"I Can't Drive. I'm a Goose."
Cinderella’s a simple story, and there’s few ways you can tell it without straying too far from the source material. That being said, Kenneth Branaugh’s latest adaptation does a great job of identifying everything that makes the fable tick and making the story seem, if not new, then vibrant and engaging.
Considering that it’s weird that Disney’s doing ANOTHER adaptation of this story that makes little sense as a narrative, this take won me over, and I give most of the credit to the stunning visuals and Branaugh’s direction. The story takes time to unfold, starting when Cinderella is a baby and slowly detailing every event in her life that led to her eventual marriage with the prince of her kingdom. Because such solid attention is paid to the human details, Cinderella’s story makes its own little transformation from one about a girl who goes along with life without complaining and is rewarded for her compliance to one about a young woman who makes every effort to be kind and loving, even to people who don’t deserve it. Cinderella’s greatest flaw is that she’s a martyr, and Lily James does such a wonderful job radiating generosity and trust that you not only see that flaw, but see why she does what she does and understand that the choices she makes are the best she possibly can under her circumstances. Branaugh’s story is about a girl who once had love and compassion in her life, lost it, and places faith in the universe so that love will return to her life again someday, which is really the point of the original fairy tale.
Once again, though, if you don’t like the story of Cinderella, you’re not going to find much here to change your mind. The film does not stray far from the fable, or even more specifically from DISNEY’S version of the fable (right down to Cinderella’s rat friends). As such, the viewer has to let a lot of things go and immerse themselves in the stunning visuals (particular props to the costume design) and fairy tale whimsy (provided in large part by Helena Bonham Carter’s turn as the Fairy Godmother). For some reason, a lot of the logical flaws of Cinderella’s story stood out to me in this retelling (why doesn’t the glass slipper disappear after midnight? Why does Ella’s father marry a woman who is obviously so heinous after losing his first wife, the kindest soul on Earth? Why IS the Prince so willing to put his kingdom in an awkward diplomatic situation for the sake of some girl he met in the woods?), but it does NO GOOD to ponder those flaws. It’s a children’s movie at its core, in the way a lot of recent live Disney adaptations haven’t been (coughMaleficentcough), and the crowd that’s going to enjoy this the most are young girls (although there’s enough comedy and action in this film to probably appeal to little boys, too). I almost feel bad critiquing it; any negative criticism I could lob this movie’s way would miss the entire point of the story.
"Cinderella"’s a beautiful adaptation by a company that loves to prove that they know exactly what they’re doing, thank you very much. Young children and their families should enjoy it for years to come, at least until someone can make a CGI dress transformation that looks even prettier.
DRINK:
Champagne. What else?
Possible rules:
-Drink whenever the words "have courage and be kind" are spoken, or any variation.
-Drink when someone is called by their title.
-Drink when the Prince is called by his real name. Kit. It's Kit.
-Drink when Cinderella talks about one of her parents.
-Drink when Cinderella cries. It's such pretty crying, though.
This review was written by Hollis Beck (Krissy Pappau). "Cinderella" was produced and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is rated "PG" with a runtime of 112 minutes.
Once again, though, if you don’t like the story of Cinderella, you’re not going to find much here to change your mind. The film does not stray far from the fable, or even more specifically from DISNEY’S version of the fable (right down to Cinderella’s rat friends). As such, the viewer has to let a lot of things go and immerse themselves in the stunning visuals (particular props to the costume design) and fairy tale whimsy (provided in large part by Helena Bonham Carter’s turn as the Fairy Godmother). For some reason, a lot of the logical flaws of Cinderella’s story stood out to me in this retelling (why doesn’t the glass slipper disappear after midnight? Why does Ella’s father marry a woman who is obviously so heinous after losing his first wife, the kindest soul on Earth? Why IS the Prince so willing to put his kingdom in an awkward diplomatic situation for the sake of some girl he met in the woods?), but it does NO GOOD to ponder those flaws. It’s a children’s movie at its core, in the way a lot of recent live Disney adaptations haven’t been (coughMaleficentcough), and the crowd that’s going to enjoy this the most are young girls (although there’s enough comedy and action in this film to probably appeal to little boys, too). I almost feel bad critiquing it; any negative criticism I could lob this movie’s way would miss the entire point of the story.
"Cinderella"’s a beautiful adaptation by a company that loves to prove that they know exactly what they’re doing, thank you very much. Young children and their families should enjoy it for years to come, at least until someone can make a CGI dress transformation that looks even prettier.
DRINK:
Champagne. What else?
Possible rules:
-Drink whenever the words "have courage and be kind" are spoken, or any variation.
-Drink when someone is called by their title.
-Drink when the Prince is called by his real name. Kit. It's Kit.
-Drink when Cinderella talks about one of her parents.
-Drink when Cinderella cries. It's such pretty crying, though.
This review was written by Hollis Beck (Krissy Pappau). "Cinderella" was produced and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is rated "PG" with a runtime of 112 minutes.
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