cinderella

I grew up with an extensive VHS Disney collection; it was my first library. As an adult, I am able to recognize all the racism and innuendos but it’s hard not to still wish upon a star or live by the problem free philosophy. Despite the terror of an old lady giving you poison apples and a mad lady putting you in a coma, there was the enchanting notion of being a princess and having a tiger for a pet. The dark storylines juxtaposed with the happy songs make for instant classics.

A couple years ago, Disney released Maleficent which, if you think about it, was the first in the trend. While not an exact retelling of the animated film, it gave us more context on the protagonist Aurora faces in Sleeping Beauty. More of an origins story, Maleficent starred Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning and grossed $758 million worldwide.

When the live action announcement of Cinderella came, I was skeptical. Not everything needs a remake. However, I was pleasantly surprised after I came out of the theater. Not only did I only have minor critiques (see said critiques here) but I actually found it enjoyable. The movie did really well in both domestic and foreign markets garnering a total of $543 million dollars. Shortly after this success Disney announced their plans to bring another title to the live action big screen.

The Jungle Book seemed like such a huge undertaking that I was sure this time they wouldn’t be able to pull it off. Talking animals are usually pretty cringe worthy. But as the news of the cast steadily rolled in over the next year or so, I started to wonder if there was something to it. Surely all of these amazing actors wouldn’t attach themselves to the project if it were hokey. Man was I wrong. The Jungle Book was the best of the remakes yet and grossed just shy of a billion dollars worldwide!

Jungle Book.jpg

This added an insane amount of fuel to the fire that has become live action. After The Jungle Book’s massive success Disney announced plans for a whole slew of titles to be released over the next five years and a slew if definitely not an exaggeration.First, Beauty and the Beast will come to theaters. This is being hyped beyond belief with nothing but stills and a few seconds long teaser released so far, with Emma Watson playing Belle. Then, Cruella is getting her own film and so is Tinker Bell. Dumbo is getting a new take from the mind of Tim Burton (I really don’t understand how this is going to happen but maybe this will be better than his Alice movies). And just this past weekend it was announced that Guy Ritchie will be at the helm of the Aladdin film. This is another stumper in that Genie is so heavily associated with Robbin Williams and the recreation this character is hard to imagine. Also this weekend it was announced that the script for The Lion King now has a confirmed writer. We can only hope that titles like Aladdin and Mulan won’t be whitewashed and will reflect their characters and cultures appropriately.

I really enjoy that my doubt has been proven wrong thus far but these are pretty lofty goals they are setting.

disney_characters_by_ficklestix

So yesterday I decided I was going to treat myself to a movie. It’s nice to go to the theater once in a while on your own; you get both armrests, as much of the popcorn as you want, and no one whispering during key moments. I decided upon Cinderella after much deliberation and was the only person in the theater not accompanied by children but hey, that’s okay.

Before I get to my comments on the movie as a whole I want to address one scene in particular in which our fair maiden was writing in a diary. That, in itself is harmless, however Cinderella was writing not with a pen or quill or feather but with a No. 2 pencil! Really?! What was that Disney?! I know that is a very small detail in the grand scope of things but it really bothered me.

Aside from the two seconds of said pencils’ screen time, the movie was good. The kingdom with all its foliage and architecture was gorgeous. Ella (as she was known before Cinder became the prefix) lives in a beautiful manor with all the happy animals from the cartoon. The town outside the palace looked very cheerful, kind of Beauty and The Beast -ish. Maybe a hint of what’s to come with Disney’s 2016 adaptation.

Cate Blanchet truly scared me as the iconic Stepmother and Lily James was such a delight. Helena Bonham Carter was a good fairy godmother. I liked the fact that she didn’t really seem like she knew what she was doing. And while bibbity bobbity boo was severely under used I still think she did a good job. Also, she was our narrator throughout. The story could’ve totally been told without the exposition cheat, especially because this is such a well known story, but whatevs. Finally, when Richard Madden dazzled us with his pearly whites while professing his love to our title character, one couldn’t help but melt and sigh (yes, I realize they had only met twice but still).

The production was beautiful, as were the costumes. I felt completely immersed in the kingdom. There was the same level of magic and wonder felt in the cartoon and I think they did a great job with their storyline tweaks. There was nothing major or plot altering done to the story but there were some scene additions that flowed seamlessly.

Points off for the cheating narration and the pencil. Final score: 4 out of 5

that ending though

All aboard the live action train

The New Cinderella