In Review: "Cinderella"

As the first installment of Disney's new trend of animated-to-live-action films, "Cinderella" is not a bad foot to start on.

The issues I have with this film are very slight and very forgivable- simply extra sparkle I feel they could have thrown in. This is very much the original 1950 film simply told with living breathing people. Remember that as I continue.

The Story

It's exactly what you know. A little girl lives a carefree life with her family until her mother dies. Then her father remarries a wicked woman who has two ugly-hearted daughters. The father dies, and the three torment the girl making her become a servant in her own house. One day, the king holds a ball and invites all the ladies of the land to meet the prince from which he will choose a bride. Cindy is dying to go so she does her chores and spouses up her mother's old dress to attend the event. But the wicked stepmother forbids her to go. The poor girl is a puddle of tears until her fairy godmother arrives and transforms a vegetable and some farm animals into her transportation, her rags into luxurious fabrics and her old shoes into glass slippers. Cindy and the Prince dance all night, fall in love, and Cindy must run away before the spell is broken leaving behind a single shoe. Without a name to identify the magnificent woman, he sends his advisers to try the shoe on every maiden in the land to find his true love. And so he finds his girl, and they are married and live happily ever after.

Phew!

This new version has a few updates to liven up the classic tale a little bit-- the prince has a personality, the stepmother has a reason, and there are secret plots afoot. But you'll have to see the movie for those.

The Stars

Lily James from the popular TV show "Downton Abbey" stars as the little cinder girl in the most elegant way she can. With grace and goodness, she brings the drawings of Disney artists to life. Encouraged to be kind and courageous her whole life, she is still a passive character. Like I said, this is not the modern version of the animated movie. Cinderella is still very much saved by the prince and refuses to spit in her evil family's tea-- giving her grace and a greater strength than I could ever accomplish.

Cate Blanchett is the perfect wicked stepmother with an air of sophistication, a dash of mischief, and a bucket of evil. But again, these are living breathing characters with sides and shades. There is a very interesting scene where we get to see that this woman's wickedness is not entirely her choice.

Richard Madden (RIP Rob Stark) plays a charming prince who is completely taken by this mystery girl who shows a little bit of spunk and wonderful heart. Madden is also able to give depth to the character through his interactions with the King (played by Derek Jacobi). This was a truly inspired story decision to give the prince something else to love other than a stranger.

Helena Bonham Carter plays the forgetful fairy godmother. A far cry from Bellatrix, but Carter is able to do it with flair.

The Message

The reason people don't like the original animated Disney films is because of the damsel in distress characters who are saved by the prince and seem to have everything happen to them instead of taking life into their own hands. The reason why the princesses were written that way is because that is how women were taught to behave. The greatest accomplishment a woman could have was to get married. Women didn't get jobs or have career goals. Women would never talk back or fight for any reason.

Things are very different now. So it's hard to watch a movie about a woman who has this passive mindset. A woman who believes that kindness is how you are able to get through life with flying colors. I absolutely agree that without kindness you will never be able to fulfill your life. But my core being fights against this idea that if you let people step all over you things will be alright in the end. Although I'd love to believe that, it is simply a fantasy.

That being said, this is not a modern story. The strength that Ella does have is the strength to endure every evil and torture done to her with grace and an unfailing love and faithfulness. She is determined to stay in this house because she made a promise to her parents. She believes that there is always a possibility for good. She forgives when she should feel hatred. And that takes a more powerful strength than spatting back a well phrased and well timed comeback.

Overall

The costumes and cinematography in this movie are absolutely gorgeous. I could write a whole other review on how pleasing this movie was to the eye. But I will spare you. All I'm saying is costume designer Sandy Powell deserves her fourth Oscar!

One of the issues I had is the slight lack of continuity between the animated and the live action. Yes, the mice don't talk. Ok fine that would look weird anyway. But you didn't have to change Jacques to Jacqueline. And you didn't have to get rid of Bruno the awesome dog.

Also, fine you won't make it a musical. Ok, I can live with that. (I don't want to, but I will.) But why not even include the original songs in the score of the movie? (They could have been dancing to an instrumental version of "So This is Love") The music that's in this movie had no correlation to the story or the film's history. The theme song of the film, originally sung by Cindy's mother, "Lavender Blue" is actually from another Disney live-action movie called "So Dear to My Heart" and sung by Burl Ives. (The song won an Oscar) The lyrics are a little different than the original, but it is definitely the same song. The pop theme of the film is Ellie Golding's "My Blood" which is about-- BLOOD! and the loss of a love. Nope. That has nothing to do with Cinderella. And the other pop theme song is "Strong" by Sonna Rele which is about how life is not like a fairytale and you can't treat it as such. "In a perfect storybook, the world is brave and good/A hero takes your hand, a sweet love will follow/But life's a different game, the sorrow and the pain/Only you can change your world tomorrow" Was I not just talking about Cinderella as a passive character? Isn't this like a slap in the movie's face?

Overall, this movie was exactly what I wanted it to be with a few hiccups here and there. It sticks to the classic tale, is pretty to watch, and has some great actors that bring depth and life to one of the most recognizable tales ever told.

3 out of 4 Glass Slippers 

P.S. In the movie they were actually Swarovski crystal

P.P.S. "Frozen Fever" (the short before the film) is absolutely adorable!!!