Into The Woods hit theaters December 25, 2014 and is directed by Rob Marshall.  James Lapine is the writer of this comedic and musical film that ties together a variety of popular fairy tales including Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and The Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood.  Rather than sticking to the original story lines, this movie contains many plot twists that will leave you questioning what will happen next.  There are many well known actors and actresses such as Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Christine Baranski, and Emily Blunt, along with some new and upcoming faces like Anna Kendrick, Daniel Huttlestone, and Lilla Crawford starring in the movie.

Right from the start, you are drawn in by the mix of music and jokes that will have you laughing and wanting to sing along.  The structure in the opening scene was very well done, as it introduces every fairy tale character and the struggles they are all facing, giving the viewer an idea of how all of their paths will cross as they try to fulfill their dreams and desires.  However, little do they all know that their very own dreams may get them all into even bigger trouble in the end.

Meryl Streep is an outstanding actress and is known for her roles in other films such as The Devil Wears Prada, The Hours, and The Iron Lady.  She was up for her twenty-ninth Golden Globe nomination in the category of best supporting actress in a motion picture for her role as the witch in Into The Woods.  This is a new record for her which is incredible.

Her performance was flawless as she terrorized the baker and his wife in the film, and her transition from being displayed as old and unattractive to a young and beautiful witch was marvelous.  The attention to detail in the film definitely did not go unnoticed.

Anna Kendrick, known for her roles in Pitch Perfect and Twilight really showed off her vocal skills as she played Cinderella and sang to the birds. Her performance will definitely boost her acting career.

Spoiler alert! If you don’t want to know what happens in the film then you may want to skip this paragraph.

In the beginning of the film we meet Johnny Depp’s character, the Wolf.  However, he is only in the film for about five minutes total, which is a little strange considering how famous he is as an actor.  The producers may have just thrown him into the film so that it would draw in more viewers.  That was a very good strategy since there are many people who were going to see if his performance was going to be like the performance he gave in Alice In Wonderland as the Mad Hatter.

There were some scenes that were a bit twisted and a darker take on the original fairy tales, such as when the stepmother cuts off the toe of one stepsister and the heel of the other in order for their feet to fit in the gold slipper.  Also, the Prince Charming in the film was absolutely not the Prince Charming we were all expecting to see.  He ends up being the typical player who doesn’t take his relationship with Cinderella too seriously and ends up kissing the Baker’s wife.  Major plot twist that no one was expecting to happen.

If  you are a fan of musicals or are a sucker for fairy tales then this mash up will have you wanting to watch more at the end of it.