It is when it comes to fairytales.
There is no way they will want to confuse parents about the content of a fairy tale musical.
No. Way.
Additionally, as of late, Disney has been more successful with their darker work (current and future- MALEFICENT and a Guillermo Del Toro version of THE HAUNTED MANSION are on their way) than their light family fare, so it seems like WOODS is a choice for them to bridge the gap between fairy-tale fun and their more mature material.
That's really not true Best12. They have a number of quite dark fairy tale live action films in the works: MALIFICENT, THE ORDER OF THE SEVEN, a particularly dark script of CINDERELLA.
Let's see 'em first. The execs haven't had their way with them yet.
...heck, it's not like Sondheim or Lapine are averse to making the work kid-friendly anyway. The Junior Edition is wildly popular. In fact, that's how non-theatre people would know of Into the Woods if they know it at all.
Besides, how much stuff are they REALLY going to need to take out to make it a dark "hard PG" even?
Other than the Wolf's penis, not that much. And is the Wolf's penis that huge of a loss to Into The Woods? I'd wager most productions don't have it.
They don't have to go too far with toning it down. I wouldn't worry. They can't have a wolf with a boner, but they can have him "serenade" Little Red in an oh-so-innocent way. That will leave the pedo-fantasies to the minds of the audience ... and they won't shy away from that. But NOTHING literal as far as sexual predators go. The closest you'll get is something like Hunchback ... again only suggested. Nothing overt.
So if you can deal with no wolf boner, you can still have plenty going on in the movie.
And I aslo think some of you are lumping all "darkness" and "mature themes" in with suggestive porn, etc. Not the same thing.
As the Wicked Witch of the West so aptly put it in "The Wizard of Oz," ... "these things have to be done delicately, or you'll hurt the spell."
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/07
^ Love it!
Can he sing? (well enough?)
I don't think they'll have any problem turning this into a PG. It's not edgy at all. Who hasn't seen this show done in a high school? There is no way it could be as sanitized as ABC's Once Upon a Mattress. If anything they'll have to keep it moving so kids wont get bored.
I don't think they'll water it down completely at all. I don't know why people think Rated G means "lobotomized" either. And I'm sure this will be PG.
They just won't have the adult wolf with exposed genitals chasing after a "little girl" of 12. The song can stay the same. There can be "darkness" and "attitude" and "adult themes."
You guys have seen Disney fairy tale movies lately, right?
But NO EXPOSED PENISES. Not allowed.
And Disney is extremely protective of its image with families as far as the fairy tale genre goes. It's their Number One Stock In Trade. They won't consider jeopardizing their reputation with a "hint" of anything overtly controversial or un-PC. (That excludes "darkness" which is neither controversial nor un-PC).
It has nothing to do with this show being "edgy". It's not an "edgy" show but it IS a show with mature themes that if cut out, cuts out the meat, the heart and the reason for the show. That's why that Junior Version pisses me off as much as it does.
Jordy, what else does the Junior version cut out, besides wolf shlong?
Yeah but Red Riding Hood wasn't written to be played by a girl of 12. Danielle Ferland hardly looked pre-pubsecent in the original production and the woman who played the role on the national tour was in her 30s and looked like Peggy Cass. The satire of the song isn't rooted in pedophilia. I don't know what is making some of you think in this thread that it is and that in some way removing that is sanitizing the text.
The junior version is just Act One.
Updated On: 1/12/12 at 03:10 PM
MB, the reason I think that whole "Pedo" thing started was because people were saying Red should be played by a 10 year old and I said if she was "Hello Little Girl" would be gross being sung to a 10 year old girl.
Danielle Ferland looked 15 at most.
So did the girl on tour, if it's the same one I saw in Los Angeles (with the glasses), regardless of her actual age.
Late teens at the very most. And everyone in the show, all the characters, call her a "little girl."
It's in the dialogue and in the songs, too. Not just once, but many, many times. She is a "little girl," a "young thing," she's just a "child." etc.
Yes, but she's not a 'little girl' - when cast, even with an older teenager, the character 'reads' as a woman of sexual maturity; Ferland and especially the woman on the tour (Tracy Katz) were built like linebackers and also directed to be completely non sexual and overtly deadpan. If anything, that was the joke of the song. The wolf is lusting after a fat undesirable girl because those things make her better than sex to him - she's a delicious meal.
Broadway Star Joined: 6/26/11
FWI, yes like most baritones chip has a decent higher range that is easy enough for him but he sounds his best on the lower notes.
She's supposed to be plump or fat.
Not thirty.
She is a child. It's in the script and songs. Many times, as described by the witch, the narrator, the baker and his wife ... not just the wolf. It's not a euphemism when they all use it to describe her and talk to her.
She's a little girl.
EDIT: This seems to be one of those "Tobias" things you just can't get past. Little Red is a little girl.
The show (removing any exposed genitalia, which I hadn't actually noticed seeing the show in the past anyway) is entirely PG.
The "Dark themes" are dark on a relative scale and easily fit under the umbrella of what Disney could pull off with minimal push back these days. I'm not sure if I believe they will be able to pull it off, but I think they easily could.
Though I am not yet convinced this is actually happening, these early announcements are often premature. I'll think more when the cast comes out.
With the casting, I agree with the assumption that "vocal range" is irrelevant for this and they will need to get the biggest stars they can. I think the critical/financial reaction to Les Mis could have some impact as well.
I don't find the themes that mature, it's typical fairytale stuff and you get in as deep as you want there. Despite the homogenized Disney versions of some of these stories, the meanings are still there. Don't run away from your parents, boys are bad, consequence for your actions.
When it came to Rapunzel, I thought the Disney version did a crazy good job with fairly mature themes. Kidnapping and the witch's sudden demise was kinda shocking, I didn't expect that to remain.
Today's kids see (AND READ) all the Harry Potter series and those are filled with the same themes. They also see tons of violence and this movie may or may not include the light blood. I think it's funny to not show it and just hear some slices.
Updated On: 1/12/12 at 03:31 PM
Best12, the entire show is a satire. If they wanted Red and Jack to actually be a 'little girl' and a 'little boy' they would have cast young children in those roles instead they cast actors who were very obviously at least in their mid-late teens.
... just like Tobias.
They won't cast a 30-year-old in the movie, either. And while it has satirical elements and some satirical humor, no, the entire musical is not satire.
There is nothing the script of SWEENEY TODD that says Tobias is a child. That was Tim Burton's interpretation of the character. How Rob Marshall interprets the roles remains to be seen, but in the reading of INTO THE WOODS in the 90s (Jack and Red were played by Elijah Wood and Mayim Bialick who were both teenagers at the time.
The complete cast list of that reading by the way is interesting:
[In October 1994, a reading of a script was held at the home of director Penny Marshall. The cast included Robin Williams (the Baker), Goldie Hawn (the Baker's Wife), Cher (the Witch), Steve Martin (the Wolf), Danny DeVito (the Giant), Elijah Wood (Jack), Roseanne (Jack's mother), Bebe Neuwirth (Cinderella's stepmother), Mayim Bialik (Little Red Riding Hood), Samantha Mathis (Rapunzel), Brendan Fraser (Rapunzel's prince), Moira Kelly (Cinderella), Kyle MacLachlan (Cinderella's prince) and Michael Jeter (Cinderella's father)]
Updated On: 1/12/12 at 03:41 PM
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