Cinderella Review

In case you didn’t know, I was really excited about Cinderella when the trailer came out.

So, as the good Disney fan that I am, I convinced my favorite girl to come watch Cinderella with me, and she immediately agreed.

I bought t-shirts for us, we did our makeup, put on our pretty shoes on and were on the way.

Going into the theater I was very aware there was a chance the movie would disappoint me as Maleficent had, but it didn’t.

If you are truly interested in watching Cinderella, please know I completely loved it, and I may add some spoilers later on (I’ll tell you when) and even though the end is exactly the same, there were some beautiful additions to the story that covered some holes. So, if you don’t want spoilers, please watch the movie, and then come back and tell me how you liked it.

Okay, let’s start with the cast. In my previous blog I talked about Lily James, (Cinderella), Richard Madden (Prince), Cate Blanchett (Stepmother) and Helena Bonham Carter (Fairy Godmother) who by the way did not sing “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (you had one job HBC!!!). They were all absolutely amazing! If I truly had to pick my favorite out of these four, Cate Blanchett would take that prize; she definitely sold that horrible, evil, stepmother from the original movie.

However, my favorite character(s) were Drisella, brought to life by Sophie McShera, and Anastasia, portrayed by Holliday Grainger. The names may not say much, but they were hilarious and in the best sense of the word, very stupid-like. They both did an amazing job; neither took the light from the other. In the original movie Drisella and Anastasia, were just mean and annoying. On this movie they were just silly, and Cate Blanchett brought them together perfectly.

Moving onto my favorite part about live action movies, the visual part… First of all, I got to give it to the costume department. The dresses were absolutely stunning. Obviously Lily James got to

wear the most beautiful dress, but for example the Fairy Godmother’s dress was fascinating. I didn’t notice during the trailer, but she has tiny wings in the back of her dress, which gives it the fairy look to it. During the ball, every single person was dressed to a T! There were lots of colors, lace, and sparkle. The step-sisters’ dresses were just over the top, along with their makeup, which look awfully tacky, but exactly what you expected them to wear. Cinderella’s slippers were made of Swarovski crystals topped with a beautiful butterfly (a recurring theme during the movie), which by the way Lily James refused to wear because of how delicate it was. I see an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design in the future.

The sets were also amazing. Cinderella’s farm was nothing out of the ordinary, but it had beautiful details, the rooms were big, and very well decorated. Also be on the lookout for a hidden Mikey on the main doors. The castle was absolutely stunning! Lots of golds, flowers, big chandeliers, paintings, etc! Just like a fairy tale. I cannot end this section without describing Cinderella’s carriage, which was gold, with lots of crystals and over the top. A little too much for my taste, but never the less magnificent.

On to the spoilers… Are you ready?

What made me love the movie right away was the fact that we finally know how Ella became

Cinderella, and like I said before, it filled some of the holes. We meet her mom (Hayley Atwell,

from Agent Carter) who gives Ella her motto “have courage and be kind”. Ella does live by these words over and over and it’s pretty much the reason why she’s taken advantage of, but I find it’s a beautiful message. We all need to be kind, right? Anyway, we also meet Ella’s dad (Ben Chaplin) who tell us that he decided to get married again after Ella’s mother’s death to give her some company. He obviously didn’t expect it to be the way it was. After his death, the movie goes pretty much like the original story, with some changes, which I won’t spoil for you, but it is very captivating. At the end the step-mother and the step-sisters leave the kingdom and Cinderella and the Prince live happily ever after.

The movie was beautifully written, which was my main complain about Maleficent, it was funny, visually stunning, and I can’t wait to watch it again. The best part it’s that it makes much more excited for the “Beauty and the Beast” live action movie.

Cinderella closed the weekend on the number one spot with over $70 million in the US and $132 million globally, and over Liam Neeson’s “Run All Night” which only brought in $11 million.

Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed the movie!

-Producer Mó

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