The path to the big screen for Stephen Sondheim’s fairytale mashup* has been long and winding.

    The musical, first performed in 1986 and produced many times, won several Tony Awards, including best score, best book, and best actress in a musical (Joanna Gleason), in a year dominated by “The Phantom of the Opera.”

    In the near 30 years since Sondheim and James Lapine wrote “Into the Woods,” many films have explored what happens after the happily-ever-after. We’ve had three “Shreks,” one “Enchanted” and many others.

    The opening 16 minutes show the best and the worst on offer. It’s just the one song, in which all characters sing together to explain why they will take a trip to the country.

    There’s a baker* and his wife (James Corden and Emily Blunt), crone* Meryl Streep issuing them the shopping list, plus Jack the Giant Slayer (Daniel Huddleston), Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) and Anna Kendrick’s Cinderella, who wants to ask the advice of her mom, buried under a willow tree, on how to get a ticket to the ball that night.

    The rest of the film is very similar* to the stage version. Those who like watching great British character actors will have a field day*: Annette Crosby is briefly seen as Granny, Simon Russell Beale appearing for a longer time as the baker’s father and — turns out — who started all sin*. More airtime is given to Johnny Depp’s cameo* as the wolf, salivating* over Red Riding Hood’s young flesh, and to Christine Baranski, acting as Cinderella’s stepmother.

    The production design is good despite the small budget, yet there is a lack of magic in the air. These woods are dank* and deep, brittle* in the middle, wooden round the edges. When the plot develops and that untraditional* coda* kicks in, you can almost hear the creakiness. “Into the Woods” isn’t an unrewarding journey. But we have seen similar plots, and the route feels familiar.

    (SD-Agencies)