It’s the weekend and you are searching for something to watch with the family. You flip from channel to channel and it’s nothing but re-run after re-run. The squad is becoming increasingly restless and you are out of answers. Well, no need to fear because I have the cure for your predicament and that is Disney’s live action Cinderella (now out on DVD and on-demand).
In the new live-action Cinderella, It’s Cate Blanchett who shines. She plays the evil stepmother lady Tremayne and she is determined to get her rambunctious daughters (Sophie McShera and Holliday Grainger) into royal circles, she does whatever she can to put them over. If that means she has to be cruel to her stepdaughter Ella (Lily James), she seems to be okay with it.
When her father dies, her step-mother moves her to the attic where her only friends are the mice who call it home. To make matters worse, she is expected to wait on the entitled sisters and love her wicked step-mother.
When Ella finally loses it emotionally, she escapes to the woods and she meets the prince (Richard Madden) and, instantly, there’s a love connection. To find this mystery woman, he plans a ball that’s open to every maiden in the kingdom. Helena Bonham Carter steps in as her fairy godmother and magically transforms her into a illuminating mysterious (to anyone who sees her in this breathtaking outfit) maiden who’s ready for the ball. She turns a tattered dress into an immaculate blue ball gown. We of course have the “glass slipper” element to the story which is important to propelling Cinderella’s love story.
Kenneth Branagh (the director) pushes out a new mantra, “Have courage and be kind,” and it works in spades. The costumes and sets are very typical of what you would see in Disney film. Richard Madden and Lily James are brilliant choices for the prince and princess in this love story. The only downside to the DVD is that it doesn’t have many extras of note except for the short Frozen Fever (the Frozen short that was seen in the theater). To put it simply, Cinderella is a magical experience and you should check out this live action adaptation today.
