HBarnill
Since: Mar, 2013
05/28/2015 00:00:00
Too bad Johnny Depp was in this. Despite his screen time, he gave the worst performance, essentially playing the same character he's been playing for over a decade, and his singing made me want to go apologize to Russell Crowe.
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Worth It For The Fans, and Make Some New Ones
I followed this film's production pretty closely, I really loved and I was touched by the stage show I saw on DVD in my Drama 1 class. I would never forget how the second act touched me and was pretty cynical if the characters and themes I loved would translate in tact. In the end, while it's very rough around the edges and a little beat up, I think the movie managed definitely to keep the spirit alive.
The first half is pretty much completely in tact, a very faithful adaption, though it can feel disjointed and episodic as a result of the characters having a wider and more diverse space, they aren't running around on the same stage. Despite this I think it deepened the You All Share My Story feel the show had especially at the end when they are implied to become True Companions, even though are at different places in the woods they are all connected by a drive and run into eachother. I believe the casting is perfect, with some especially good turns from the Baker, the Baker's wife, and the Prince, sort of breathing in new life to them and making them uniquely there's. Chris Pine's the Prince threatens to steal ever scene he's in. It's funny, though theater humor can translate a little awkwardly to the screen, there was still plenty of laughter in my theater. I got quite a few laughs personally.
The film is Lighter and Softer, but not as much so as I feared, and really it's not a dramatic change. Act 3 is much briefer and Rapunzel's fate is spaired, but that's really the only difference. I believe though that this was the result of cutting things for time and pacing, the show is a long one and the movie does feel long at 2 1/2 hours. Tragedy still happens, and that tragedy is still examined, though without No More, Rapunzel's subplot, and the reprise of I Wish cut it's not quite as deep as it could be. The biggest problem the movie faces is with the transition to Act 1 into 2. It's abrupt, mid-song, and there's no defined time skip creating some weird plot holes and out of place behavior. That's where the movie stops itself from being perfect and loses it's well paced footing. But great performances and visuals keep it together. The magic is still there, I recommend it, just keep your mind open and understand medium change is difficult.