Formula: (Maleficent * Cinderella) / Sleeping Beauty
Cast: Lily James is perfectly fine as Cinderella. She didn't blow me away, It also didn't seem like the direction she was given was much more than "breath deeply and be nice to everyone". Richard Madden as the Prince is similarly not deep as a character. Cate Blanchett is having a good time sinking her teeth into the wicked stepmother role. Sophie McShera and Holliday Granger are equally indistinguishable as the wicked stepsisters. Helena Bonham Carter appears briefly as the Fairy Godmother, soaking it up every bit as much as one of her oddball characters in a Tim Burton movie.
Plot: It's Cinderella. Do I really need to tell you the plot? No. Instead, I'll say this: It's all there. The glass slipper. Fairy godmother. Wicked step-mother/sisters. GusGus. If you are familiar with the animated movie, I can't think of a lot that Disney left out, and that's to their credit. The only appreciable difference is that there's a little more buildup at the beginning to give some context to [Cinder]Ella's situation. That's nice, because she doesn't seem like such a pushover now. This is pretty much the story you know though.
Elephant in the Room: Right, but what's different about it? Seriously, it's not that different from the story you already know, and that's a good thing. For the better part of a decade, Disney has been apologizing for its animated past with with its live action features. Enchanted deconstructed the "Disney model" of stories. Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent tried to reinterpret the classic movies with a new perspective. Even Into the Woods, while not originally created by Disney was all about them being aware of their own legacy's shortcomings. Cinderella though, is finally Disney remembering what built the brand. This movie does believe in magic. There's not a trace of irony in it and it rigidly follows the beats that we already know. Toward the end, for example, it's clear that they could skip the whole part where she puts on the glass slipper. The Prince knows who she is. "Happily ever after" is already a given, but dammit, the slipper is part of the story and they aren't going to leave anyone shortchanged. It's quite refreshing.
To Sum Things Up:
There's a cynic in me who could find a reason to not enjoy this. I'm not sure it works well without a working knowledge of the animated/classic tale. The characters aren't fully realized. It's just a silly movie. But, it's sincere. The motto of the movie is "Have courage and treat people kindly". I think that works. It's not ironic. It's not winking at the camera. It's the story you expect going in. It does justice to all the scenes that you want it to: The fairy godmother preparing Cinderella's dress and carriage, the grand ball, Cinderella racing away at the stroke of midnight. I liked it. If this is what Disney plans to do with future live-action remakes, I'm completely fine with that. The thing that makes Disney cool is that it doesn't care if it looks cool or not. Cinderella is a perfect example of that.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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