The cow comes courtesy of Jack of beanstalk fame, gamely portrayed by Daniel Huttlestone, the very same lad who was street urchin Gavroche in the big-screen “Les Mis.” The cape refers to the apparel donned by Little Red Riding Hood, amusingly embodied by Broadway vet Lilla Campbell with plenty of brink-of-puberty brattiness. The hair, as you might guess, is provided by a tower-dwelling Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy, somewhat of a weak link in this lineup), who was raised by the Witch as her own daughter. And, naturally, the shoe comes courtesy of Cinderella, done to a pitch-perfect hilt by Anna Kendrick, who is turning into quite the movie-musical mascot.
All their paths eventually lead, as the title says, into the woods. It’s a scary place where many of the characters lose their bearings, both morally, ethically and otherwise, and danger regularly lurks—most notably in the form of Johnny Depp as the Wolf. He hungrily exhibits lupine lustiness towards Red Riding Hood, well-fed herself after conning the Baker out of more than a few sweet samples. The actor’s most effective assets are his lascivious vocals, Dali-esque whiskers and snazzy zoot suit with tantalizing faux gray-blue fur as designed by the great Colleen Atwood.
But his appearance is brief and actually quite non-disruptive as far as zany Depp-ian interludes go. It’s a rare role where he serves the work rather than the other way around.
Eventually, everyone’s wish comes true in one form or another. Then, in the final act, everything falls apart, a matter aggravated by the tree-menacing intrusion of an angry she-giant (an awkwardly done visual effect with a human actress) who seeks revenge after Jack causes her equally large husband to meet his demise. Death, infidelity, disillusionment and finger-pointing eventually result in a communal healing process that certainly will ring true to audiences who are regularly exposed to such real-life aftermaths in the wake of tragic disasters both natural and man-made these days.
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