Cinderella

Disney films were a big part of my childhood and I drove my parents mad with them, playing them repeatedly which I'm surprised didn't break them eventually given that I was born in the VHS era.  It's still the same 23 years down the line, my fascination with all things Disney hasn't subsided, it may have intensified, as I continue to go and see them at the cinema and watch them at home.  This time, my mum and I went to see the latest Disney film out at the cinema, Cinderella, as we both enjoy the Disney Classic and the characters in it.

Cinderella is the 2015 romantic fantasy directed by Kenneth Branagh based on the fairy tale of the same name and borrows elements from the 1950 animated Disney Classic of the same name.  Lily James (Downton Abbey, Wrath of the Titans) and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Hope Springs) star as the romantic leads with other members of the cast including Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings series, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Stellan Skarsgård (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Good Will Hunting), Holliday Grainger (The Borgias, Jane Eyre), Sophie McShera (Downton Abbey, Highway to Dhampus), Derek Jacobi (Underworld Evolution, The King's Speech), Nonso Anozie (Dracula, The Grey), Ben Chaplin (Dorian Gray, Dates), Hayley Atwell (Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Duchess), and Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter series, The King's Speech).

Rating: 10

Recommended To: Cinderella fans; Disney fans

Favourite Characters: The Prince/Kit

Favourite Part: King: You must not marry for advantage.  You must marry for love.  Find that girl.  Find her, the one they're all talking about.  The forgetful one who loses her shoes.
Prince/Kit: [at the same time] Loses her shoes. [laughs and smiles]
King: [laughs and smiles at the Prince/Kit] Be cheerful, boy.
Prince/Kit: Thank you, father.
King: Thank you, Kit.  I love you, son.
Prince/Kit: I love you father.

Good Points: Cast were fantastic; production design; the way magic was involved; wonderful adaptation

Bad Points: Very twee

Cinderella tells Ella's (James) story from her childhood until her early adulthood; she grew up with her parents on a stunning estate where she has free reign to play with the animals and mingle with the servants.  Ella's father (Chaplin) travels frequently for his business but always comes back with something for Ella, even if it is simple and seemingly insignificant, while her mother (Atwell) cares for her daughter at home, teaching her to believe in magic; it seems everything is perfect for the young girl until her mother falls ill and dies.  On her deathbed, Ella's mother makes the young girl promise to always have courage and show kindness to others, something that drives Ella all the way through Cinderella.  In her teens, Ella's father marries Lady Tremaine (Blanchett), a widow, who moves into their estate with her daughters, Drisella (McShera) and Anastasia (Grainger); Lady Tremaine takes advantage of her new husband's wealth and spends excessively on parties.  Ella's father continues to travel for business and on his latest trip, during which Ella is left with Tremaine and her daughters and their true cruel nature comes out as Tremaine forces Ella to give up her room and live in the attic, Ella and her stepfamily receive word that he has fallen ill and died.  So to conserve what little money they will have, Tremaine dismisses all of the servants, leaving Ella to take up all of the slack to the point of where she decides to stay downstairs near the fireplace rather than go to her cold room one night.  Dubbed "Cinderella" by her stepsisters the next morning because of her appearance, Ella flees from their cruelty and her family home to the woods where she comes across a hunting party pursuing a deer which causes her to meet a charming young man who calls himself Kit (Madden).  The two click instantly and a magical story begins to unfold.

I loved the entire cast as they were an accurate portrayal of characters from the original Disney film but were further developed so that they stood out and became more three dimensional which made it hard for me to pick a favourite character as I thought they were all equally wonderful, even the antagonists.  Sometime even where there is a wonderful cast such as this, they can occasionally fall flat when they interact with one another but from my perspective in my cinema seat, they bounced off another, meshing well together, making the story even more believable as they bring it to life as if these are real conversations and not scripted and each character shone in their own way, living out their own respective lives as if the film is about them and not just about Ella.

The entire look and production design of Cinderella was superb from the costumes and the sets to the effects as everything was detailed beyond belief and the entire film felt very opulent which I would expect nothing less from Kenneth Branagh as it is all stunning.  The butterfly motif that ran throughout Cinderella, becoming a symbol for Ella at the very start, allowed costumers to design her fabulous dresses which were simple yet elegant with a consistent theme, making her stand out from her garish stepfamily who were dressed in jewel colours as she practically flouted in the presence of the Prince.

The way magic was incorporated into this adaptation of Cinderella was fantastic because even though Ella's Fairy Godmother (Bonham Carter) transforms various items everything Ella needs, you can still see elements of their original forms.  The newts for example that were turned into footmen still had next features; this was a brilliant part of the design because it made the magic more believable and more realistic, alluding that the magic isn't a permanent fixture and the animals are still themselves.

Cinderella is a wonderful adaptation of the classic fairy tale as well as the original Disney animated film in my opinion because there are clear references to both the original story and animated film but they also brought something different to it so that it stands out against other adaptations, not just the Disney one.  While in the original Disney film, just like in many of the other earlier Disney Princess films, the prince in Cinderella was just there for Cinderella to fall in love with, but this time around, as a lot of the male characters do now in Disney films, the Prince AKA Kit, plays a much more significant role in the story.  There is more interaction shown between Ella and Kit, making the love at first sight more believable because they actually speak and learn a bit about one another's character before midnight at the ball.  As well as the prince becoming more involved, the inner workings of the castle are shown more, showing what Kit's life is like and his relationship with his father, the King (Jacobi).  These were some of my favourite parts because it made the prince more dimensional, rather than a background character or prop for Ella to dance with.

I was floored by Madden's prince and he won my heart by being an adorable, charming, modest character as you would expect from a character based on the original Cinderella's Prince Charming.  He drew me in (with the humour he brought to his lines) as he laughed and joked with Ella, the captain (Anozie), and his father, something that made him more three dimensional as he has a personality.  One contributing factor to him being my favourite character was that he tugged on my heartstrings, especially when he's with his father, because I found his performance extremely believable and moving as he became concerned about his father and I think my dark heart broke during one particular scene.

While I loved Cinderella for many reasons, mostly because I enjoy fairy tale and Disney films, some may Cinderella to be very twee as the story is very much like the original Disney film which was sickly sweet on its own as there was very little conflict and a soppy ending.  There could have been a bit more of an edge in this version of Cinderella which could have made it less sweet and a bit more realistic as they could have brought in a darker tone so to appeal to an older audience.

King: You must not marry for advantage.  You must marry for love.  Find that girl.  Find her, the one they're all talking about.  The forgetful one who loses her shoes.
Prince/Kit: [at the same time] Loses her shoes. [laughs and smiles]
King: [laughs and smiles at the Prince/Kit] Be cheerful, boy.
Prince/Kit: Thank you, father.
King: Thank you, Kit.  I love you, son.
Prince/Kit: I love you father.

The relationship between Kit and his father was by far my favourite part in Cinderella and this particular part embodied their relationship in my opinion.  They genuinely seemed like father and son as they laughed and joked about the girl who lost her shoe while they knew there was something serious going on that didn't really need to be dwelled on as families do because it can be painful especially given how close they are.  The King knows his son is in love with Ella and wants nothing more than his son to be happy and not have to marry someone for the sake of the kingdom like the Grand Duke (Skarsgård) wants - a quality that every father should have, to want their children to be happy.

As of this moment, Branagh's Cinderella is one of my favourite films now as it stands out from other adaptations of the original fairy tale, showing the inner workings of the castle as well as our protagonist's home, and I can't wait for the DVD to come out because I think it's an all-round great film with a great cast and beautiful production design.  Even though it may not appeal to everyone because other than the conflict right towards the end between Ella and her stepmother, Cinderella was a wonderful adaptation of both the original fairy tale as well as the original Disney Classic animated film with the cast bringing the characters that we may know from the original Disney film who were fantastic, bringing something else to the characters as well as they become more three dimensional.  True to form, Branagh brought a decadent feel to the entire production design which was wonderful because it was bright and added to the magical elements that come with this story; making the results of the magic that Ella's Fairy Godmother utilises seem more realistic was a great idea because it made the magic more believable as if it could actually happen, enabling me to suspend my disbelief better, which makes Cinderella great in my opinion.  If you're looking for a wonderful, romantic, light, happy film then I recommend Cinderella as it is wonderful and very sweet as we watch Ella and her prince fall in love.

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