Once upon a time in the far off Kingdom of Broadway, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine wrote a very successful musical where some beloved fairy tales intertwined to give us a unique story of loss, love, ambition, and the power of the human spirit, and 27 years later director Rob Marshall brings “Into the Woods” to life on the big screen.

Marshall who comes from theater originally liked the idea of collaborating with all those involved. “I like to sort of pull everybody together, and the mantra for all of us is it has to come from the story,” he said at a recent press day. When transforming a stage work into film there are so many things to take in consideration, and for Marshall, who wanted to be as faithful to the original as possible, it was a no-brainer to bring Lapine to work on the screenplay adaptation. Marshall explained, “you have to be very smart about how you do a translation from stage to film, because you have to hold on to what works, its the central core of the piece.”

The all-star ensemble cast lead by Meryl Streep, includes Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Tracy Ullman, Chris Pine, Christine Baranski and Johnny Depp, among others. Marshall said that he had Streep and Depp in mind when he took on this project, and the rest of the cast went through the audition process as usual. He was surprised to learn that some of them, like Blunt and Pine, could actually sing, and feels that his job is done when “actors come in and claim the role.”

When asked about the recurring roles she had shared with Streep on screen, Blunt says “she always makes sure I get cast in films where she can torment me, it’s her plan for me, I think. I love it. I wouldn’t want to be abused by anybody else.” And under his breath Corden says, “that will look different in print. [Laughs]” Blunt adds, “she’s abusive on screen, but very sweet off screen.” Even though it was a challenge for Blunt to take on Sondheim’s music, she takes it with open arms. “That’s what you want as an actor, to find something complex, and challenging, and different from anything you’ve done,” she said. Blunt feels Marshall is a visionary for wanting actors who have humanity to play these parts, “because really this movie is less about fantasy and more about reality.”

Part of what makes “Into the Woods” so visually stunning is the gorgeous costume design by Colleen Atwood, who had won Oscars for “Alice in Wonderland,” “Chicago,” and “Memoirs of a Geisha.” The woods was the place where everyone came and went, so Atwood used that as inspiration when designing for each of the characters, with a bit of Brothers Grimm original artwork mixed in. Atwood explained that working in fairy tale movies is magic because the designs are always different and she doesn’t have to obey a specific set of rules, it “set’s you free as a designer in a way that other things [projects] don’t.”

“Into the Woods” is all about community and knowing that you are not alone in this world, and for Marshall that is “a great sense of comfort and hope.” Let yourself go into the woods, but be careful what you wish for...

Into The Woods is now playing in theaters!