Disney has released some of the most magical films over the years including the animated Cinderella movie. If you love fairytales then you know the Cinderella story by heart. The Cinderella story has over the years inspired many adaptations of the classic story of an orphan girl who is turned into a maid by her evil stepmother after her father passes away. Luckily with the help of her fairy godmother she is able to go to a grand ball for the prince where they fall in love and she leaves her glass slipper behind. The prince with the help of the grand duke searches the whole kingdom to find the glass who wears the glass slipper and when she is found, Cinderella marries the prince and they leave happily ever after.
The Cinderella movie does not deviate too far from that. Lily James who plays Cinderella (Ella) grows up in a loving family. Her mother teaches her to be kind and have a good heart. After her mother’s death, her father decides to marry and her stepmother (Cate Blanchett) comes to the house with her two terrible daughters (Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera). At first, they don’t really treat her badly but when her father dies and the servants are let go, Cinderella is forced to be the maid. They give her the nickname Cinderella.
Cinderella has a chance meeting with the prince (Richard Madden) in the forest but she does not know he is the prince. The king (Derek Jacobi) who is dying holds a ball to get his son married because he wants to see him married before he dies. The whole kingdom is invited, but Cinderella’s stepmother tears her dress so Cinderella is left at home while her sisters go to the ball. Her fairy godmother appears and makes things right so that Cinderella can attend the ball including giving her some beautiful glass slippers.
The story stays quite close to the classic tales, although there are a few surprises which give the story a nice twist and make it not so predictable. It is a mesmerizing tale that will keep audiences glued to their seats until the very end.
Lily James as Cinderella is a character to fall in love with, with her sweetness and innocence. Her mother told her to have courage and always be kind. She tries to live up to her mother’s words even when it is difficult to do so.
All the actors bring out their characters extremely well. The acting is very good. The main characters of Cinderella, the evil stepmother and the Prince are brought out really well. I did, however, find the character of the fairy godmother to be a bit odd, one would have expected her to show intelligence but she acted like a silly fairy.
The score complements the story and makes the story come alive. The costumes are beautifully made, the sets well done and the movie is filled with colour.
The one issue I have is that the story is not spiced up but sticks pretty much to the original script. I had hoped there would be really big twists that would make the story more original and give fans a different take on the Cinderella tale but this was not to be.
This is a great movie to watch as a family. I would give it 4 stars for the great acting and characters you can fall in love with or hate). It is rated PG so it is suitable for all ages.
The movie is directed by Kenneth Branagh. It is written by Aline Brosh McKenna and Chris Weitz. The movie runs for 1 hour 45 minutes.
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