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Have you watched "Into The Woods"? I just did. It is an almost 2-hours musical movie about the classic tales of Cinderella, Jack & the Beanstalk, Little Red Ridinghood and Rapunzel combined. The first 60 minutes are about it. At first, as you may also, what interested me was the movie theme, then the casts (Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick--but I just found out about them during the watching).

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The second hour of the movie, anyway, is more a reality than the tale. Life lessons are everywhere in this movie, taught us that there are more than just "happily ever after" in every tale ever told. I'll list down the messages down here. But my most favorite quote came from the witch (I had guessed this from the beginning but being drawn into the story that I forgot I've suspected this to come out).

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Long story short, people were starting to blame each other for the misery they were into, and ended at the witch, blaming her for cursing the baker's family at the first place. Then, the witch stood up for herself, saying (or, rather to singing in this movie):

Told a little lie, Stole a little gold,
Broke a little vow, Did you?

Had to get your prince, Had to get your cow,
Had to get your wish, Doesn't matter how...

.. No of course what's really matter is the blame
Someone you can blame...

You're so nice. You're not good, 
You're not bad, You're just nice

I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right. 
I'm the witch. You're the world...

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That last sentence struck me right on. I guess this is what the problem of our society now. The society prefer people to be nice, although it's not always good or bad. People like what is nice. And this, is suitable with the new motto I hold in the past two years: "to be right first, then to be good if possible".

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The world has been so greedy, wanting this and that and not caring about the consequences. The society has been too blind to like only what's nice, what looks great and forgetting about what it truly is inside/behind. And when things get ugly, the easiest way to do is to blame it on someone. People has been refusing to carry on their own burdens, to take full responsibility on what's happening in their lives.

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People had been so mislead by what the society had set for the standards. Roots are forgotten, history are bent. Boys nowadays are mostly raised to be charming, not sincere, while they suppose to be gentlemen who protect the women (both the prince and the baker). And for all girls, remember that every prince will try their best to get you by his side, but what happens once they got you is what's much more important to count.

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Ah, there are too many lost people now. "What is right became wrong, and what is wrong became right in this era," said a pemangku (Hindu priest in Bali) once when I visited him in Kuta, early 2013.
Anyway I compiled some of the lessons from the quotes of this great movie--tho the messages were scattered from the very beginning to the end of the movie--but here are my favorite ones:

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1. Wishes come true, not free.
2. Do not put your faith in a cape and a hood. They will not protect you the way that they should.
3. Sometimes people leave you, but no one is alone. No one leaves for good.
4. Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor.
5. Take extra care with strangers, even flowers have their dangers.
6. You've had an "and" when you're back to "or" makes the "or" means more than it did before.
7. Careful the things you say, children will listen.
8. Something always happens after "Happy Ever After".
9. Agony is different to everyone.
10. Sometimes the things you wish for are not to be touched.
11. But if life were only moments, then you'd never know you had one.
12. Witches can be right, giants can be good. You decide what's right. You decide what's good.
13. Hard to see the light now. Just don't let it go. Things will come out right.
14. Never trust a wolf under any circumstances.
15. Though scary is exciting, nice is different than good.
    
    

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From each of the characters we can learn a lot. From Little Red for girls to be careful of the traps of men getting what they want by being (or seem) nice. From Jack to listen to the mother and to not steal. From Cinderella to be realistic about life, that the dreamy-kind-of-life isn't always applicable or fit with who we really are. From the Baker to not run from responsibility though the road might get bumpy and everything seem so scary now. And from the Witch, being ugly and scary, is mostly mistaken by the society because people rarely see what is underneath.

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So, there you go. My newest top favorite movie. You should all watch it, too--I promise you there are more that you'll get than the boredom from the musical. And I wish more children are watching this and get many lessons from this, because I also do!