Disney’s
decision to start making live-action adaptations of their old fairy tale
animations has been a financial success. They began in 2010 with Alice
in Wonderland, which grossed over $1 billion at the box office, followed
by Maleficent in
2014, which grossed over $750 million.
Although the first two made a lot of money, they received mixed to negative
reviews. However, Cinderella has been nothing but positive reviews
all the way.
Disney stayed
close to their 1950 classic. We had magic, glass slippers, and animals helping
Cinderella get by. It was magical and wonderful.
Kenneth Branagh (Thor (2011)),
the director, did something magical for the new generation. He took Charles
Perrault’s fairy tale and made it suitable for everyone.
Disney went all
out with the visual effects, and the costumes are to die for. You have to see
Cinderella’s dress as it’s magically created and the after-effect of the magic
on it—it’s beautiful. Three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell
was on board for this movie, and after seeing her work here, she deserves
another Oscar. The Cinderella gown required 18 tailors working for over 500
hours to make (talk about dedication), and guess what? They made 19 of the
gowns… do the math.
Disney went all
out to ensure this movie would be a masterpiece, and it sure was.
The plot
of Cinderella is the same as ever: Ella is the only child of her
parents. Her mother dies early, and her father later remarries Lady Tremaine,
who has two daughters (the wicked stepmother and stepsisters). After her father
dies, the stepmother and her daughters turn Ella into a servant and rename her
Cinderella because of the cinders on her face from sleeping by the fireplace.
With some magic
from her fairy godmother… well, you know the rest.
Other than being
a critical success, the movie was also a commercial success. Disney’s combined
cost of $145 million brought in over $530 million at the box office. This
movie deserved to make more money than Disney’s previous two live-action
adaptations (Alice
in Wonderland and Maleficent).
The acting by
Lily James and Cate Blanchett is enough to dazzle you. They were so good in
their portrayals of Cinderella and Lady Tremaine (Lily and Cate, respectively)
that it was hard for me to notice if the other actors in the movie could stand
close to them.
Disney has
decided to release more live-action movies based on their classic animations.
In 2016, we’ll see The
Jungle Book and Alice
Through The Looking Glass.
I really enjoyed
this movie to the fullest, although I preferred the ending of Walt Disney’s
1950 animation of the same name, which this movie was partly adapted from.
In the original, the mice had to get the key from the stepmother’s pocket, take
it up to the attic where Cinderella was locked, deal with the cat (Lucifer),
and then the dog chased the cat away. The mice then took the key safely to
Cinderella, and she escaped… the rest of the story from there was classic.
Nonetheless, you have to go see Cinderella.
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