I love Cinderella, it's one of my favorite classic fairy tales and I love the Disney movie, it's one of my favorites from Walt's era. I've looked at various versions of Cinderella over the course of this blog's existence. Be it, the classic animated movie, her appearance on Sofia The First, the wonderful Brandy movie, and Anna Kendrick's portrayal in Into The Woods.
So yeah, I'm a big Cinderella fan and while not anytime soon, I have been considering doing a side series that would look at various adaptions of Cinderella. So, you can see I'm a fan of this story. How does this remake stack up in the pantheon of stories of Cinderella?
It's really good and in full disclosure that I have discussed this remake twice before. Once looking at the trailer and once in a crossover after the film came out. However, I wanted to look at it again because I really like it. Before I get to the review, I want to look at a saying that sets the tone for the film.
Have courage and be kind.
These words carry the film and serve as the film's thesis. Being courageous and having kindness is one of the most powerful tools that anyone can have at their disposal. And this is something that Lily James' Cinderella much like the original animated Cinderella displays. People have mistakenly claimed that the original animated Cinderella is a passive participant in her story. I don't necessarily agree with that take as I believe that it misunderstands her character. As I wrote in my review of the original.
She is a very patient young woman and for the most part, it doesn’t get to until her sisters tear her dress, when we finally see everything get to her.
I did mention in my review that I wished that Cinderella had stood up for herself some more and thinking back on the original Cinderella does do that in subtle ways and it can be felt in how she looks at her stepsisters. However, the remake does seem to bring that to the forefront quite a bit with one great line.
You have never been... and you never will be my mother.
This line right here sums up everything I love about Cinderella no matter what iteration. Cinderella is not a pushover. People that make that complaint greatly misunderstand her character and do not realize that Cinderella can and will stand up for herself and others. With that out of the way, let's move onto what is the same.
What's the Same
And of the gorgeous dress transformation.
Of course, the ball, the mice, and the carriage are left in. Oh, and the dance is just wonderful.
This was appreciated and I loved how Kenneth Branngah honored Cinderella and not just Disney's Cinderella but all versions of Cinderella. This is something that we will discuss when we look at what was changed because a lot of things were added into this movie from the classic fairytale and other adaptions.
What's Different
The heart of the story is the same as I stated but there are some nice changes that really work in this film's favor. I want to start this off by quoting Movie Curiosities' review of the film from five years ago as something he wrote helps sell what the movie is going for.
The Fairy Godmother is to Cinderella as Cinderella is to her animal pets. That one line of dialogue, that one simple analogy, does so very much to make the Fairy Godmother a character in her own right and not just some deus ex machina.
This is perfect as it sets up why the Fairy Godmother is such an important figure to Cinderella because this movie understands that she cares for others that are more helpless than her and her Fairy Godmother, in turn, returns the favor. This brings up one of my favorite elements of the Fairy Godmother and speaks to the goodness of Cinderella as the Fairy Godmother had been watching her. But she does not appear as a Fairy Godmother but as an Old Beggar Woman.
Which instantly brings to mind another favorite of mine, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella as the same thing is done there.
But if you could be a beggar woman, not five minutes ago
I love that touch. As it's great and speaks to the importance of the Fairy Godmother and Helena Bonham Carter is perfect in this role save for the annoying narration.
Another great addition or return, in this case, is that this movie unlike the original goes into why Ella is called Cinderella. I honestly can't think of many adaptions that touch upon that but it is such a key part of the fairy tale.
Lady Tremaine: Do clean yourself up.
Anastasia: You’ll get cinders in our tea.
Drisella: I’ve got a new name for her: Cinder Wench!
Anastasia: She looks so dirty. Oh, Dirty Ella!
[Anastasia and Lady Tremaine laugh]
Drisella: Cinderella! That’s what we’ll call you!
Lady Tremaine: Oh, girls. You’re too clever.
It's an insult from her stepfamily showing much they don't love her. And from what I recall of the original fairytale, it was the same there as well. Society has just been conditioned to call Cinderella because that's the name of the story much in the same way that Dumbo is a mocking name but that's what we call Dumbo. In a way, using Cinderella as the name could be viewed as reclaiming the name and turning it into a positive but look but in the final narration, Fairy Godmother uses Ella and I think using her real name speaks to a sense of love that someone actually has for Cinderella that the Tremaine's did not.
Which also brings up two other big changes regarding a sense of love, when the movie opens, we get to spend some time with Cinderella's real parents and see how much they truly love her. Which makes their deaths as her mother imparts those important words onto her that I opened this review with.
Another change I truly find fascinating is Lady Tremaine figures out Cinderella was the girl in the glass slipper and breaks the matching slipper before the Prince comes. That's clever. However, there is one change that I do not get. Branngah decided to make the Duke a secondary villain.
As he is more focused for the future of the kingdom rather than respecting the King or Prince's wishes, the Grand Duke secretly promises Kit to a specific princess, a statement to which Lady Tremaine overhears during the ball. Following the death of the King and Kit's inheriting the throne, the Grand Duke is given the order that every maiden will try on the glass slipper.
That's okay but why move. The Duke in the original was just a supporting character and nothing more than that. And Jaq is now a girl and the mice's role has been trimmed down.
Jaq and Gus appear in the 2015 live-action Cinderella movie, though they play a significantly smaller role than they did in the 1950 film. Additionally, Jaq is portrayed as a female, under the name Jacqueline, and is Gus' love interest. They also have two babies called Teddy and Matilda.
A small change and not to get hung up on too much as the mice are still in the movie and it's important to see how they cared for by Cinderella instead of expecting them to be what they were in the original.
One of the best changes made is that the Prince now has a name, Kit, and more importantly has a personality instead of being the bland character that he was in the original. This could be felt in the meet-cute between Kit and Cinderella.
You can see how this meeting between Kit and Cinderella had a huge impact on Kit it reshaped how he thought. And that helps sell him as a real character. As does his relationship with his father, The King knowing that the King is dying.
There are other things that I could go on about but I think that I've covered the important elements of this movie.
Is This A Good Remake?
I adore this movie. It's my personal remake out of the bunch. Yes, I said that Pete's Dragon is the best but best does not equal favorite. That one is stunning and breathtaking in all the right ways whereas this one just hit me on a personal level because of how much I love the story of Cinderella and it was told in a way that only respects the original Disney movie but Cinderella in general. This is a movie that someone can turn on when they are feeling blue and it will cheer them up. Join me next time as we look at a remake on the other end, that was considered the worst of these until The Lion King remake came out and it's bad. As we look at the remake of
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