By Kellen Quigley
Staff Writer
Disney remade ‘Cinderella’ with impressive changes and its classic magic.
With all the live-action remakes of traditional fairytales in recent years, a retelling of “Cinderella” was only a matter of time. While others like “Snow White and the Huntsman” and “Maleficent” changed quite a bit for a fresher story, this version of “Cinderella” changed little; what was changed or had been added only helped this become the best Disney remake yet.
Directed by Kenneth Branagh, best known for his Shakespeare film adaptations of “Henry V” and “Hamlet,” this is the story of Ella (Lily James) who, after the sudden death of her father, finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and her daughters. Never one to give up hope, Ella’s fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger (James Madden) in the woods. For the few who don’t know the story from there, spoilers will be withheld.
After only 10 minutes, it seemed like this story had become a real-life fairytale. The production value and look of the movie remained impressive from the opening shot to the end credits. Everything from the costumes, hair and makeup to the set design and cinematography stuck out as fantastically beautiful while still appearing realistic.
As stunning as the scenery was, the excellent cast enhanced the world even more.
James, best known for her “Downton Abbey” role, portrayed a Cinderella with more backstory than the 1950’s version had, helping give her more character, which in turn helped the audience feel more for her situation. James made these extra scenes her own, showing how caring and strong Cinderella can be in the face of losing her parents and dealing with her awful new family.
In Ella’s new family, Blanchett portrays the devious stepmother with virtually no redeemable features. While Blanchett, best known for her role in the “The Lord of the Rings” series, is renowned for playing more complex characters, the stepmother is just plain evil. Blanchett made the stepmother as enjoyably revolting as possible, and the character is memorable because of it.
The amount of time and development given to the prince was the nicest change of all. Where the 1950’s prince had maybe three lines and no character, this prince is a key player in the plot, and viewers get some depth from him. Madden, best known for his “Game of Thrones” role, is no stranger to playing royalty, and he fits that stereotypical fairytale prince who’s always charming and always smiling with a sparkle in his eye.
The prince’s character development directly tied into the king’s and the duke’s stories, too. In the 1950 version they are just there—no profound motivation and no character outside comic relief. Here, they’re involved in a Disney version of a political thriller. The king, played by Derek Jacobi, is dying of an unidentified disease and wants his son to marry before he passes.
Meanwhile, the duke, played by Stellan Skarsgård, has ulterior motives of taking power away from the prince for “the good of the kingdom.” The conflict between the king and the duke each trying to rule the kingdom as they see fit added more to the story than just fairy dust.
Helena Bonham Carter played the fairy godmother, and oh boy was she goofy. At this point, the serious aspects of the story took a dive into just making kids laugh. The snarky one liners were fun, but were definitely aimed at kindergarteners. They did not further the plot, even if Carter’s scene was needed.
This movie is a gem that hooks viewers from “Once upon a time” to “they lived happily ever after.” It’s beautiful to look at, the characters are portrayed realistically and the overall message shined through. Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo over to the nearest theater and see for yourself.
quiglekm11@bonaventure.edu
