Cinderella is preceded by a new Disney short called Frozen Fever, a rather entertaining return for Elsa and Anna with the former trying to deal with a cold that has some side effects causing some magical problems while she is trying to organize Anna’s birthday party. Other cast favorites including Olaf the Snowman make appearance, and overall it’s rather sweet and entertaining, notably with one moment that Biff Tannen himself would shudder at. The Frozen phenomenon continues unabated, and this short shows there’s still charm in the characters yet, even if the musical numbers feel a little like rehashed versions from the original movie.
Disney is synonymous with Princesses and their Prince Charmings, fairy tales and the traditional happily ever after. Over the years the basic format of these tales have remained but matured from The Little Mermaid to Mulan, then (through association with Pixar) Brave, and recently Frozen. Each step has shown a gradual empowerment of the female protagonist, a more mature and socially relevant heroine for children to aspire to.
Last year, Disney made a foray into a live action retelling of one aspect of their most popular films, Sleeping Beauty, focusing on the (tragic?) villainous character in Maleficent. Now, Cinderella seems to mark the beginning of a new trend, straightup remakes of old animated favorites (next up being Beauty and the Beast). So the question is not only whether Cinderella is a good film, but how it fits into the more progressive direction Disney has been heading.
The answer, it doesn’t. Cinderella is a throwback, a retelling of the old classic fairy tale with no progression or real change. The story is as you remember. A young girl named Ella (Eloise Webb) loses her kind and loving mother (Haley Atwell) to sickness, being left with the mantra “Have courage and be kind.” Raised by her father (Ben Chaplin), she embraced these words and grows to be a kind soul. Her father eventually remarries years later, choosing the recently widowed socialite Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett), who has two daughters of her own, the spoiled and selfish Anastasia and Drizella (Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera). After her father dies on a business trip, her “wicked” step-mother and sisters take advantage of her good nature, eventually relegating her to no more than a maid in her own home. A chance encounter with a charming stranger (Richard Madden) in the woods offers a chance of escape and happiness, with Ella unaware of his true identity as prince of the kingdom. A royal ball gives them a chance for them to reunite, but her attendance is blocked by her stepmother. However, a kind old lady identifying herself as Ella’s fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) appears determined to ensure the poor girl will go to the ball.
Much of the film rests on Lily James, and while she starts off a little cloying, notably overshadowed by a strong turn from Hayley Atwell as her mother at the beginning of the film, she starts to endear herself to you as the film goes on. There is a innocene about her that makes her rather sympathetic and someone to root for. Her chemistry with Madden is actually believable, largely due to his down to earth charms and a more fleshed out role concerning his duties to the kingdom and his father.
Blanchett revels in the “wicked” step-mother role, but the script hardly gives her anything to give the character depth or even sympathy aside from one scene where she overheard Ella and her father discussing how much hey miss her mother. Together with the daughters they form a deliberate grating presence in the film and spark some of the more entertaining sequences. Helena Bonham Carter is…Helena Bonham Carter, a ditzy, off the wall character as the fairy godmother. It’s hard to tell these days which appearance of hers is real and which is CGI’d, though. I’m thinking the first one. The only real weak spot in the cast is Derek Jacobi’s wig, utterly shocking and probably the most fake looking addition to a film since that baby in American Sniper.
While there is a sense that regurgitating these classic tales/animations as live action films is a bit of a cash grab, it cannot be denied that care and attention has been lavished on this adaptation, not least by director Kenneth Branagh. With his background in the theatrical, particularly Shakespeare, he seems the perfect fit for this project and proves just that. The theatrical is embraced with impressive production design, heart strings are tugged, and he adds a gloss through effective use of CGI — not as outlandish as Maleficent, but enough to craft a world with a slight ethereal tint. It’s similar to that he bestowed upon Thor, but it is a much better fit here. He shows some ambition to expand on the original tale, expanding on the relationship between Ella and her parents as well as the one between the prince and his father. Themes of duty and sacrifice work well to deepen the emotional side of the film and put the “love at first sight” aspect into more believable context.
While these efforts are made the fact remains that girls of today have stronger role models in film and TV to look to. The idea of a Prince Charming swooping a girl off her feet and making everything better jars with the reality that a strong, confident woman is more than capable of sorting her own troubles out. The film looks more towards the nature of sacrifice than just being a put upon girl; Cinderella stays from duty and devotion to her home to honor her parents, which is something more resonant. The beauty and goodness of Cinderella within, not just in appearance, is what contrasts against her “ugly” step-family; the message the film tries to impart is how kindness wins out, but with the story being as it is, the antiquated nature of the gender politics here always lingers. In spite of this, Cinderella, while ultimately a rather simple and shallow tale, is told here with a charm and sparkle. While it doesn’t surpass the timelessness of the original animated classic, it does enough to be appreciated in it’s own right.
Wondering if Disney making a film about a fairy tale is going to be good is like questioning the BBC’s ability to make a period drama. Of course it’s going to be good, the question is how good and its broader appeal.
While it’s easy (and justified) to criticize the film’s antiquated gender politics, it’s probably best to check your cynicism at the door and enjoy it for what it is: a simple retelling of a classic, done with a lot of love and a little bit of magic.
Originally published at old.cinapse.co on March 13, 2015.