CINDERELLA, starring Lily James

cinderella

I’m not sure I have much to say here. Cinderella is a lovely movie with lovely people and a lovely setting, following the Disney storyline very closely, with a little bit of new intrigue to make the ending interesting.

The dress is extremely beautiful (a deeper blue than in the picture above), as are the glass slippers, which, Fairy Godmother explains, are very comfortable. Good to know. Otherwise, ouch, amirite?

Naturally, everyone will want to see this movie. It’s beautiful, sweet, heartwarming, and has a satisfying ending. That said, it’s not my favorite Cinderella. I liked Ever After and the one with Brandi as Cinderella (Whitney Houston as the godmother, Bernadette Peters as the stepmother) better. I may even like the Disney cartoon better, because it doesn’t bother me so much that a cartoon Cinderella would love a mouse named Gus Gus, while it sort of did bother me that a live Cinderella does. Lucifer the cat is also funnier and more evil in the cartoon.

Lily James is simply lovely as Cinderella, and I don’t think a better casting choice could be imagined. Also from our favorite morally-conflicted drama, Assistant Cook Daisy (Sophie McShera) is stepsister Drizella. Cate Blanchett is a wicked, wicked stepmother. Helena Bonham Carter is the fairy godmother. (Stay through the credits and you’ll get to hear her sing.)

It’s all good (did I mention lovely?), but you’ve seen it before. Take your kids or grandkids. They’ll love it.

Disney’s all about these live-action remakes now. Beauty and the Beast is coming up with Emma Watson in the lead role. I don’t blame them, especially now that technology has caught up to vision, and we can have Gus Gus the fat mouse do his thing and lizards convincingly turn into footmen. Still, it might be nice if they’d tinker with the storylines a bit more, to keep our interest a little better.

[NOTE: The short feature prior to the movie is worth the price of admission. It’s Frozen Fever. Elsa wants to give Ana the best birthday party ever, even though she (Elsa) has a wicked cold. It’s magical and fun.]