Into the Woods Official Movie Thread- Page 194

[sarahb22]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 1:27pm

Well, I just checked Twitter and there are tweets from teenagers (I assume) talking about walking down the halls of their school singing "Agony" to each other. That makes me happy.

Updated On: 1/5/15 at 01:27 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 1:30pm

I can almost hear Javert's spine un-snapping in that gif.

Updated On: 1/5/15 at 01:30 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 4:47pm

I've heard and read that, as well, from people leaving the theatre.

"I loved everything but the songs, which all sounded the same and weren't very good."

But they have no problem with "Let It Go" sounding like 8,000 other power ballads from the past 20 years?

[Bucky Builder]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 4:55pm

To be fair, Idina sells that song. Not the song itself.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 4:58pm

So they didn't like the songs because nobody belted them like Idina?

I think people are stupid.

All of 'em.

[Bucky Builder]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 5:22pm

I don't think it's really anything to get all huffy about. Sure some may say the songs sounded the same but overall it's obvious people are really liking the film. Sondheim isn't everyone's type.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 5:29pm

Well, I just checked Twitter and there are tweets from teenagers (I assume) talking about walking down the halls of their school singing "Agony" to each other. That makes me happy.

Agony was the favorite song of my co-workers' little princesses, because, well, princes.

[Starship]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 5:30pm

I'm a big musical theater fan and I loved ITW. However, Sondheim isn't really my cup of tea. But, I do love how there is a lot of depth and meaning in a lot of his pieces.

[Bucky Builder]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 5:33pm

His lyrics are genius. His music is good.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 6:01pm

I think it's normal to have that reaction to Sondheim. It may be a Disney movie, but it's ultimately a Sondheim show, and it's a very Sondheim show regardless of how accessible it seems at first. In some way, that's part of the beauty of the show, the deceptive simplicity of it (and something that seems inherent to its themes). I doubt the first time I saw the show (and I saw it as a teenager much like many young people are discovering it now) I thought the music was brilliant--though "Last Midnight" and I fell in love at first sight, er, listen. I probably even dismissed it as "easier Sondheim" when I discovered Sondheim and was all into being a young intellectual. The older I get, the more I return to it though. The songs, which seemed cute and "easy" when I was younger, have such a different context in my life; the rhymes only get more fascinating the more I discover them (seriously, "we've no time to sit and dither while her withers wither with her" is one of the most genius things I've ever heard); and my understanding of the meaning of songs like "It Takes Two" and "No One Is Alone" has become more complex and I'm sure it'll continue to do so. Not that this will happen to everyone, but I'm sure that as some of the young people who just discovered the piece grow older and keep coming back to it, they'll start seeing how pointed, poignant, deep, incisive and clever the songs are.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 6:13pm

Hitsdailydouble has 50% of their US album sales predictions in, and as of now the soundtrack is #3. This could certainly change by Thursday when the Billboard top 200 is released.

http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/salescht.cgi

It would be so amazing to see a Sondheim score amongst one of the top 5 overall albums in the country.

Updated On: 1/5/15 at 06:13 PM

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 6:28pm

I will never understand why people think that Sondheim's music isn't as good as his lyrics.
I think that he writes some of the most beautiful melodies. I find his music very hummable and memorable. It's just different.

BTW if you look at the comments that alot of people write on the YouTube video of Let it Go, you'll find that many people love the actual song (which is pretty sad) but not Idina. There are quite a few comments saying that she has a harsh, annoying voice that hurts their ears and Demi whateverthehellhernameis sang it better.

[sarahb22]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 7:08pm

"Let It Go" is sort of an odd duck for me. It's easily the best and most powerful song in an otherwise mediocre movie that's riddled with plot and character problems.

But, at the same time, if you really listen to the lyrics and apply it to the situation of the character in the movie who's singing them, you come to realize that it's really - at least to me - a huge power ballad about ditching your responsibilities and doing whatever the hell you want. E.g., the line "I'm never going back, the past is in the past" is very specifically about the character leaving her kingdom and never going back to it - despite the fact that she's supposed to be running the joint, and there's nobody to replace her.

Now the fans of that character claim that's not the case, that she is instead protecting the kingdom by leaving it and it's a huge sacrifice for her, but she sure doesn't sing the song that way. She's singing like it's the last day of school and she is outta there.

But that's another story, never mind, anyway I wonder how "Agony" would do as a single?

[gypsy101]

Posted: 1/5/15 at 11:18pm

@best12bars Wikipedia says the box office gross for Sweeney Todd was over $152 million, so Into the Woods isn't there yet. But It will probably reach that by next week, especially considering it hasn't been released in much of the world still.

The question of whether Sondheim is better at writing lyrics than he is at music has also seemed dubious to me as well. The man can turn out a spectacular lyric, but his melodies are so fantastic to me. I just think of songs like A Weekend in the Country, Not a Day Goes By, Stay With Me, Losing My Mind, Being Alive, Anyone Can Whistle...so many wonderful melodies. But a lyric like "You can start with a bagel and end up with Conrad Nagel on the screen, but in life you wind up right behind a pillar in the mezzanine" is just golden.

[Mrtrobz]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 12:03am

There certainly is a market for these lower budget musical movies to generate a quick and stable income. At the rate Into the Woods is going I predict it will land around the $200,000,000 mark which certainly isn't too bad for a $50,000,000 movie, I would be very interested to see how much Beauty and the Beast will make for Disney in its eventual release I think that will be a juggernaut of a musical film. Perhaps Cinderella's release in March will give us an indication.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 12:33am

I have heard several non-theatre going friends complain that all Broadway music (and singers) sound the same. Sacrilege to our overly saturated musical theatre brains, but its' a common complaint in the mainstream - and obviously a big reason why pop jukebox musicals have found their target audiences

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 12:50pm

Finally saw this, it was fun! A little perfunctory, the visual style was okay but nothing too exciting (it definitely looks like all the other New Disney Fairy Tale Movies, which is probably great for revenue) and they did a great job paring it down. I will definitely agree that losing the act 2 opening did a bit of damage, we really need to see their post-happy-ending status quo before the giant stomps all over everything, but it's hardly a movie-ruining decision (I also thought they took Your Fault way too slow). Meryl Streep really blows Last Midnight out of the water. I think the nicest thing about seeing this was just being able to revisit the music in a focused setting, which I haven't done in a while.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 1:55pm

gypsy101---That was Sweeney's worldwide gross, not domestic gross.

Into the Woods hasn't even opened internationally in most markets.

Yours is not a level playing field.

Sweeney made $52 million in the US total.

Into the Woods has made $90 million in the US so far.

Updated On: 1/6/15 at 01:55 PM

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 3:52pm

Saw the movie again. Loved it just as much as I did the first time. Perhaps more.

[Hagenisnotakitty]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 5:07pm

That green spilling popcorn container on Rotten Tomatoes gives me the heart-pains. But, to be fair, I think being disappointed with the second act of Into the Woods is a very natural thing to do the first time you see it. This is my favorite musical of all time, and even my reaction to the OBC Video was “D’aaaaaaw, why’d it have to KEEP GOING? I’m all sad now. Eh.”

But even then, I wasn’t mad or angry or even convinced that the second act was just mind-numbingly pointless. My reaction is very much like many I’ve read and seen, not a bile “IT SHOULD HAVE JUST ENDED AT THE WEDDING. WHY IS THERE AN EXTRA HALF HOUR!? POINTLESS!!!”, which I’ve only seen maybe 1/5 of the time. Most of the reactions seem to be “I liked how it was wrapping itself up, and I kinda wish it had just ended there. I still liked the film, though.”

Into the Woods excites you with a lighthearted romp through childhood familiarity, then suddenly dumps a lot of dreary baggage on you. This I now see as the brilliance of the piece, but not after letting the messages sink in and rewatching it. I’m hoping that many of these people will buy the DVD when it comes out, and they might look at the material differently after knowing what to expect.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 5:22pm

@best12bars Oh, I agree with you (I had mentioned that it hasn't opened in much of the world). I didn't realized Sweeney Todd's domestic gross was so small. It wasn't anywhere near as good as Into the Woods, though.

[Bucky Builder]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 5:23pm

Wow I'm actually surprised with the audience score on RT. Looks like it's not as liked as some thought. Just goes to show that Box office isn't everything.

[Littleshopofcarrie]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 5:24pm

Has anybody thought of the chance of Disney putting people dressed up as the characters in their parks? The only one I could really picture is the Witch but I still think it would be a fine idea.

[Bucky Builder]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 5:25pm

deleted Updated On: 1/6/15 at 05:25 PM

[Bucky Builder]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 5:29pm

2 different versions of Cinderella and Rapunzel walking around in Disney? No way. Yes the Witch would probably be the only one that would work but no way they are going to do that.