Let”s be honest. Much like a novel, when you adapt a stage musical for the screen, some things get changed. Whether for time constraints, plot streamlining, or to make a tongue-twister of a song easier for audiences to understand, fans must sacrifice purism on the alter of the silver screen. As far as changes go though, modifying Cinderella”s (Anna Kendrick) metaphor about delaying grown-up decisions by kicking the can down the road to a first person narrative is a minor offense.
And Anna Kendrick sings the hell out of her predicament.
For we diehard “Into the Woods” fans out there, perhaps take heart in the fact that the changes are Sondheim sanctioned. The composer was on set to help bring his Tony Award-winning musical to the big screen. Kendrick even mentioned the process to Vanity Fair back in October. She said, “It”s certainly not like we took any of these changes lightly […] I had a really great and unique experience with Sondheim because he was changing the lyrics slightly to “Steps of the Palace,” so I got to work closely with him on that. And, by closely, I mean, he was around giving me new lyrics, and I stood there and tried not to mess them up!”
If you want a direct comparison though, here”s Kim Crosby singing Sondheim”s original lyrics during the first Broadway run of “Into the Woods.” Feeling extra ambitious? Try to sync this video up with Kendrick”s version above!