'Into the Woods' a sanitized but still exuberant journey

Rob Marshall's “Into the Woods” presents an exuberantly engaging, yet awkwardly cleansed cinematic translation of Stephen Sondheim's lyrically impressive 1987 Broadway musical, based on fairy tales.

In the many times I have seen “Into the Woods” onstage, I have never thought of the story's adult sensibilities — the dark side of parenting, the corruptive influences of the world, seduction by an entitled prince, adults refusing to accept responsibility, the death of a major character — as ideal material for a Walt Disney family movie.

But, with a little narrative nip and tuck mandated by Disney, “Into the Woods” dispenses with death — except for villainous giants — and sanitizes seduction to the point that a later song decrying it becomes laughable overkill.

“Into the Woods” would have been better served by Tim Burton or a director who could play with the sexual subtext instead of trying to ignore it, as Marshall does.

Still, Marshall, aided by James Lapine adapting from his Broadway book, reinvents “Into the Woods” as a zesty, cinematic experience. (Wisely, they don't follow Jack into the giant's castle in the sky, as some filmmakers might have been tempted to do with CGI.)

A showstopping segment based on the refrain “I wish” introduces the major characters from well-known stories.

Red Riding Hood (a little force of nature named Lilla Crawford) heads out to Granny's place, only to be intercepted by B.B. Wolf (a weak, wasted effort from Johnny Depp) with more on his stomach than on his mind.

Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) would really like to go the prince's ball, but her wicked stepmom (Christine Baranski) puts the kibosh on that idea.

Young Jack (Daniel Huttleston) trades his milky white cow for magic beans, making his angered mom (Tracey Ullman) want to spit them.

Injected into these familiar tales are the baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt). They would really like a bun in the oven, but a curse from a wicked old witch (a powder keg Meryl Streep) prevents them from having children, revenge for the baker's dad stealing magic beans from the witch's garden.

Meanwhile, the witch has her own parenting issues. She's kept her adopted daughter Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy) imprisoned in a tower with no doors to protect her.

Despite obligatory changes from the stage show (the song “No More” really is no more while other song lyrics wind up as dialogue), “Into the Woods” retains its Broadway appeal, as evidenced when two self-centered princes (the pompous Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen) received a rousing ovation for their duet “Agony” during a Chicago press screening.

“Into the Woods” begins stronger than it ends, and is marred by a silly segment that takes us down the wolf's esophagus where poor Red and her granny await rescue.

Of all the acts of sex and violence that Marshall abruptly cuts, couldn't he have done the same here?

“Into the Woods”

★ ★ ★

<b>Starring:</b> Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine, Lilla Crawford, Johnny Depp

<b>Directed by:</b> Rob Marshall

<b>Other:</b> A Walt Disney Pictures release. Rated PG. Officially opens Christmas Day, with some screenings on Wednesday night. 125 minutes