The Musical Moral of Into The Woods

[@eh-bc4dx]

theres this one part on stage where the baker just.. picks the cow up, like a suitcase.. and runs away with it and i will be forever bitter that they couldnt do that in the movie

[@QuikVidGuy]

imagine if they did a slightly off cg cow and he just squishes it down to be small enough to carry

[@tortis6342]

why it should be an animated movie

[@Kevbotoconnell]

@@tortis6342 Or just not a movie at all. This musical is inherently theatrical. So much of the humor comes from the fact that it's a stage show. I just don't think it's possible to have the same type of humor in a movie.

[@trickytreyperfected1482]

@@Kevbotoconnell Though I did enjoy the movie, I will agree that it is inherently theatrical and adapting it to be a movie is... a strange choice.

[@eoincampbell1584]

@@Kevbotoconnell While that makes adapting it directly a terrible choice yes, I think a film adaption that took more liberties in changing the jokes and what appears visually (the fact you never see the giants' castle or faces makes sense on stage but feels so weird in the movie) could work it would just be very different to the stage version.

[@peterstamerra445]

When I did this show, my director described this show in the most accurate way possible: In the first act, they get what they want In the second act, they get what they *deserve*

[@JusteenWheatley]

Love that - that's amazing. Btw, out of curiosity, how did your stage show tackle the giant dying at the end?

[@peterstamerra445]

@@JusteenWheatley It was really cool, actually! We had the a huge crash sound and Rapunzel’s tower collapsed. Suuuuuuper fun show

[@Isajinglebells]

@@peterstamerra445 can I ask what/who was your role?

[@mgailp]

@@JusteenWheatley In our production, we had a giant crash sound and threw a huge braid of hair onto the stage. Our production used the giant story book sets. (I think it was called a class C production).

[@SarSaraneth]

@@peterstamerra445 That's a very pithy description, but five seconds of thought is enough to see that it's a steaming pile of bullshit.

[@corhydrae3238]

The moral of the story is of course: Musical producers should finally get the clue that they should just start putting up professional recordings of their shows on streaming platforms rather than having them made into half-baked movies.

[@stargirl2477]

Yes, they should. Broadway is real expensive and not a lot of people can afford to see the show. I will say that the film's of these musicals have introduced a whole new generation to these musicals, or you have people in your family who are very musical oriented and will teach you the whole musical and what it is about. (At least, that was my case.) I know that some people will sneak cameras into the shows and record it that way, but there are problems with that. 1) Not every actor will be fine with being filmed, 2) A bootleg takes away some elements of the show and the camera cannot focus on what is happening, 3) Actors will act differently if they know they are being filmed, 4) Sometimes these shows will run for multiple times a week, and if you were to film the show to hand out to the public, you would need to either record each show and pick the best one to hand over or just record one show and hand that in, regardless if it is good or bad.Even if you record the show without the actor's permission, they will know they are being filmed. It might be good to help broaden the show so others could see it, but it would be very hard to in some situations.

[@crstph]

i watched it on vhs (im only 22 lol) over and over as a kid, and i would never have loved it if we didnt have that access to it. same with my legally blonde recording when they aired it on mtv-that was one of the most empowering, impactful shows on my life and thats only bc my mom thought to record it. i bought tickets to the broadway tour bc of that recording!! making musicals more accessible will cause MORE attendance not less. mama mia

[@Mnnvint]

I think it's often questions of rights which put a stop to that.

[@IreneWY]

absolutely. I watched the 25th jubilee of phantom in the local cinema. It was great :) they should stream more. Maybe pandemic will change it

[@tntree]

I totally agree. Instead of making a movie for Hamilton they just recorded the performances on stage and put that on Disney Plus. This way it keeps all the original qualities without losing a ton through making a film. Look how well hamilfilm got received. Way better than any of these remakes.

[@xkabuto]

To those wondering what happened: He started working on a big project for the channel (a maybe 4 hours long video on high school musical) wich would take a few months to do. The project apparently went downhill by the end of 2021, making him take a pause to plan and do other videos. In the meantime, people started harassing him on Twitter, Wich gradually escalated until he had to quit social media, his Patreon and his channel and take time to heal. As far as I have researched, he has no plans to come back yet and, sadly, we might never hear from him again. (sources: his Patreon and the sideways community subReddit)

[@LikaLaruku]

Kinda the same thing that happened to Red Bard.

[@samuellrodd1214]

Great so we lost both Lindsey Ellis and Sideways because of dickheads on Twitter. All the best video essayists are leaving and it's making me sad. We really can't have nice things

[@craftgrrl14]

Aw that's awful! I wish people would stop using social media to tear people down all the time. Twitter is a hell site. No one deserves to be harassed like that. It keeps causing wonderful creators to quit and hide away. I love getting educated about music in film by Sideways. I don't think I'll be able to find another channel who does it as well as he does. If he doesn't come back I'll understand and wish him well. If he does come back I will be overjoyed and watch every new video multiple times.

[@eleazarloyo8473]

And this is why we can’t have nice things. Hope he is alright. :(

[@hallow-oda]

i havent seen any evidence of harassment? in his last patreon message, he just said that people started painting him as "the guy who takes down movies" and he hated that

[@elisabethschmerzler963]

*Into The Woods:* WHEN WILL YOU LEARN! WHEN WILL YOU LEARN THAT YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!!!!!

[@dragonstouch1042]

Yup

[@dw1419]

YOUR*

[@mdg6117]

DEADDDDD LMAOOOO

[@randompensamientos9802]

I almost spit out my water 😅💦

[@SessVlogs]

Hahaha!

[@WillScarlet16]

A detail I love about "I Guess This is Goodbye" - Sondheim says it's the only song he's done with no rhymes, the idea being Jack is so dimwitted he can't rhyme.

[@atticwindowful]

I didn't know that! Thanks for the tidbit :-)

[@danielachamorro8783]

Oh my god 🤣 I didn’t know that

[@queerlyvictorian]

You can totally hear that in the OBC Jack’s delivery. It actually make me chuckle every time when he says “I hope that when I doooo / it won’t be on a PLATE.” He just emphasizes that there’s no rhyme there.

[@Snugboy]

WHAT?!?

[@juliesvlogcamera]

omg i love that

[@gnomepng]

"this IS a good musical" finally... a smart person with TASTE

[@alexandravelardes7692]

Its my favorite musical!!

[@technopoptart]

and he chose the best and most literally ONLY version of it too

[@houston-coley]

I'm so relieved there are others with REAL TASTE

[@Ayden_B]

do people not like into the woods? Like me personally its not my favorite sondheim show but I always just assumed most people thought it was a good show

[@PrincessSybilla77]

My favorite

[@brockdavis2046]

“You can talk to birds?” is one of THE best-delivered lines in Broadway history. Change my mind.

[@maxtherealone5491]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@JhadeSagrav]

Runner up: "I was just trying to be a good mother!"

[@yourlocaldemon2195]

And all of Bernadette’s lines

[@Anime_theatre_lover]

AGREED! I’m doing into the woods junior at my theatre (I play the wolf) and my friend who plays Little red riding hood said almost this exact same thing

[@kayleighbaker2511]

2nd runner up: Jack's Mother: You be careful with your children. Baker's Wife: I have no children. Jack's Mother: **gasp** That's okay too. 😂

[@BREADSWORD]

BABE WAKE UP NEW SIDEWAYS JUST DROPPED

[@keolaquereto3406]

Bruh I’m imagining the beautiful collaboration the two of you could do one day 👌

[@adjoint_functor]

Stolen from kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5OZgHige5mmZ68&lc=UgwjaQATtYintzsaFy14AaABAg (open in new tab for some reason it doesn't show the original comment normally) (Oh and btw this was close to top comment when breadsword's comment was written, I'm almost certain this is not an accident)

[@theDENIMMAN]

Also how I feel with new breadsword

[@hychro]

@BREADSWORD I’M AWAKE

[@thegoodwitchluzura]

@Max Riley Liar. 🤥

[@lunatickgeo]

Um, actually (takes off nerd glasses, puts on geek glasses), Rapunzel is the Baker's YOUNGER sister. Witch's line, "In the past, when you were no more than a babe, your father brought his young wife and you to this cottage." Because as we all know, THIS is the most important point in the whole video.

[@Graycata]

I was gonna say something about that. But I want to scroll through and see if someone else already had.

[@lunatickgeo]

@@Graycata Restraint! It's a quality I admire in people. Mostly because I don't have lots of it myself.

[@scfeng6883]

And as the Witch had cursed the Baker's family when taking Rapunzel away, the Baker's Father would not have been able to father any more children since that moment. Which means that Rapunzel cannot be anyone's older sister.

[@Kayjayoh]

@@Graycata Same! :)

[@lunatickgeo]

@@scfeng6883 not gonna lie, that used to confuse the hell out of me because at first, I assumed the Baker was younger

[@saschabeth1852]

Rapunzel actually healed her lover's blindness with her tears in the original tale, so this show didn't make that up (it's also one of the only things Tangled didn't change, although they added all the bits with the flower and the hair powers that told us she was magical beforehand).

[@zapazap]

What the stage show added was turning the dropping of tears into an act of assault! :)

[@broadwaybrook2319]

But in the original tale, the peasant guy steals the witch's plant for his sick pregnant wife, so yes, Tangled came up with the flower but it's inspired by the original tale

[@bowmanc.7439]

@@zapazap I took it as her hearing the narrator, and decided to force some mucus out of her eyes to cure her prince

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

Pretty sure Ethan never implied that. Although I wonder if OBC Rapunzel ever accidentally headbutted her prince during the shows run, or during rehearsals.

[@zapazap]

@@cannibalisticrequiem Hee! That would probably have been funny to see!

[@Altern84m]

With Joker 2 and Wicked this year, we need Sideways more than ever.

[@perfectlyhopeless]

Say what you will about the live action Into The Woods. Chris Pine dramatically singing and tearing open his shirt is a treat

[@sarahfuentes1365]

That's literally the best part of the movie.

[@kage3069]

Yes. Yes. Yes.

[@itsjanolli]

OH DEFINITELY i remember watching it when it came out and was so bored but that scene alone made it worth it

[@dillonohlemiller9027]

They nailed Agony

[@shannon3353]

@@dillonohlemiller9027 Agony is also allowed to be silly and jokey

[@mikebliss3153]

"The cow as red as corn, the hair as yellow as milk." Wait what NO--

[@bibliophilecb]

I had to pause for a solid minute to cackle at that

[@selectedshipper8282]

15:27 if anyone wants a time stamp One word: I-FUCKING-CONIC

[@zapazap]

Jack hearing this and it becoming an earworm. Later, Jack *incompetently* trying to collect milk: "The milk as yellow as... Oops."

[@seaofglass77]

I was a step sister in highschool. I could never get that bit.

[@mikebliss3153]

@@zapazap Jack's Mother: "Jack, how many times do I have to tell you? Milky-White is a "She"--wait, that's not Milky-Whi--WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! JACK, NO!"

[@Snugboy]

WHAT THE ABSOLUTE F????!!?!? DID I JUST GET MENTIONED IN A SIDEWAYS VIDEO???? Dude holy shit I have been an absolute gigantic fan of yours for so long. Thank you so so so much for watching my little old video on that awful film adaptation. This has seriously made my day

[@kage3069]

Congrats!

[@keepperspective]

😍

[@dabbyabb]

Moments like this are the best. ❤

[@Graycata]

Moving up in the world!

[@tybronx2446]

Bruh your review of the movie was amazing!

[@AeonKnigh432]

I love the way that the Bean Theme is used during the three versions of "Children Must Listen." Specifically, the lyrics "Don't you know what's out there in the world. Someone has to shield you from the world." and how they reflect that the witch is being a hypocrite here. Sure, every character is flawed and they end up hurting each other, but the witch is no better. Who is she to think that she's any better than them? The bean theme is a representation of the beans as an object, but it's also a representation of the cycle of trauma and abuse. The witch's mother told her not to lose the beans, and punished her for them getting stolen even though it wasn't really her fault. But because if these beans, the witch gets a daughter who she equally abuses and traumatizes (as Rapunzel says, because of the witch she can never be happy). Because of the beans, the baker and his wife can't have a child. And then, in the struggle to get one, they lose themselves. The beans cause every death in the musical, they cause every child to lose their parent, from Jack to Red to the Baker, and it ripples down, causing the Baker's son to lose his mother. And because of this cycle, as the witch says, they all become liers and thieves, and if they keep going on like that the cycle won't break. The only way to change is to acknowledge the cycle and to move past it. They have to see that even the people they love can hurt them, and they have to work to fix those mistakes. Those mistakes were made out of love, but they're mistakes anyway. Everyone makes mistakes, but they have to do what they can to fix them. Even the characters who do the worst things, like the witch who exploits the Baker's desire for a child, kidnaps Rapunzel, and then blinds her and leaves her in the desert. All of these things are awful, almost irredeemable in any other story. And yet, Into the Woods somehow manages to build its moral of moving past abuse so well that it somehow stops us from hating her simply with "people make mistakes," which by all accounts should not excuse any of those actions. But yet, we see that every single thing she does is motivated by love. She truly loves Rapunzel. It manifests in ways that hurt her, though, and by the time she realizes this, it's too late for her to change. Her daughter is gone and dead, and everyone around her is making the exact same mistakes as she is. So then, back to the bean theme. In No One is Alone, the bean theme resolves and is reversed. This reflects that they're moving past the mistakes of the past, and they're trying to be better, which is all that they can do. They can try. They'll still make mistakes, even in solving these problems. Killing the giant is, in some capacity, a mistake in and of itself. She's a nice person (who's doing horrible things out of love for her husband, fancy how that works), but they unfortunately have to kill her. Because in life, and in the story, there's no perfect solution. They do what they have to, even if it's not the best option. All they can do is their best. (That's also the point of the final line of the last song, being "I wish" sung again, showing that they may make the same mistakes again). This whole musical is about ending this cycle, or at least trying. Oops. I may have written an essay. Um anyway. I really like this musical.

[@juliane2595]

Woow this essay is amazing and it roy helped me to understand the moral of the story better! Thx!

[@steviechords]

so, the show is about ending generational curses

[@beardyschultz]

As my parents once told me: "The witch screamed herself out of existence, because she was surrounded by idiots who couldn't agree on how to deal with the problem that could kill them all, despite the easy solution. Relatable."

[@rokamayono2312]

😂😂😂 agreed

[@CherryBomb_Games]

Your parents are real ones.

[@afoolishfopdoodle3284]

Your parents are excellent just from that quote alone

[@WhatRemainsofNovaJames]

I love this so much

[@letsbakemistakes]

I know how she feels sitting here in 2022....

[@amanday3103]

You know the sad thing? I did Into the Woods Jr. in middle school and it’s literally just the first act of the show and then that’s it.

[@starbournehero771]

That is a sin against theatre

[@Smieska_13]

Me too!!!

[@shinydino]

Into the Woods Jr. bothers me so much because it neglects the entire message of the show. I’m not against kid-friendly adaptations of shows as long as they can maintain the essential elements and themes of the original work. Some shows, like Cabaret or even Rent, lose too much of their core identities and/or messages by being toned down to be faithfully adapted, but I think you can remove something like the orgy scene from Pippin without undermining the number that plays before it so long as you insinuate that Pippin’s not satisfied with his encounters. You can make Be More Chill work without the sex scene or mention of masturbation so long as you find other ways to characterize these people that still illustrate the purposes BEHIND those aspects of the show. It’s when the adaptation doesn’t attempt to respect the source material that I feel physically ill from frustration.

[@KimberlySchwartz1]

Same BUT I was so curious I bought the dvd of this performance and ever since the 6th grade it’s been my favorite musical! So at least curiosity can lead to you finding something amazing!!

[@that_orange_hat]

lmao yeah i did a high school production this year and now im so mad about that!!

[@nerdychocobo]

Children won't listen progressing into children will listen makes me weirdly emotional

[@ilurvsharrypotter]

oh, and the "children should listen" being children should listen to what I say, but they won't, but they will see what I do and listen to how I treat them and others. The paradox of parenthood trying to raise someone to be better than who you were/are

[@crstph]

its such a great moment, showing her growth; she’s realized (too late) that you cannot Make children do exactly what you tell them to, but that no matter what they WILL be influenced by and learn from the things you teach (intentionally or not). she taught her daughter to trust her without question, which led to rapunzel trusting the prince without question. rapunzel didn’t “listen”-but she *listened*

[@Balletsimp]

@@crstph these replies are so very delicious

[@Balletsimp]

@@ilurvsharrypotter ^

[@Balletsimp]

i just wanted to remind everyone involved with this that it happened because MMMH its soo savory

[@Arctan95]

Local man makes his monthly pilgrimage to this channel to see if our king has returned, miss you bud.

[@crunchytoast6007]

Soon though, soon.

[@anna48792]

"and that doesn't even begin to discuss what is the main musical idea for the whole show" T H E B E A N T H E M E

[@imthecoolestguyalive]

It's so funny to hear a grown man say "BEAN THEME" with a dead serious voice.

[@kage3069]

Bean theme bean theme bean theme After saying that a few times "bean" and "theme" don't sound like words anymore

[@stargate525]

A bean!

[@alencheese]

T H E B E A N T H E M E

[@g.w.k.y6869]

Literally the moment I read this comment this part on the video played. Very fun B)

[@Dreveryn]

I was literally just watching Sideways Cats video and was wondering "it's been about 3 months hope he's okay after that one."

[@akapotatis9445]

Me too! I watched it after the Lindsay Ellis analysis on Cats 😂

[@demigodwizardtributejedi4052]

Same here :)

[@pinkajou656]

Same!

[@gabrielavega1114]

Same

[@IanWagner94]

Same! lol

[@LU-qr3kh]

I'm about halfway through this video, and to my understanding, I really doubt I'm wrong, the musical moral is that this is the musical equivalent of "Me and the boys at 3am looking for BEANS"

[@skep2923]

That is basically the story of Jack and the Beanstalk

[@tortis6342]

How can anyone not agree with that?

[@zapazap]

And nothing BUT BEANS

[@hchappy125]

Sideways just tweeted about how hard it is to start working on a video again. I’m sure it’s tough going, but I hope that means we’ll hear from you soon buddy!! Excited at the idea of another essay at long last, but take as long as it needs

[@Miss_Trillium]

This is the best news I've had all day if it's true that he's working on a video

[@Tomiply]

It's been half a year since your comment though, so who knows?

[@Alirosa937]

Sideways I hope you know we are cheering you on!!!

[@rocklemillion8041]

@@Tomiplycheck his community post.

[@weesalikesmilktea4829]

Us: "Say the line, Sideways!" Sideways: "Leitmotif" Us: *cheering*

[@MrMirageCaster]

Sideways, modern patron of the leitmotif.

[@rainbow-dam]

Who would’ve thought something called “The Bean Theme” would’ve become something so powerful

[@rachaelregier8442]

I mean beans are a 💫 *powerful* 💫 things

[@Graycata]

I always thought of it as "The Woods" theme, till this video

[@carmenmercedes9903]

For anyone wondering about the lyric changes for the witch: She's singing about how children must listen Then about how they won't Then how they will Or, (thanks to J. Soul in the replies) "Children don't know any better, they must listen to their elders or else they'll get themselves hurt." "Despite whats best for them, children can't be forced to do the right thing, and they end up getting hurt." "Children may not listen to your orders, but they still watch and listen to your actions, so act as you would want them to, and they will internalize that."

[@shmunkyman33]

Or: "Children don't know any better, they must listen to their elders or else they'll get themselves hurt." "Despite whats best for them, children can't be forced to do the right thing, and they end up getting hurt." "Children may not listen to your orders, but they still watch and listen to your actions, so act as you would want them to, and they will internalize that."

[@jacobb5484]

Aka the original point of fairytales, conveying a moral to children.

[@carmenmercedes9903]

@@jacobb5484 true!!

[@scarlettefoxx5585]

Man i miss sideways. Might be one of my top 5 youtubers. He's so much fun. I hope he's alright

[@june-iy2pd]

my thoughts exactly :(

[@joeyfromschool]

the dude is still active on twitter he’s seemingly fine, just hasn’t made a video in a while

[@cirmented]

@@joeyfromschool sadly he’s quit for the forseable future due to harassment

[@linglingsapprentice7762]

+1

[@crunchytoast6007]

@@cirmentedthankfully he’s in a better place and planning a return 🙏

[@sophiemason8444]

"You're just nice. You're not good, you're not bad, you're just 'nice'". I feel so many people need to hear that

[@Nightman221k]

Keyboard slack-tivists in particular.

[@GeekyGuy.]

@Stanley Stensaas I understood that reference

[@ItsBAndBees]

I love that line too, reminds me of another favorite movie of mine “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” where a main character hates being called “nice”. I wonder if it was a nod to this..

[@imtheonewhobroughtthebeans915]

“Friends come and go, but leitmotifs are *forever* “

[@booklover2190]

First, how dare you buy the beans have you learned nothing, and second YAS

[@CHEESEPUFF_7]

XD

[@elizatoponce9375]

My goodness the BEANS

[@imtheonewhobroughtthebeans915]

RIP Sondheim

[@1dr_wall769]

Sideways just so passionately saying "T H E B E A N T H E M E" is like meeting Sara Tonin for the first time

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

Sarah Michelle Tonin.

[@samuelbrock]

Me and the boys at 2 a.m. looking for B E A N S

[@bloopsagain]

Sara? I know that queen! She works down the block.

[@amayorangee]

I still remain incredulous that they changed Rapunzel's ending therefore destroying the emotional impact of the witches Lament. I also agree that they took out all of the humor when it could've been adapted well into a film.

[@sovietcanuckistanian]

How can someone see Rapunzel's glorious cry-headbutts and think to themselves "This film doesn't need that"?

[@triccele]

It might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually preffer the ending for Rapunzel in the movie. Everyone is miserable or dead at the end, but Rapunzel got the chance to be happy at the end. She escaped her abusive parent, found someone who loved her and respect her, and got a chance to run away. Yes, that lessen the impact of the "children won't listen" first reply... but still.

[@amayorangee]

@@triccele Hey everyone is entitled to their opinion :). Since it was a Disney movie they had to cut out a lot of dark material so there was bound to be a happy ending for someone. I like the original material because there wasn't really one "good character". The witch is actually my favorite. In the original, Rapunzel becomes free but she ends up with a husband who cheats on her, goes insane, and then gets crushed to death because Jack was selfish and went back up the bean stalk. The witch knew the world was dark, wild, and that people were selfish... so she wanted to protect Rapunzel from that. She was a hag because someone stole from her. She also points this out in Last Midnight by calling out the others for the selfish things they did and then peaces out because she's done with everyone. The witch also embodies what most parents feel: when your child grows up and moves away... you feel like you lost them. It'll never be like when they were young and needed you. I'm mostly incredulous because changing the Rapunzel story took away the complexities of the witch. Now she was just a crazy witch who imprisoned her daughter.

[@kage3069]

I agree, I still really like the movie. Of course it is different from the original musical, some aspects (sadly) just can't be adapted, like killing the narrator and breaking the fourth wall. I like to see the movie and the musical as two separate works and I enjoy both a lot. And you've got to give the actors credit, they are without question the best part of the movie!

[@lee_s0a]

@@amayorangee What I just disliked about it is it could have been told better but they treated Rapunzel as a comic relief when it was clear she was the most honest with her darkest experiences. While the musical's punchlines work, it's just strange that she didn't get a proper arc treatment (at least, compared to the Baker's wife or mostly everyone else) and she was just /that/, one of the punchlines :< I'm just saying, she has potential to show the impact of her struggles upfront and give more weight to the emotions of the Witch. (if this makes sense lol sorry english isn't my first language)

[@kayleighlehrman9566]

Sacrificing the Narrator to the Giantess is, and will always be, the greatest piece of meta storytelling of all time

[@JhadeSagrav]

Holy heck, right?!?!?!? "There must always be someone to tell the story. Think of your child!" UGGHHHH!!! Beautiful!

[@emmawilliams8119]

Idk bro, King Arthur and his knights getting arrested for the murder or the narrator (who was killed by an knight on an ACTUAL horse) from Monty Python and the Holy Grail is pretty fantastic imo

[@SebastianSeanCrow]

Wasn’t the Narrator also one of the MCs dads? It was so wild I loved if

[@NorthJackson]

@@emmawilliams8119 there are parts of into the woods that have huge monty python energy and im here for it

[@thewhiterabbitchaser]

the most valid comment ever @@emmawilliams8119

[@Tog1259]

"It's like taking the comedy out of Shrek" Perfect comparison

[@nottoday3561]

The only KZbin Channel I regularly check to see if they have returned. Hope everything is okay with you. Thank you for getting me interested in music analysis.

[@zah_old_acc]

Same here. I recently found him and i really hope everything's okay.

[@AnimeWolf5193]

There's a comment near the top. He was working a video, but things weren't going great and he took a pause around 2021. Meanwhile, he got harrassed to the point he got off social media. Which sucks cause this dudes essays are interesting.

[@nottoday3561]

I did see that, thats really unfortunate. People can be awful.@@AnimeWolf5193

[@cherie..cherry]

@@AnimeWolf5193that’s so awful. I hope there’s a day he comes back. Or finds joy in making videos again. Really miss his stuff

[@seopark7467]

I swear to god when I heard “careful the things you say, children will listen” for the first time I started BAWLING

[@zapazap]

The most poignant moment in the play, I'd say. I don't bawl, but my eyes certainly well up.

[@gabbyg11]

me when i heard “witches can be right, giants can be good, you decide whats right, you decided whats good”

[@AnimeSunglasses]

I dunno about the FIRST time I saw it, but it makes me cry EVERY time now!

[@Snowbird5779]

Fam I started welling up watching it played in THIS video. I can't with that

[@beanstheclown]

Every time. Hell, just reading the line makes tears well up. It is SO VERY IMPORTANT that we remember that moral. Children learn by watching the adults around them, none more so than their parents. If we want our children to grow and mature and make a better world we have to make the hard choice to carefully monitor our own words and behavior so that they have a model to learn from.

[@selectedshipper8282]

Little red’s “You can talk to birds?” at 14:09 will never not make me laugh

[@oliverdelica2289]

Hell yeah

[@AuralayKristine]

Haha yes!!! Because we're so used to taking certain fantastical elements at face value, you just...never really question that a princess can talk to woodland creatures, so when it's pointed out it's such a trope subversion that it just slams into you out of nowhere. I absolutely LOST IT the first time I saw this musical and heard that line. Comedy brilliance!

[@DrawciaGleam02]

@@AuralayKristine I watched the movie and I liked that line too. Especially Cindy's reaction. She was like, "Yeah, it's a thing."

[@angelle050801]

It's so perfectly deadpan and I love it😂😂😂

[@rocknroll20024]

Yep

[@olympiadeverre]

I did a whole lot of writing about Into the Woods last week, and one of the most intriguing things to me is that Rapunzel especially never has a truly happy ending. Even though she marries her prince, the abuse she suffered is still at the forefront. Her “because of what you did, I can never be happy” drops like a bombshell after the others sing about being “so happy.” It’s a “wake the fuck up, audience” moment that really got me thinking. She was doomed from birth, infantilized and kept under the strongest supervision until being thrust into the world with no preparation whatsoever. She’s got moments of happiness, but they’re just moments (just some other passing moments, even). And as much as the Witch talks about accepting the blame in Your Fault, she clearly won’t accept the blame for how royally she fucked up her own child. The movie was made right after Tangled, so of course Disney couldn’t kill off their freshest princess. And that hurts the movie beyond belief.

[@ashproductions]

Exactly my thought, and allowing Rapunzel a happy ending with her prince completely undermines not just the movie, but the Witch's entire arc. Her grief at the end is basically becomes a continued jealousy over her "daughter" going off and marrying a prince, and not the literal grief and mourning after the child she raised and abused threw herself under a giant's foot. That's hugely dark, and hugely important. So much was lost in that movie...

[@dramafinn2425]

I played Rapunzel in my school's production of Into The Woods, and when I played her, I got a sense of what you're saying. She never gets her happily ever after. And all she wanted in that scene in the second act was for her mother to take the blame, to say sorry. Maybe if she did, Rapunzel might have lived and got a happier ending.

[@dramafinn2425]

@The Unagamer in the second act she dies. The witch is trying to get her to stay with her, but she’d rather run towards danger (the giant) than be near the witch, which resulted in her death. I feel as though the witch is definitely in the wrong, because it’s not about rapunzel not listening. It’s more about how she can’t trust the witch, and the only thing she was ever taught was to trust her, so she doesn’t know her way. It also really speaks to the message at the end, ‘careful the things you do/say, children will listen’. Its about the lessons you teach them to prepare them for the world.

[@miamakes99]

Her story is actually really reminiscent of Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, totally unprepared for real life and as soon as she's dropped in it you know she's doomed

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

I have to say I disagree with the notion that the witch never owns up to how badly she fucked up Rapunzel during "Your Fault". I don't think she needed to, because we already see the realization of the damage she caused occur when Rapunzel chooses to kill herself rather than be around her mother, and that's the slap in the face the witch needs in that moment. At first she's in denial singing "Children Won't Listen", but she seems to realize as the show goes on just how much she failed her daughter. The coldly delivered line, "Wake up! People all around us are dying! You are not the only one to suffer a loss!", Last Midnight is a loud cry of pain, hurt, and anger. She has quietly accepted that *she* is the one solely responsible for her daughter's death and becomes disgusted by everyone pointing fingers, trying to shift the blame to someone else and she becomes fed up with it and yeets herself out of the story. Even if she had stuck around for the showdown with the giantess, she still had nothing to live for as her child was dead. She genuinely loved Rapunzel and the tragedy is that she *was* trying to be a good mother, but she had already failed long before then because of her own toxic relationship with *her* mother (the witch outright states that her ugliness was a punishment from her long-deceased mother if someone were to ever steal her magic beans - so we can only guess how their relationship was, even though I'm guessing it was not good) and because she never truly worked through her issues, the witch ended up continuing the cycle of abuse and perpetuating generational trauma onto her relationship with Rapunzel. Then at the very end of the show when she sings "Children Will Listen", she finally acknowledges that your interactions and relationship with your children *do* matter. Children *will* listen to everything you say, and things you may say without thinking or out of anger/frustration will be taken to heart and mold them into the adults they become. (And if you're not careful, that may result in your child not wanting to have anything to do with you because of how you treated them, or worse, they would rather be dead than to be around you ever again.)

[@bbavar]

The core message I took with me was about the hubris of adults trying to teach children to "be good" when they're not good, not wise, and not self aware. This is exemplified in the "children *** listen" songs that go from demanding obedience, to helpless frustration, to humility. The fairy tale theme is perfect for this message, because the stories are so often used to indoctrinate children with self-proclaimed morals that actually aren't good morals at all. As the show goes on, the ridiculousness of the premise that fairy tales are moral tales becomes more and more exaggerated, until it completely falls apart and is laid bare.

[@otterzrkuhl]

I hated Into the Woods when I saw the movie and then a few years later I had to read the stage script for an English class and I was like “wait was this good the whole time?”

[@ashproductions]

I mean, the movie wasn't ...

[@hatchettwit]

When the movie came out I was excited because I grew up with the original, watching it over and over in the 90s. I was really let down by the movie, to the point that I actually walked away and didn't finish it. It kinda confuses me to be perfectly honest. Disney is GOOD at music, humor, and story and making it all fit beautifully. And then there's their live actions for the last several years. Each one a disappointment with a completely new vibe of not understanding how to wield nostalgia and demanding the right to change things to fit their cancerous view of seriousness and unspectacular normality. And they keep making them. Just enough people go watch because they hope, and because the money doesn't reflect how bad the work really was.. they don't see a reason to change.

[@crstph]

@@hatchettwit its also bc 1) kids dont know how bad it is. they didnt (and often wont) see the original, and theyre not there for masterful storytelling (which is NOT to say kids won’t appreciate a movie just because its good or complex. COME ON DISNEY), theyre there for entertainment & the characters, which are still fun to watch even if the comparison makes u want to rip ur hair out. kids are a MONSTER market bc when they obsess over things, they watch overandoverandover. so u have the market of returning adults, loyal disney fans, AND hyperfixating little kids 2) they keep making them bc they want to renew their rights to these properties. this was the nail in the coffin for me giving up hope that theyll ever stop-cinderella was jussst coming up on becoming public domain when they released the live action, and now they have another 75(or whatever) years of selling blue dresses and slippers to little girls YAYYYY

[@hatchettwit]

@@crstph You sure it was coming up on domain time? I could have sworn mickey was the longest running one and every time it came up the lobbied their asses off.

[@politereminder6284]

@@crstph The first time I saw the film, I decided that this musical was DEFINITELY NOT for kids. I wasn't familiar with the stage musical, but it was obviously not something I wanted my little people exposed to. The py is obviously for adults and the movie did not succeed in kiddifying it.

[@acapellascience]

I wish more than anything more than the moon to have Sondheim's mastery over motif

[@mg7977]

Same!! I'm actually just learning music now, so I could be dead wrong, but here is what I'm starting to think about motif: I think part of why it seems so intimidating and confusing to a lot of people who are otherwise musically talented is that true mastery over leitmotif-like the kind Sondheim has-is that people seem to think of it as this kind of inaccessible God Tier music theory skill, but the ability to deploy and develop motifs effectively is less a product of music theory genius or expertise and more of an emotional intelligence/storytelling skill. Basic music theory knowledge is obviously a prerequisite, and advanced music theory knowledge is obviously even better, but It's about understanding what the most important characters, props, places, and moments are in your show/movie/concept album/whatever, what their meanings are, how those meanings and feelings evolve over time, and knowing enough music theory to understand how to communicate those evolutions in meaning. A lot of people who write musical theatre, I think, have a lot of musical talent and knowledge without understanding story-or understanding human beings for that matter-and that's a big part of what separates Sondheim from the rest of the pack.

[@stargirl2477]

Your not wrong. I think that motifs are very good to storytelling-be it in a play or in a book- little snipits of what you want to get across that are interwoven into the plot and characters through music or anything else. Also having an understanding of what the story is about, and the characters, can really help in driving the motif, be it through song choices or spoken under a vamp. This is one of the reasons why I like Stevan S's shows - he really understands the story and what he wants tell through little snips of musical dialogue sprinkled throughout the show and how the characters personas are supposed to be. Even though I love ALW and the musicals he produces for getting me invested in tragic/misunderstood or just out of luck characters- like the Phantom or Evita- I wasn't able to get as much of a motif that ties the themes or story together quite as well. Sure, there can be callbacks to the score and help flesh out the character, but that's about it. ( I might add that getting motifs out of the books that half of ALW musicals are based on can make you 1) understand the characters & story more 2) you can find motifs that can be interconnected to the tale, and build around that.)

[@rickelvi]

You get exactly what you want, in fact all you can compose are exact transcriptions of Sondheim's work and you go to jail for plagiarism

[@mgailp]

@@mg7977 While the basic writing of leitmotif takes a decent amount of knowledge and skill, Sondheim's ability to weave them together is what truly what puts him above and beyond. To have them all working together without clashing musically (unless that tells part of the story), or getting lost in the other music, is much harder than creating them individually.

[@ezelfrancisco1349]

Sondheim have two songwriting books, called Finishing The Hat and Look, I Made A Hat

[@animanya394]

“You are not good or bad you are just nice. I am not nice or good I’m just right” damn

[@Mnnvint]

Even the horribly abusive mom and would-be baby sacrificer gets to make a point.

[@LizardsLore]

I really wish Sideways was still making videos… I miss these kinds of video essays. Into the Woods is hands down still my favorite musical.

[@brooklyndreher9898]

Did he ever say why?

[@brentalfloss]

Truly, this video is the special beans

[@AlinaAniretake]

Beans in a Nutshell

[@Ringmaster777]

Oh no way. It's Brent!

[@Gabriela-jg1bd]

THIS TOOK WAY TOO LONG FOR ME TO GET LOL

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

The real bean theme are the friends we made along the way.

[@ItsAsparageese]

--THE SPECIAL BEANS! I LET HIM GO, I DIDN'T KNOW HE'D STOLEN MY BEANS! I was watching him crawl back over the wall, when--

[@PogieJoe]

We did Into the Woods at my very Catholic high school as a kid. The first act was met with laughter and claps. The second half was met with deafening silence. Lol It’s a damn fine musical in my opinion.

[@misteryA555]

Usually schools only do the first act for exactly this reason, I know mine did lol

[@VividDayDream]

I did into the woods jr at my theater for no specific reason and oh my god. they just cut out all of act two in the jr edition. I hated it.

[@skriddlehiddles]

@@VividDayDream Good to know. I’m the assistant director for the theatre program where I teach. We will not be doing that one.

[@peanutthelion815]

There's so much youtube that's just "this is bad and here's why" and it's usually interesting and... Nice, but sometimes it's just good to hear "this is amazing and here's why". I love to hear people gushing about the good and nice things in life. :')

[@Sparc-qe1xp]

My heart sinks thinking about you not coming back. You're one of the best channels I've ever come across and you cover a niche I never even knew I liked. Your analyses and commentary are, believe it or not, something that is very beneficial to the enjoyment of content and it sucks that a bunch of slobs on the internet are costing us all that, not to mention your own mental health. I sincerely hope you find your passion again and come back to this channel with more amazing reviews and analyses, it's literally the most entertaining thing I've ever seen and listened to on here. I love you Sideways!

[@nobleaj8]

“You can talk to birds?” Is my favorite laughs line ever.

[@maevemonroe]

Any day with a Sideways Sondheim video is a good day. The witch's line "You're not good, you're just nice" made my kid brain explode when I watched it the first time. Growing up in the Midwest, that line is just... damn.

[@Wrynwynn]

YUP. SAME.

[@zapazap]

"You're not good, you're not bad, you're just nice". Yup. Sung with such contempt by Peters.

[@omelette_Doo]

Totally changed my life

[@mcorby53]

I lived in the South for 26 years and the Midwest for 10. *Not good, just nice* is the hot syrup that makes the south so sticky.

[@mg7977]

That line has stuck with me my whole life. For everyone else that this line resonates with-are any of you ADHD or autistic? I always feel like that line-and, in general, the Witch's alienation from the "regular" people in the show-captures a really core aspect of being neurodivergent in a society that privileges neurotypicals.

[@ReyhanJoseph]

I want the emperor's new groove to be analyzed by sideways

[@ceciliaatie4249]

i want everything to be analyzed by sideways

[@JennaGetsCreative]

+Payton Reid(ST) Just because it's not a musical with characters singing songs with lyrics doesn't mean there isn't music. It absolutely has music, and it uses music humorously at points. Remember Kronk doing his own theme song? All the times the camera misbehaves and the music highlights it?

[@ShakespearsCyst]

@@JennaGetsCreative Kronk's theme song is everything

[@genius171]

this needs more likes

[@rattyeely]

He could anaylize the cut musical numbers and how much they influenced the actual score

[@KyraClark-j8j]

I hope you’re doing ok and found success Mr.Ways. We miss you.

[@zo5658]

this isn’t that deep, but the cinderella’s line at the beginning “what’s the good of being good when everyone is blind” is amazing to me since the stepsisters get blinded and it’s kinda symbolic

[@blazerheata6479]

Yeah and then in Act 2 Cinderella is still acting 'good' when her stepsisters are LITERALLY BLIND. Pleasing her family, letting them into the royal family despite how they blatantly use her for this.

[@chuckmcginty5765]

@@blazerheata6479 Not to mention the next line. What's the good of being good If everyone is blind And you're always left behind? She is left behind, and subsequently is the only one to survive of all of them.

[@yoschiii]

Also "What's the point of being good if everyone is blind" shows that Cinderella was not inherently good to begin with. She wanted a reward for being good, which is not the point of goodness. Goodness is goodness whether or not there is a reward, but she felt entitled to a reward for being 'good'. Its genius songwriting.

[@GippyHappy]

Also the prince is blinded and the giant too. There's a lot of blinding in this musical.

[@JhadeSagrav]

​@@GippyHappy "...if everyone is blind" it was FORESHADOWING all along! 😂

[@MicahRion]

Also one of my favorite jokes in the show is, “if the end is right, it justifies... the beans!”

[@HannyBunny1998]

@Greg Elchert To be fair, this is the same man who wrote a 7 minute long song purely made up of cannibalism puns!

[@W3Rn1ckz]

THE BEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

[@hiddendruid]

Lord have mercy my favorite essayist is back

[@cicelyb9443]

no the way I got so excited the moment I saw this video

[@d3vitron779]

Lord have mercy, I’m boutta bust

[@alanhegewisch4486]

This is like running into your old crush when you're already together with your cool new video essayist, bad boy CJ The X.

[@ghintz2156]

Same! The hiatus was worrying me.

[@sampepper7682]

Same

[@ilimeo1270]

One of the greatest to ever do it, with the internet's modern trend to absolutely spoon fed its audience i miss channels that presented complex information without treating us like idiots

[@ZoeFaythe]

Somebody might've pointed this out already but y'all ever think about how there's 5 notes in the bean theme and 5 characters left at the end (Cinderalla, Jack, the Baker, Little Red, and the baby)

[@silentsmurf]

I never realized this. Thank you 🙏

[@EmilynWood]

I was actually wondering if there was any significance to the number 5 in reference to the beans. Another parallel, now that I think about it, is that there are five fairy tales/stories going on in the play--Cinderella, Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, Jack, and the baker and his wife's story.

[@broadwaybrook2319]

What happened to Rapunzel's twins? They died as well?

[@AlinaAniretake]

@@broadwaybrook2319 right before Rapunzel said, that "Your way of raising me, never made me happy" she said, that she was sealed with Prince into a Desert, which resulted in death of her twins

[@e.j.meehan6209]

The way the Baker's wife delivers "You forgot your scarf" is like top 10 line deliveries. Also one small developing motif (maybe?) that I love is during the midnight songs Jack's mother says "The slotted spoon doesn't hold much soup" referring to her son jack as being very dimwitted. And in the finale of the show, they reprise this moment and Jack's Mother says "The slotted spoon can catch the potato" And it's like... such a beautiful little quirky thing to turn that line around? Idk I've always loved that moment!

[@AnotherJenn42]

I tried to explain the brilliance of those lines to my mom when I was a teenager. I still remember the blank look she gave me. Granted, I’m no Sideways, but I’m moderately to fluently articulate. She loves musicals, but on a surface level. I love the analysis and delving deeper. I really appreciate your comment. My teenage self is finally validated.

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

Yup! It's basically saying that even people who seem unintelligent on certain topics, *can* be knowledgeable in others. Jack may have not been very bright upon first glance, but after visiting the Land of the Giants, he knows how to track giants and helps to formulate a plan to slay the giant's wife. (Although the show unfortunately cannot delve deeper into how the giantess was justified in her anger because this human boy manages to sneak/break into her house, but she doesn't try to squish him in retaliation, instead showing him hospitality by entertaining him (in different versions of the story she feeds him and tells him stories of giants) and he repays her kindness by stealing from her. Twice. And murdering her husband. (I know it most versions, Jack kills the giant to protect himself because the giantess warns if her husband finds Jack he will eat him, "grinding Jack's bones to make his bread", but in Woods, it's set up that the giant gives chase after Jack steals his harp.)

[@Soroboruo]

Yes! It's such a good... not quite Brick Joke? It's funny, but it's touching at the same time. It feels like she was able to truly recognize her son's potential.

[@angelreader4564]

whenever i say this is my favorite musical, ppl respond with "you only like it cuz it's funny" and YES! i do! because that's the point! the humor is integral to the themes of the show! the idea that comedy detracts from any "high-brow" themes, messages, and explorations baffles me. this show is genuinely so much fun, and has a lot to say.

[@niftythegoblin]

People act like humour can't be a great way to reflect on very real outlooks. Like the only way to get a conversation going is by being stern and serious all the time. Most of the best lessons media has to teach us comes in the form of humour.

[@redacted5078]

Tbh humour is literally one of the greatest ways to convey a message and its underrated

[@sillygoosetaur]

yeah no duh would you rather it not be funny?

[@spemka]

I miss this. Sideways would have so much to say on the little mermaid remake, I’m sure

[@stephaniewhelchel3873]

I remember when I saw this on stage a few years ago, the actress playing the witch had broken her ankle or something, and she started off using a cane to get around, but eventually progressed to a golf cart. And it worked.

[@jesselynmaxkidz2989]

Oh my God that must've been a joy to watch. I kinda wanna see that, must've been hilarious

[@CherryBomb_Games]

Just me visualizing that made me laugh. I'd be freaking howling watching that.

[@katherinevadney948]

I’m just wondering if/why they randomly had a working golf cart backstage

[@lookmanobraincells9072]

I saw a version where one of the actors playing the stepsisters wasn't there for some reason, she was listed, so one guy was playing both just by stepping into different positions and using voices and it was HILARIOUS

[@spooky_boi6978]

@@lookmanobraincells9072 that’s the scenario my school’s production is in. My best friends are playing both the princes and the stepsisters. It’s been golden so far

[@petalpoison1]

After months of lowkey spamming "Into the Woods" in the Twitch chat in hopes of ingraining it into his subconscious, Sideways has now talked about my favorite musical. My dreams came true

[@sarahfuentes1365]

You're the hero we needed!

[@manillargo]

thank you

[@kage3069]

you deserve our utmost respect

[@syra1541]

thank you for your service

[@nolitimeremessorem]

Thank you! I love this show to death

[@smolglowcloud]

Okay I haven't finished the video yet, but about the "I Wish" thing, when I was playing Little Red, I noticed something. All the characters who get an "I Wish" in the opening, also get an "I Wish" in the opening of act two, EXCEPT for Little Red. Her act two "I Wish" doesn't come until "No One Is Alone," which is really freaking sad.

[@TheAceUpYourSleeves]

Oh god you’re right, oh no that’s really sad!!

[@awesomehawkins]

And she doesn’t even finish it though 😭😭 “I wish-“ “I know”

[@blazerheata6479]

In fact, her act 1 'I wish' starts out as 'I wish, it's not for me but for my granny in the woods!' while she does eat most of the sweets she bought, she just wanted the best for her grandma. The bread, the flowers across the way, and then to find her grandmother in act 2

[@chavitanwar2126]

It must probably have some significance. Such a carefully thought out show would not just forget about it. Any thoughts? I've only seen the play once (on KZbin, I live in India) Edit: ok i just watched it again (on KZbin) and I just realized, Little Red doesn't really want anything in the beginning of act 2. She's just living her life normally until the giant comes down and she gets an I wish after she realizes that her grandmother's oak is crushed.

[@nompuehuenu]

it's been 2 years... we miss you, man. 🫂

[@crosieog1774]

glad to know I'm not alone here

[@KarlieStarrSings]

"There is no such thing as a happily ever after because there is always something new to learn" Damn! That is raw

[@chibibble]

Hey, Sideways. I hope you’re doing alright. Whatever it is you’re doing, or whatever is going on in your life right now, take however much time you need. Don’t worry about coming back because people are asking or pressuring you to, focus on your life. If you don’t end up returning at all, that’s alright too. You’ve already made enough to have an impact on many people’s lives, including mine. We would miss you, obviously, but we are not your top priority, YOU are your top priority. You’re work is great, and no matter what the subject is, I always walk away having learnt something and adding a new piece of knowledge to help with my writing. I’ll admit, it would be nice to know where you’ve been and what’s been happening, but you have a right to your own privacy and have no obligation to let us know. Whatever happens, I hope your alright above all else.

[@imsil-gun]

Amen to this comment

[@TH3RM4L]

I just remembered that Sideways has posted in a while as well. I just presumed it was a combination of "long videos take a while to make" and college or whatever he does. Any news from patreon?

[@mightyowl9246]

Just been binging some old content. I hope he’s doing ok

[@dylanmcloughlin2187]

I came here to say this.

[@chloeellis1246]

@@TH3RM4L I found this on his patreon from October Update Tl;dr the video I’ve been working on for 4 months is going into suspended animation so I can move on Hi everyone, kind of a crappy update, sorry, but it is what it is. For the last 4 months I’ve been working on a video about High School Musical. I never saw it when it first came out, and after getting a bunch of requests for it and checking it out I felt like I had to make a video about it. After starting the researching processes, I knew it was going to be a longer video, but by the time I got to writing the damn thing I quickly realized that it was 4, half-hour sections: a 2 hour video. Needless to say, I felt way less guilty taking a month or two off if it was going to be so long. I like to keep the videos at around the half hour length, so, for example, taking a month off to make the 1-hour Cats video kinda lined up in my head (half an hour per month; 2 months to make a 1-hour video). Well, after 4 months, and what should be the final deadline for the video I really don’t like where it’s at, for a few reasons. Firstly, this script deals with some really difficult and delicate subjects that I still really feel just aren't articulated exactly how they need to be with the current script. I hope you understand me not feeling ok clumsily stumbling through several really sensitive topics. Like I just *know* that I’m making some kind of mistake here, either I'm missing something, or I'm just not saying it in the right way, but I'm not one of these guys who has a master’s in philosophy and can properly express how what I'm trying to say needs to be said. Which, in turn, has led to me spending a LOT of time trying to get it right and I'm still just not 100% that it's where it needs to be in it's current form. On top of that, something really depressing has been happening all over my feeds across every platform. After going after Les Mis and Cats and having those videos both be really successful (thank you!) I’ve gained something of a reputation online for being the guy that takes down musicals? Especially movie musicals. I don’t want to be that. Normally when I say something is bad, I do it with the intention of defending something or someone else that has been wronged in some way. Cats for example, is a…functional? musical, and the film didn’t feel like it even cared how or why Cats worked at all. And while I didn’t like Les Mis, I tackled it from the perspective that Hooper was mistreating his cast and risked them being injured. Same for the live-action Disney movies, it really felt like they were mistreating or misusing their actors and it felt like not very many people were bringing light to that. And while I can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I do that thing where I swoop in to cringe-ly (sp?) white knight a bunch of people who didn't ask for help, I really worry that, like with most of my critics, a lot of people are going to look at the title and comment something to the effect of “yeah, take them down!!!1!!” which just isn’t the kind of energy or community I’m here to foster. Like, with the release of Dear Evan Hansen alone all I’ve been seeing are people saying “oh I can’t wait for Sideways to take this down” which just gives me really, REALLY bad vibes. So where do we go from here. I’m not deleting the video from my harddrive (it’s a solid state but I just can’t get harddrive outta my head, sorry) so there’s (hopefully a very good) chance that it’ll still see the light of day and I can get this video out to you all eventually, but I can’t overstate how much it’s just become a black hole in my life sucking all my time and energy into nothingness, and I just need to move on. Not just in terms of being able to make videos for the channel, but just so I can literally think about something else and be able to function as a human. For you patreons especially, I appreciate you hanging on during this weird blank space in my career. Obviously you haven’t been charged, and won’t be for any of this (and this is exactly why I don’t do monthly payments). I’m looking at October 1st as a kind of hard-reset day to just work on something else. Speaking of which, if you have any requests, I guess now would be a good time to comment them below for what is hopefully (fingers crossed!) going to be a new video in October. And as always, Thank you all for your continued support I literally could not do this without you!

[@toastydragon4866]

Sideways: You always hear the bean theme. Me, who couldn't recognize music or notes if my life depended on it but just enjoys hearing Sideways talk: Yes of course. Edit: I've watched this video 4 times now because it's so entertaining, and I can actually recognize it now! Yay!

[@mariamann8292]

That's called practicing. Congratulations! ;)

[@TheSneezingAnouki]

I was the same when i started watching sideways, and while I'm still a musical noob, i know pay much greater attention to music in film, TV etc, it's really enriching!

[@Naleo07]

I miss you man, you were one of the best essay style you tube video makers I had ever watched, thank my dude for all your content. an wherever you are I hope you are doing well.

[@berzerkerberzerker1722]

Baby come back 🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵

[@hospitalgal101]

One of my favorite stage gags of all time is the Baker getting frustrated with leading the cow away and picking it up and running. I get so mad when the cow is played by an actor (on stage) or cgi.

[@TheBridgieShow]

I know this comment is super old, but I saw a version of ItW that had an actor playing the cow and they made it work. It was a high school production where the baker was obviously, like, the most experienced senior and the cow was this guy who was probably a freshman. In that scene, when the baker gets frustrated, the baker just picked up the cow and piggy-backed him across the stage. It was absolutely hilarious and a great way to implement the gag.

[@hospitalgal101]

@@TheBridgieShow that is super creative

[@elianamarshall9333]

“agony” is the funniest and most ironic song in any musical i’ve ever seen. i remember watching it for the first time when i was 11 and loved it ever since

[@autisticdancer]

Ikr! I found that part so strange and yet so funny! XD

[@AnotherJenn42]

I was gutted when they butchered “Agony” in the movie and didn’t reprise it during the second act. Such a waste.

[@PhileasLiebmann]

To be fair: Rapunzel's tears healing the prince's blindness was in the version of the fairytale written down by the Brothers Grimm, which is what the musical was making fun of, so playing it straight in the movie, while still a bad choice for an adaptation of a comedic musical, is not altogether out of left field. Edit: this is also the basis for the Tangled version of Rapunzel having magic healing powers btw. The writers just rolled it into the character trait of the long hair instead of having it be basically a deus ex machina.

[@axolotllan]

it's like the birds for Cinderella- though glad they skipped the bloody feet.

[@carterfoerch4556]

We miss you Sideways, I’m a music major who learned LOADS from you going into my freshman year, the way you present info in depth without dumbing it down but also making it relatable is impressive. We all know you aren’t “the guy who tears down movies”, anyone who says otherwise is too dumb to hear what you are saying. All I’m saying is I love your work and if you ever want to return we’d be thrilled to have you back!!!!

[@hisnameisbruno9310]

I have this theory that the potion wasn't actually to cure the Baker's curse, it was just for the witch's curse. She lifted the Baker's curse throughout the act everytime she showed up and punched him in the jewels with magic and she could have lifted it anytime she wanted. I think the curse in the first place was supposed to teach her to be more kind and earn favors to break the curse. But she found a loophole and blackmailed the Baker's family with a curse of her own. She never learned her lesson.

[@zapazap]

For sure. The potion was payment.

[@TeaHeart22]

It's like the worst version of the chaotic evil villainous mother is one who can see everyone else's mistakes but her own.

[@zapazap]

@@TeaHeart22 : I believe the witch, at the end, _perceived_ herself as mistaken.

[@zapazap]

@Greg Elchert Where/when did the witch actually _lie_ (other than perhaps, at least implicitly, to Rapunzel)? I don't recall where, but I may certainly have overlooked it.

[@mjae9588]

Naaah the witch knows she's bad she literally says 'I'm not good/I'm not bad/I'm just nice' I think she just doesn't know what makes her exactly bad aside from the lying and cheating the other 'nice' characters also did. I'm not entirely convinced by the end of the musical that she acknowledges what she did with rapunzel is bad

[@v7ran]

I first saw the movie version and always thought the second act was a tragedy that could’ve been avoided until I watched the play, which made it seem like something that had to happen and overall had a more satisfying ending because of that.

[@ShayLaLaLooHoo]

And the Jr. version of Into the Woods is literally just Act One :/

[@tirill452]

I just want to say that the tear thing with Rapunzel, the babies too, actually happens in the original story (not the Disney version) he falls out of the tower, gets his eyes poked out by thorns, walks around blind until he runs into Rapunzel and their kids again, and she cries, restoring his eyes.

[@skeleletonboi4533]

I first read this version in the grimm brothers fairy tale book I had as a touch too young child 😅

[@katherinesanderson8990]

I mean in Disney's Rapunzel (Tangled) she does heal him with a tear as well (not the eyes though). But then that came out way after this so it's not like they could have taken inspiration from that even if they'd wanted to.

[@soph996]

I just came back from reading the latest patreon update and I'm so incredibly sorry that you've gone through so much crap personally and on social media/KZbin. I genuinely had no idea your videos were getting plagiarized like that and it just straight up sucks. I hope, if you do upload more videos in the future (if not that's also cool) to become one of the voices you can rely on. No one deserves to be discredited like that, least of all you. Best wishes and best of luck

[@catlover4319]

Would you mind explaining what he said in the patreon about if he will be continuing to post youtube videos and why?

[@fernandocortes1031]

@@catlover4319 it's on another comment

[@andylindsey]

The stage musical looks a lot more fun than the movie Disney made.

[@zapazap]

Certainly more fun to watch. Probably more fun to make.

[@wiebemartens1030]

I didn't even know the Disney made film was a remake of this musical, now I get why the movie seemed so boring

[@jbvader721]

@@wiebemartens1030 Disney was probably the worst studio choice for a film adaptation of this show. If it was R rated, broke the fourth wall similar to Deadpool and went all out in terms of stylism, it may have had a chance.

[@25meip]

And they actually have this full stage recording released on KZbin for free, it really is quite great. Every performer nails it

[@brendanmilburn9067]

@@jbvader721 I don't think it needs to be R rated, PG-13 would be fine. However I honestly think the movie was able to include quite a lot of the stage show even within the PG rating limits, like I'm surprised Hello Little Girl at all made it into the film adaptation. But I do agree it does lose some edge and uniqueness getting rid of it's fourth wall breaking satirical nature.

[@hollybolly6289]

Musical theory brain: such interesting concepts and ideas, wonderfully presented Monkey brain: Bean Theme

[@TheBoomamatic]

FYI the Patreon thats just a string of hexadecimal numbers translates to "I secretly support the Alliance!" so everytime you read it out, your secretly supporting the Alliance.

[@tomster2012]

Ninja'd (by like 10 hours 😅)

[@juliastms]

Whatever the reason is why you stopped uploading videos, I hope you're doing okay. And I hope you know how much of a positive impact you had (and continue to have) on so many people. I've been watching your videos for years and I keep coming back to them. I think I watched every single video on your channel at least +5 times (some of them even more than that) because they give me so much comfort.

[@noahfortner2]

I dont even care about music, i just live for this guy’s enthusiasm

[@magnificloud]

YES I CAN OBSESS OVER INTO THE WOODS AGAIN, BUT MORE ARTICULATELY THIS TIME!

[@SoupinaBowl]

Oh you KNOW it’s gonna be a good dinner with a sideways video

[@isabelalcala]

YESSSSSSS

[@ironrex6979]

Same here! Bon appetite bros and sis

[@LiveActionKimPossibleRufus]

I'm making ravioli right now I'm so excited

[@link0108]

I just had finished dinner when the video came out. Sadgee

[@Naomi-vr4fw]

What did you have? I ordered chicken nuggets

[@ianevans9137]

Come back dad the kids miss you

[@CrazyMama75]

It's funny, cos I love the 1991 version and as a mother I use two songs ("children will listen" and "no one is alone") to help me with my parenting (eg when my kids "act up" I'll hum children will listen to myself, it always helps me regain my patience and be calmer for my kids. And when they're sad or we're having a tough day, no one is alone is my go to song to sing to my kids to comfort them). Just such a powerful musical. As a child who was abused growing up and used Disney fairy tales to help me cope as a kid, as a parent I've come to find Into the woods to be a story about parenting, self realization and maturing.

[@TeaHeart22]

Hey fellow mom looking for the ideal parenting information inside story archetypes. Here I am too! Your not alone!! I thought I was crazy and then sideways made this vid and I was like THIS IS WHAT IM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT RIGHT NOW

[@lj9392]

in high school i saw a practice Into The Woods by a theater class that Did Not Care -little red was singing with the wolf when the prince came on stage (suddenly wearing a wig), pushed red away, & did the rest of the song with the wolf while they held onto each other dramatically -Jack sang "vaginas in the sky" instead of "giants in the sky" -the best actor was whoever was playing the cow

[@Angel12068]

Why do i actually want to watch that. I would even pay

[@lj9392]

@@Angel12068 i also just remembered that when jack walked on stage someone behind the curtains threw cinderalla's shoe at him, so he just held it during his song

[@Angel12068]

@@lj9392 Stop playing with me 😭 how was this allowed, but honestly you just made me want to see it more

[@lj9392]

@@Angel12068 it wasn't an official performance, they just invited some other classes (i was in art) to watch their practice lol. one of my friends was rapunzel & said that afterwards their teacher told them it was the worst show he'd ever seen. it was truly a masterpiece also it was purely an accident but as she was in her tower pulling her wig up it got snagged on something & she had to yank at it X3

[@Angel12068]

@@lj9392 The longer i stay, the more i want every single detail XD

[@awebono2312]

I love how he always sounds like he’s being timed and he doesn’t have time to breathe

[@biddleeewho4181]

That's how you know he's a good speaker.

[@julhol7482]

We miss you, man, but take your time to heal. Your content is some of my favorite on KZbin.

[@blooperparty]

I'm scared sometimes when I click on a video because it could be a 1 hour commitment I can't get out of.

[@darkstarfirestudios4500]

XDD

[@Eviltwin531]

I kinda had the opposite problem, this was so compelling I wish it was longer.

[@chronicallymeee]

@@Eviltwin531 It's nearly 5am and I feel both of you very intensely at the same time right now.

[@bugdracula1662]

i fell from a 3 hour nightmare in video form about fallout new vegas into this

[@merryberry6576]

I feel you, sometimes gotta mentally prepare myself. Grab a snack haha

[@serpentmaster1323]

In The production I watched the cow was played by a male actor. This makes the cow gender argument much funnier every single time. Also the cow was played by an actor. This made the entire play even more HILARIOUS.

[@pabloapostar7275]

That was the Broadway revival. I heard they did it so they could get more comedy from the cow part.

[@icetones6706]

My school did this as well- theres nothing funnier than a dude in a white onesie putting a giant plush hoof onto jacks shouldwr during goodbye old pal

[@beccaw74]

My highschools production actually had a black student play the cow milky white. A bit of a risky joke, but it was a good one.

[@lunastars3590]

Never gonna forget when we did this show in the 2nd grade and I ended up as one of the princes because I had the deepest voice out of pretty much everyone even though I was literally 7 in a group of kids that went up to age 12. Now I’m a soprano and a lesbian so take that how you will.

[@svetfeddersen9767]

MOOD 😂 which prince were you?

[@Cuix]

Eeeeey, that's why I ended up as Rapunzel's Prince in high school! Literally just a voice thing lol.

[@imma_queen_bee8188]

hey same!! except i ended up an alto lesbian ;P

[@seinesalz]

That's similar to the production I was in lol. We had two elementary school kids playing the princes in a full school production.

[@peach4102]

I'm glad I'm not the only kid that sang low and ended up both a soprano and a lesbian

[@willgilhespy]

We love you bro, and I'm sorry for all the horrible things that happened to you online, you're a true positive force in the world and I, as well as millions of others, wish you the best in whatever endeavor you pursue next.

[@onlookerofthings6029]

Jack straight up picking up Milky White by the handle and running off with her is probably my favorite joke in the whole musical

[@jacksawack6724]

The Baker*

[@Garbagepond]

Bernadettes somber “still they won’t listen” is just. Just the greatest thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing with my eyes.

[@vtuggle5915]

"Children can only grow from something you love to something you lose." Really broke me up and changed the way I parented.

[@Garbagepond]

@@vtuggle5915 beautiful! I show this musical to my students and lead a discussion about the themes after for that very reason! People underestimate children’s ability to really SEE you and your actions/absorb and understand complex themes in media then apply those lesson in their own lives.

[@adrianbourceanu9145]

As someone who's never even heard of Into the Woods, THIS SHOW SOUNDS BUCK WILD

[@The4thSandersonSister]

It is but it is the BEST

[@AnotherJenn42]

Yes, it is.

[@pablojoelaban363]

The Broadway version witch is the best version of into the woods is on KZbin for free you should watch it its good

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

It's been four months. You better have watched it!! Seriously, the 1991 production filmed for PBS with the OBC is available to watch on KZbin for free!

[@sillygoosetaur]

it’s insane go watch it

[@NachoCheeseDorito-Kun]

Into the Woods is very special to me. In middle school, I was shoved into theater for some reason despite my crippling anxiety. Thankfully everyone else in my class had similar issues and we voted on focusing on the technical aspect of theater that year. Into the Woods was one of the few projects we started an analysis on that we actually got to see through to the end and I loved it. I wasn't really able to design any costumes like they wanted because I kinda sucked at drawing humans and clothing, but I at least had a blast and made a Theater friend. We saw Into the Woods in theaters together, and while the movie. . . Exists it was the first movie I ever went without family to see. The Broadway musical still slaps.

[@cupcakegirljen7]

KZbin: "Sideways uploads a new video" Me: Hey, he's back KZbin: "It's about Into The Woods" Me: Holy shi--- *clicks video*

[@MissAkua100]

LITERSLLY

[@kage3069]

I AM SO EXCITED

[@superdimentiobrolyX]

I feel like the bean theme also represents the "magical" sense of fairy tale naivety that the show is criticising. Once the characters all accept responsibility and cast off the idea of happily ever after and selfish wishes, thats when the inversion plays and breas the spell so to speak

[@rainstorm6236]

genius

[@racheljackson4144]

Honestly 'This is a good musical, that is an objective fact' is just the best way to say it. It's an absolute delight and no, there will be no fielding of questions on this.

[@caitlinkershaw8006]

As a musical theatre nerd, I really appreciate you giving these musicals their credit. I heard that some people see your channel as a negative take on some musicals, but that's obviously not true. You clearly have such a deep love and respect for music and musical theatre, and any negative opinions you have are more about wanting to pay homage to the stage productions in the movies (which a lot don't do well). Sorry for this essay hehe. Hope you're doing okay and whenever, if ever, you're ready to make another video, I'll be ready and eager to watch it

[@JamesWilliams-rp4ll]

What's even more interesting is that Sondheim doesn't just invert the bean theme at the end musically. By inverting the theme, he also inverts the character's perceptions of the whole situation. By opposing the mischief of the beans with their resolution, Sondheim also juxtaposes the blame game of the last characters standing with the realisation that they have to move on. Really eye-opening work.