The Film
Cinderella has always been a beauty. What she's never been is a modern woman, a bad-ass or any sort of role model. I guess you have to be a bit of a free-spirit to talk to rodents and let them co-design your clothes, so I'll give her that one. Otherwise, director Kenneth Branagh didn't find it necessary to change a thing in this live-action remake. His Cinderella delivers a different type of 3D makeover, but she's still basically a beautiful doormat. So what's the point?
As a child (played by Eloise Webb), we see Ella lose her mother (a blonde Hayley Atwell, aka Peggy Carter), who makes the young girl promise to be kind and brave. Well, then her father dies. Even through the tragedies and tears, Ella never loses that twinkle. Downton Abbey's Lily James is picture-perfect as the grown-up Ella. Whether she's weepy, dirty or just lacing up the pointy boots of her wicked stepmother (Cate Blanchett), she personifies the ultimate Disney princess.
But see, that's the problem. Cinderella is the same Disney princess we saw 65 years ago. Nothing's changed. Sure, Blanchett does an awesome job throwing shade and Helena Bonham Carter injects some much needed magic as the Fairy Godmother. However, neither character is fleshed out very well in the film's 105 minutes. Instead, it's all about the title character, her sadness, and how a prince (Richard Madden) who knows absolutely nothing about her can change all of that.
Cinderella isn't a bad movie. It's just the exact same movie you've seen a million times before. And that doesn't seem necessary when there's still so much charm left in the 1950s cartoon. This just seemed like a chance to do something different. However, instead of modernizing the tale so that maybe little girls don't think the prince is the be-all-end-all, Branagh just churned out a carbon-copy of the Disney original -- but without some of the Disney magic.
This is just 105 minutes of the title character cleaning and pining for her dear prince. Oh sure, she plays coy. So feisty! However, Cinderella is just the same story without the animation, talking mice and songs from the 1950s version. In other words, it's kind of boring.
The Picture
Disney isn't going to tarnish our Cinderella; this 2.39:1 image is a real beauty. The scenery is filled with blue skies, lush greens, and plenty of other eye candy. The color palette on the characters is particularly stunning. Ella wears a lovely shade of blue throughout most of the movie and the dresses worn by Drisella and Anastasia are just as spectacular. The rest of the surrounding outfits, especially during the ball scene, are all very bold and beautiful as well. The detail is just as nice, from the father's plush red smoking jacket and the sisters' hairdos to the various dresses at the ball. Even Ella's dirty face looks gorgeous here.
The Sound
This House of Mouse has given this Blu-ray a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track that's worthy of Disney's most famous princess. It's a dialogue-heavy movie, but there are plenty of immersive moments to make full use of this track. Horses, the carriage, the entire Fairy Godmother segment, and even the ball do stand out here. However, the film's soundtrack is the real star, playing through the soundfield with a surprising amount of force.
The Extras
The extras included with Cinderella are more of a hodgepodge than the stuff the Fairy Godmother uses to work her magic. There's an alternate opening and a short on the animals in the film. There's also a whopping three minutes dedicated to costumes, which seems insanely short since they are one of the best things about the movie. Even worse, it says absolutely nothing about them. Instead, it's a musical mashup with clips and outtakes from the film. There are two lengthier featurettes as well. "A Fairy Tale Comes to Life" covers the origin of the movie, the actors and the overall story in a little over 9 minutes, with the big ball scene getting its own 11 minutes. The belle of this ball is definitely "Frozen Fever," the short that was released theatrically alongside the main feature. The follow-up to the billion-dollar franchise probably brought a lot of people out to see Cinderella in the first place and it may get audiences to buy the Blu-ray as well. (Just know that it's also part of the recent Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection Blu-ray.)
Final Thoughts
Cinderella has never been a role model for little girls, but there's always been a bit of charm in the 1950s cartoon. That said, why someone would want to make a modern replica of that exact same story is anyone's guess. Where's the bad-ass we were hoping for? Playing coy doesn't count, kids. Cinderella is certainly pretty, but without the music, the talking animals and the animation, the film doesn't really have enough magic to make this worth the purchase.
Product Details
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