Into the woods is a modern concept of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, but in a musical format that follows the traditional story of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel. Which are all tied together by a back story of a baker and his wife who live in a village where they all wish for something they can't have. The baker and his wife wish for a child, but they soon find out that there is a curse on the bakers family and they can't have any children until they fins multiple things for the witch that had cursed them in the first place.
THE WITCH
Looking at other characters from other films, I found that the witch in the recent film 'Into The Woods' can be related back to Charles Dickens' Miss Havisham in the novel ' Great Expectations'. The similar characteristics I think are about these two is that there is this revenge both characters have, although into the woods Meryl Streep is a witch who looked for revenge after someone stole some important beans,by putting a curse on the family who lived next door to her, whereas Miss Havisham adopted a little girl who became a cold hearted women, who broke hearts of young men who loved her due to Miss Havisham's upbringing. Another similarity is the way they both have been portrayed in the film and in the BBC adaption with their hair you can even see it in this photo,with the dark grey almost blue coloured hair, its messy and hasn't been looked after just like Miss Havisham.
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Reference: The Witch played by Meryl Streep
Film: In The Woods
Director: Rob Marshall
Year: 2014
MRS LOVETT:
SWEENEY TODD
In late Victorian London, a barber name Benjamin Barker is married a women called Lucy and they have a little child called Johanna. The beauty of Lucy attracts the attention of the corrupt Judge Turpin, who then falsely accuses the barber of a crime that he did not commit and abuses Lucy later gaining custody of her. Fifteen years pass, Benjamin leaves prison and returns to London under the new name of Sweeney Todd, seeking revenge against Turpin. He meets the widow Mrs. Lovett who is the owner of a meat pie shop who tells him that Lucy took arsenic many years ago, and Turpin assigned himself tutor of Johanna. Sweeney Todd opens a barber shop above Mrs Lovett's store, initiating a crime rampage against those who made him suffer and lose his beloved family.
Mrs Lovett is another character that I think has some of the same traits as Miss Havisham. As words associated with Miss Havisham are; cold hearted, relentless revenge,unlucky in love which is just like this character after falling in love the new barber who has just moved in upstairs, later on in the film Mrs Lovett founds out that Sweeney Todd doesn't love her back, which she tries to take revenge on him by killing him, however it back lashed against leading to her death, by burning alive in the oven. Just like Miss Havisham where she tried to get revenge on what happens to her and also ends up catching on fire and dying.
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Reference: Mrs Lovett played by Helena Bonham Carter
Film: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Director: Tim Burton
Year: 2007
THE ADDAMS FAMILY
An eccentric family which are fairly wealthy living with all the trappings of the macabre, including a detached hand for a servant. The Addams family have a crooked accountant and his loan shark who also is an evil doctor who has found out that the Addams family have a missing family member Uncle Fester, who has been missing for the past 25 years, and the accountant and doctor have a plan to slip in the doctor's son into the family as their long lost Uncle Fester, in an attempt to get the Addams' family money. Although the youngest daugher Wednesday Addams has some doubts as to the sincerity of the new Uncle Fester, however the fake uncle adapts very well to the strange family.
GRAN
Another character that I feel that has similar to Miss Havisham is the gran from the Addams family, although she does not act much like a lonely, bitter, cold hearted women but it's more of her appearance throughout the film. She has crazy white hair that is all over the place, and looks like there is no attempt to keep it under control as she would rather concentrate on her potions and other odd things she tries to create, which in a way is a bit like Miss Havisham as she concentrate a lot on making sure Estella turns into a cold hearted women. Personality wise theses characters are the same in only one aspect that they are both quite crazy and mad.
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Reference: The Gran played by Judith Malina
Film: The Addams Family
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Year: 1991
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