The Broadway musical “Into the Woods” is well known among theater lovers, but to the non-theater world, it lurks in the shadows.

With the screenplay and score by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim, the Broadway musical will premiere in its movie form on December 25.

The musical movie is pure fantasy, said Anna Kendrick who plays Cinderella.

With grounded morals, the movie is exciting for kids as well as adults, she said.

“We have to be careful what we tell our children; children take lessons to heart — it’s sort of about understanding that they’re listening to us even if it doesn’t feel that way,” Kendrick said.

“Everybody in this film goes through these really wonderfully complex journeys, and they experience joy and heartache and sorrow and grief,” Chris Pine who plays Cinderella’s Prince said.

The actors had a lot of fun exploring the depths of their characters.

“I had a lot of fun making the prince kind of, buffoonish,” Pine said.

“I had a lot of fun watching Chris be a buffoon,” Kendrick said.

Director Rob Marshall allowed extra rehearsal time for the actors to get acclimated with the Sondheim style.

“[Rob is] a director that comes from the theater world so he recognized the importance and the real luxury of having a month of rehearsal before you ever show your wares to the public,” Pine said.

Not all of the actors had a chance to work with everyone, but they did get a chance in that month to see one another and to see what everybody was doing, Pine said. 

“I think that really helped infuse the project with a sense of community,” he said.

“It was an unbelievable challenge,” Kendrick said, “but singing Sondheim is so rewarding and fulfilling — it was a dream come true.”

Aside from Kendrick and Pine, the movie showcases names such as Meryl Streep as the Witch, Johnny Depp as the Wolf, James Corden as the Baker and Emily Blunt as the Baker’s Wife.

Theater lovers and critics all over the world hold their breath for the rapidly approaching Christmas release.