Review of Cinderella

Initial Thought: I have to admit when I saw this I got pissed off. I thought the classic animated film was great. I guess it should be expected though these days. It's just we basically got another Cinderella just recently with Into the Woods. Oh well I was curious to see how everything went.

Characters/Acting: The cast here is quite good with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter, and Stella Skarsgard. So we do get acknowledgement about her name. It was weird seeing Robb Stark in such a joyous mood. The acting is quite good given the cast involved. All the characters were well written. They just didn't do much different with them.

Story: It's the same story as always. Cinderella is raised by her cruel stepmother and bullied by her stepsister after her father passes away. The only difference is she is called Ella for some reason. It seems to go a very little more in depth with Cinderella's background. The costumes are great and the cinematography is quite beautiful. We get references to some of our favorite songs from the animated feature. I would have liked this more with musical numbers. One thing I have always wondered is how the slippers don't disappear when the spell wears off. I mean is it a different spell entirely or they just wanted to make it easy for the story? I thought the transformation scenes were quite humorous. Okay how the hell did Lady Tremaine find the freaking glass slipper?! There is one moment of singing, but I would hardly consider it like a musical moment the way it is presented. The only time we actually get the actors singing is during the credits where Lily James sings "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and Helena Bonham Carter sings "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo". The ending kind of looked like Frozen in the way the palace looks during winter.

Directing/Writing: Kenneth Branagh is quite well known as both director and an actor. He has directed such films like Jack Ryan and Thor. Another actor and director by the name of Chris Weitz works behind the scenes as the screenwriter. His most notable works as director/writer are The Golden Compass and About a Boy. With these two behind the project I'm sure it will be good.

Final Thought: I thought it was cute albeit quite average. The magic just wasn't there for me without the music. It had a few pretty funny moments. I just wasn't all that impressed with it. They didn't do anything new with the story except maybe for Cinderella's history. That just wasn't enough for me though. It might be a good one for the family. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I would watch the original again, but not this one.