INTO THE WOODS

This is a Broadway musical adapted into a movie, so there were lots of singing and dancing other than the rather exaggerated acting.

This collection of fairy tales brought together a number of characters and told some of the familiar stories that all happened in the enchanted woods in a different way from what we know of.

Meryl Streep played the Witch for the first time in her movie career, James Corden and Emily Blunt were the Baker and his wife, Anna Kendrick was Cinderella, Chris Pine was Prince Charming, Johnny Depp was the Wolf, Lilla Crawford was Little Red Riding Hood and Daniel Huttlestone was Jack and MacKenzie Mauzy was Rapunzel.

Personally, I didn't enjoy this movie at all and found all the singing grating and non-catchy or -memorable although some of the humour was entertaining.  

Meryl Streep as the Witch

the Baker and his wife, who had a brief dalliance with Prince Charming

the Cinderella who professed to enjoy house cleaning

the Prince who was raised to be Charming not sincere

the same old Wolf

the Little Red Riding Hood

Jack and his beanstalks

Rapunzel

SINGAPORE GARDEN FESTIVAL 12 PART 2

Today's weather - sunny

It's the fairy tales garden, a gold award winning display, created by Damian Tang. It got people curious to seek out the fairy tales and characters in the exhibit. I certainly was.

First, I was captivated by a huge but beautiful spider. Interestingly, I was told it is not part of any fairy tale and was there to create interest.

Alright, I saw the dwarfs from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Why were they all facing inwards without revealing their faces, I wondered? Then there was Pinocchio but it wasn't just one or two puppets of him. There were quite a couple everywhere, including one in a bird cage, one lying back on a Bird's Nest Fern and I was amazed and intrigued by the Pinocchio shrine.

On the other side, there was the little red riding hood and the wolf, if only one can see it. Once again, the girl in the hood was hiding her face away from the masses. Around the turn was Tinkerbell, I think, sitting at the base of an Olive Tree.

So what's the reason for getting the characters not to face the crowd? Other than creating curiosity, was the designer's intention merely for us to imagine the characters' looks on our own? I don't know.

RED RIDING HOOD

Everyone would have heard of the fairy tales of 'Little Red Riding Hood' and 'Three Little Pigs' as a child. These are classic kiddie stories. So, when Hollywood decided to make a movie called 'Red Riding Hood', I knew I would never look at the character the same way ever again.

This is the adult thriller version of the girl, with a red hood in the forest, who encountered a wolf which was out to eat her. Mind you, this movie character is not a pure, innocent girl as we all know her. Just like this isn't your simple and typical wolf eats grandmother and young girl movie. It is yet another werewolf movie. And why should I be surprised since it was produced by the Director of 'Twilight'.

Starring the wide-eyed Amanda Seyfried as the titular character, she oozed more sinister vibes than pure innocence, as she was caught between two men in her life. I guess this version would appeal more to the mass audience and bring in bigger bucks compared to the typical fairy tale version, hence this production. For the observant audience, one would have noticed a scene of the three little pigs and the huffing and puffing wolf that brought down the houses of the pigs. Then there was also the classic "grandma, why are your eyes, ears and mouth so big" so familiar to all who knew of the children's tale.

This legend took on a different spin unconventional of fairy tales, so don't, and I repeat don't, bring your underage child to watch this movie, lest they stop believing in fairy tales after that. Maybe someday, they would also make an adult version of 'The Little Match Girl'. Yes, no? If given a choice, I would pick the very sweet and pretty Bryce Dallas Howard as the boring characters in the classic tales. And that is why I am not a movie Director, because I would never be able to rack in the projected earnings.