This live action version of Cinderella remains truer to Grimm's version than the previous Disney animation, yet still keeps the same Disney sparkle and child-friendly appeal. Overall, I really enjoyed this film.
The all star cast only goes to show that everyone's ready to jump in when Disney's involved!
Like Grimm's story, the first branch to brush against her father's shoulder is brought to Cinderella as a present. Though in this version, her father dies, and never treats her cruelly. Truer to the old tales, she also now sleeps by the hearth for warmth at night, which is how she is given her name, 'Cinderella'. Though, keeping Disney's innocent magic alive, there are no dismembered feet or pecked out eyes in this rendition.... though surely this doesn't look comfortable!
Ella: Us girls must look out for one another
kindness is free, love is free
have courage and be kind
These quotes from (Cinder)Ella in the movie promote kindness and a collaborative nature, particularly between women. And when she says "the greatest risk we can take, to be seen as we truly are" this shows that, though it can be difficult to truly expose ourselves for who we are, it pays off in the end, as the Prince loves who she truly is.
While some may argue that Ella's response to abuse - 'have courage and be kind' - is not a good lesson to teach, I, personally, like to view this phrase with a lighter outlook. Simply that it is good to be kind and that we should be courageous in our lives.
Disney is starting to be kinder to older people too. At first, the Fairy Godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) is a weary, old woman who seeks Cinderella's help. The kind-hearted Cinderella, of course, helps this poor woman, who then, granted, does transform into a far more beautiful, younger Fairy Godmother, complete with her own ballgown. But still, a Disney movie containing a non-evil old woman is surely a step in the right direction!
This live action version also portrays males in a whole new light. The Prince, Kit, is able to show emotion and vulnerability, breaking normative male gender stereotypes. This is particularly shown as Kit cries at his dying father's bedside and curls up in the fetal position beside him after saying 'I love you father'. A perfectly normal reaction to your father's death, though hardly the sort of move Disney's older Prince's would have made. Yet no one can say that Kit (Richard Madden) is not a 'man'. This modern Prince is portrayed with strength, humility, kindness and vulnerability. Who doesn't want to be swept off their feet by that...or quite frankly just Richard Madden!?
In this film, Cinderella and the Prince converse more - yes, they still fall in love and marry pretty quickly, but there's only so much you can change about the story and still keep it as Cinderella. Besides, this story is from a time when people didn't know each other very well before marrying. In the olden days it was common for a man to court a woman before marrying, but they still spent hardly any time together, and most of this precious time was most likely spent with a chaperone. Cinderella is, quite frankly, a time old tale, and if we want more progressive Princesses, we simply have to make new ones. Like Pixar did with Brave.
And of course, we all love a good happy ending. Cinderella marries er Prince, and they are the fairest and kindest rulers of the Kingdom that ever there were. And the Duke, the step-mother and step-sisters were banished from the Kingdom (with all their eyes in tact!).
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