As part of its Disney Fairy Tale Weddings collection, Alfred Angelo has introduced a new Cinderella wedding gown. Costume designer Sandy Powell’s hand-painted dress, worn by actress Lily James in the Disney live-action film Cinderella has been reimagined into a wedding dress fit for a… Read More »Alfred Angelo Bridal Introduces Cinderella Wedding Gown to Fairy Tale Wedding Collection
Walt Disney’s original animated classic “Cinderella” was visually stunning and masterfully animated. Based on a fairy tale from Charles Perrault, and with beautiful songs and orchestration, it won over theater audiences and helped cement the Disney Studios as the leader in feature animation.
So when news came out that Disney was remaking the movie with a live action cast, the question was why? When I heard that Kenneth Branagh would be directing, I felt a bit better. But it was costume designer Sandy Powell’s costumes that really sealed the deal for me. Even if Cinderella was a 2 hour parade of Powell’s gorgeous costumes, I would have left satisfied.
The good news, is that the rest of the movie works too. It is a refreshing take on the fairy tale that we all know and love with lessons we can all take to heart. Branagh revisited the original Perrault fairy tale and incorporated some more modern motivations to make the film more relevant for today’s audiences. The story actually works better once Cinderella (Lily James) has a little agency.
That agency is delivered to Ella by her parents. First by her mom (played suitably by Hayley Atwell) who tells her to “have courage and be kind,” and by her father who teachs her the strength to endure. She’ll need both of these in spades once her parents die (at least both mom and dad die in this one instead of just mom). Actually dying parents is a fairly strong theme in this movie, something to be aware of if your kids have recently lost any one close to them.
I just got out of seeing Cinderella in IMAX, and boy do I have some thoughts. Time for another “Thoughts During Movies” segment. For those unaware, I tend to have a lot of random tidbits I think about during Disney films, and instead of a regular review, I give you my stream of consciousness to show you how the movie was for me. If that didn’t make any sense…just read below and you’ll get the gist.
In this new featurette for Disney’s Cinderella, Cate Blanchett talks about what it was like to play Lady Tremaine. You also hear from Kenneth Branagh about his thoughts for the evil stepmother. It must have been a lot of fun to play so wicked a… Read More »Disney’s Cinderella – Cate Blanchett featurette
Editors Note: Please welcome new guest author Sabrina Jones:
The newest Disney movie coming to the big screen is ‘Cinderella’ as a live-action remake of the famous Disney animated film of the same name. The new ‘Cinderella’ stars Lily James (Wrath of the Titans, Downtown Abbey) as the title character, Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) as Prince Charming, Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings, Benjamin Button) as the deliciously evil stepmother Lady Tremain, and finally Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter, almost any Tim Burton film) as the newly re-designed Fairy Godmother.
This newest re-telling of the Cinderella story brings a new live-action, modern re-telling. Now lets take a trip down memory lane and realize that this is not the first time Disney has done a modern re-telling of a live-action Cinderella. In 1997, there was the updated Rodgers and Hammerstein ‘Cinderella’ made as a direct to TV movie for the ‘Wonderful World of Disney’ series. This version starred Brandy Norwood (Moesha) as Cinderella, Paolo Montalban (Mortal Kombat) as the Prince, Bernadette Peters (Broadway Goddess!) as the evil Stepmother, and Whitney Houston (no explanation needed) as the Fairy Godmother. Each of these films is quite different.
Read More »Disney’s Live-Action Battle: Brandy’s 1997 ‘Cinderella’ vs. Lily James’ 2015 ‘Cinderella’
Reviews are pouring in for Disney’s Cinderella and a new trailer has been released highlighting the positive remarks. Order your tickets to see Cinderella today through Fandango and a small portion will help The Disney Blog continue. Thank you Previously: Cinderella Trailer #1 and Trailer… Read More »Disney’s Cinderella opens on Friday – New Trailer
To be perfectly honest, the part of Cinderella I was most worried about was the transformation from rags to the beautiful ballgown by the Fairy Godmother. It was such an iconic moment animated skillfully by the master of the craft – Marc Davis. I needed… Read More »New Cinderella Clip: The Spell Will Be Broken
I attended a Press Screening of Disney’s Cinderella this week and while I’m embargoed from giving my review, I can tell you that I also saw the new animated short – Frozen Fever. It’s cute and gives all the movie’s main players at least a… Read More »Cinderella Fever