According to EW, costume designer Colleen Atwood kept in mind each of the actor's wishes when designing the fairytale attire. Johnny Depp, who plays The Wolf — and is dressed in a 1940s-era zoot suit — was inspired by 40s animation and the wolf created by animator and cartoonist Tex Avery.
Additionally, Chris Pine suggested that Cinderella's Prince sport an Elvis pompadour that is "always coiffed and absurdly too big"; James Corden (as the Baker) requested a leather jacket; and Emily Blunt insisted on loose waistlines for the Baker's Wife to hide her real-life baby bump (she discusses the latter with Playbill magazine in an upcoming interview).
"We have these grand, fantastic costumes that aren't historically correct because they didn't need to be," said makeup and hair designer Peter King. Cinderella's Stepmother (Christine Baranski) has 1960s hair and an 18th-century dress, and Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy) wears a Victorian-era bodice.
As for the world of the "Woods," Marshall — whose budget was roughly $50 million — tried to avoid green-screen and decided against shooting in 3D. He didn't want "Into the Woods" to "look like a cartoon world," he said, and added that the creative team wanted to feel "a sense of danger."
One-third of the film was shot on location in wooded areas in Surrey and Kent; the rest was filmed at London's Shepperton Studios, where an artificial forest was built. Marshall also explained that Cinderella's (Anna Kendrick) decision making in "On the Steps of the Palace" actually happens on the palace steps as she is running away from the ball. Click here to read about Kendrick's experience with Sondheim in the recording studio.
As for Streep's encounter with Sondheim, she told EW, "My first day was in a recording studio with Stephen Sondheim standing outside the booth, cans on his ears, listening to me sing his music with the London Symphony Orchestra… It was, truly, terrifying."
Look for more from Kendrick, Corden, Blunt, Streep and the stars of "Into the Woods" in an upcoming issue of Playbill magazine.
Click here for the new in-depth movie preview released by Entertainment Weekly.
