colors but shot completely lifeless.
Still a solid NO but the original production was one of the most influential pieces of art in forming my aesthetic growing up so I feel that I must still see this with eyes wide open and a heart full of trepidation. Prove me wrong movie, oh please prove me wrong.