In December, a spin off movie, based on a musical, came to life. Into the Woods directed by Rob Marshall combines several family-loved fairy tales. The movie starts off normal, like what one would expect from any fairy tale movie, but turns dark when the main characters are lured into the depths of the woods, into unforeseen danger.

The films set design is one of the best; the woods where most of the movie is based, are extremely realistic and they offer depth most sets fail to capture. Many realistic features are added including a working river with a waterfall, beautiful castles and of course, the magical, mysterious woods.

The actors performed well and all of them fit into their roles perfectly. They sang and acted without a hitch, and made it seem more “real life.”  All things aside, the actors were phenomenal and added comedic bits to a story that is portrayed as dark and twisted, which can appear somewhat scary to younger audiences. But without proper costumes, this movie would probably have been a bust.

The makeup and costumes were beautiful, adding more of a medieval touch to the characters, which is fitting because of where and when the movie was set. My personal favorite out of all  the actors’ makeup was Meryl Streep as the witch. The gray hair coloring and the additional wrinkles makes her look more wicked, which is typical for a witch character.

After watching the whole movie, be sure to take note of the ending. I would really recommend people go to see this, even if you are not into musicals. The musical aspect is toned down so as not to completely change the whole story line, but apparent enough to make it an even more enjoyable.