14 h, dec 25, 2014 y - HOLLYWOOD REPORTER Into the Woods: How Disney Tiptoed Around JD Creepy, Sexualized Song

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US VA Court Documents:
Amber Heard Exhibit 28

Countless theater chatroom commenters have debated the song’s double-meanings, pointing out lascivious symbols like Red’s lust-colored cape and object of exploration: flowers, alluding to virginity. The companion number to “Hello, Little Girl” is Red’s “I Know Things Now,” which has often been interpreted as the character’s response to a first sexual encounter. Sondheim has said this was an objection during the adaptation process, along with the onscreen fate of some characters.

So how did the Disney release specifically handle Depp and Crawford’s sexualized song?

“Delicately, very delicately; we were aware of the implications,” producer John DeLuca told The Hollywood Reporter at the film’s premiere earlier this month. “And we really wanted to hire kids on this — you don’t do that onstage, they’re [usually] older. … So we just found our way, not making it too heavy on the pedophilia front.”

Musically, “it’s a very difficult thing because it’s inherent in the lyrics,” said music producer and supervisor Michael Higham, who also collaborated with Depp on the 2007 movie-musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. While the arrangement remains largely untouched, “we emphasized the woodwinds to make it feel a little lighter, especially the flutes. And we just made it a little jazzier — played more on the walking bass line. Inherently, when it has a jazz feel, it just feels lighter.”

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