Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella

[The Mad Kiwi]

Walt Disney Pictures is working on a live-action remake of Cinderella. The project first came about May 2010 when Disney saw how successful Alice in Wonderland was. Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada) penned the first draft of the screenplay that sold Disney on the idea, but Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass) was later hired to do a rewrite. Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go) was hired to direct but ended up leaving when Disney felt his vision for the feature was too gloomy. His replacement is Kenneth Branagh (Thor).

The Cast:

Lily James (Cinderella)
Richard Madden (Prince)
Cate Blanchett (Lady Tremaine)
Holliday Grainger (Anastasia)
Sophie McShera (Drizella)
Helena Bonham Carter (Fairy Godmother)
Derek Jacobi (King)
Stellan Skarsgard (Grand Duke)
Nonso Anonzie (Captain)
Hayley Atwell (Cinderella's Mother)

The film currently carries a March 13, 2015 release date.

[akayw0718]

I'm so excited. I just can't hideeee it.

I love Lily, she's adorable. Richard Madden is quite charming, hopefully he gets the role.

I would take a Helen Mirren in the Fairy Godmother role, but she doesn't have that plump look. I know Betty White was thrown around, but that would just be a caricature.

[JavaJulien]

Disney is determined to repeat the Alice and Wonderland success.

[akayw0718]

Originally Posted by JavaJulien

Disney is determined to repeat the Alice and Wonderland success.

Well, might as well. I'm really looking forward to Maleficent.

[DisneyWorld]

AWESOME NEWS!!

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by JavaJulien

Disney is determined to repeat the Alice and Wonderland success.

Unfortunately, after THEY became a very expensive and embarrassingly overhyped part of last year's one-two punch against Tim Burton (Dark Shadows for the body blow, and Frankenweenie for the uppercut), they're going to try to distance themselves a little more from their attempts to hitch the studio to Tim & Alice--
Oz pretty much got most of the Alice urge out of their system, whether they consider that a hit or not. (It's hard to tell.) But all other Disney-canon live-action-fairytale movies are tied to Maleficent, and Maleficent is tied to Alice...They can only use "But look how much money it made!" as an excuse for so long in the face of its declining shelf life.

[King Troll]

I remember watching the black version in 4th grade

[kallima]

Not sure how I feel about this. Was not a fan of Alice in Wonderland. Went into it thinking I would LOVE it because of Tim Burton but it just disappointed me terribly. So much so that I will probably never own the movie unless it's priced at $1.

[yeslek]

Originally Posted by kallima

Not sure how I feel about this. Was not a fan of Alice in Wonderland. Went into it thinking I would LOVE it because of Tim Burton but it just disappointed me terribly. So much so that I will probably never own the movie unless it's priced at $1.

I felt a bit disappointed also. I mean, Tim Burton and Alice shoulda been a match in heaven. Especially considering the cast. But it fell extremely short.

still decent enough mind.

[X400]

I'm sorry but when did people start hating Alice in wonderland? It was great

Lily James... don't know about that at all she's not as beautiful as the animated Cinderella... and that's a cartoon!! Nor is she as nice as the Disney princesses at the theme parks.. she seems more fit for the role of Alice or even Ariel than Cinderella

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by X400

I'm sorry but when did people start hating Alice in wonderland? It was great

Lily James... don't know about that at all she's not as beautiful as the animated Cinderella... and that's a cartoon!! Nor is she as nice as the Disney princesses at the theme parks.. she seems more fit for the role of Alice or even Ariel than Cinderella

People have hated Alice in Wonderland since it came out...people like me.

[JavaJulien]

Originally Posted by X400

I'm sorry but when did people start hating Alice in wonderland? It was great

Alice in Wonderland is pretty much the source of a lot of the Tim Burton hatred. It's not exactly a new thing.

[kallima]

Originally Posted by X400

I'm sorry but when did people start hating Alice in wonderland? It was great

I don't know if it was my expectations because of how much regard I had for Tim Burton at the time, but I was hugely disappointed. So much so that I skipped Frankenweenie in theaters, rented it, then purchased it. While Frankenweenie wasn't a masterpiece, he did gain back much of what he lost in my eyes.

I may give Alice another whirl now that I'm not wearing the same rose colored glasses for Burton as I did before.

[The Mad Kiwi]

Richard Madden is now confirmed as Prince Charming.

[The Mad Kiwi]

The film now has a March 13, 2015 release date.

This makes a lot more sense than the proposed late-2014 release since it would've meant Disney having two Cinderellas competing at the box office (this film and Into the Woods). Hopefully the film finds success in the March slot. Its budget shouldn't be as enormous as Alice in Wonderland's, John Carter's, or Oz: The Great and Powerful's. A tidy $80 million or so should be more than enough for it unless they're somehow revamping the story to become a special effects extravaganza outside of the key transformation scene.

[The Mad Kiwi]

Hayley Atwell has been cast as Cinderella's biological mother at the beginning of the film.

[Diesel]

Caught this tonight and must say, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

I did not watch any of the trailers, have never seen the animated movie and barely knew anything about the movie in general going in on purpose. I knew Blanchett and Carter were in it, which is about it.

I thought the movie was going to be an absolute cheese fest based on the guy who played Ella's father. He was so bad for 90% of his short amount of screen time. Thankfully after that besides him everything else felt very natural for the movie. Blanchett is a fantastically b****y step-mother, the sisters are sufficiently annoying and the Prince is serviceable. By far the best components are Helena Bonham Carter and Lily James. Both are perfect in their roles and Carter is especially hilarious. The Captain was also pretty funny in his limited role.

I'm not sure how much is changed from the animated version and how much is retained since I haven't seen it, but obviously everyone knows the broad strokes of the story of Cinderella, and I think the movie did very well telling the story and making it interesting even for people like myself that are the opposite of the target audience (20-30 year old male without a daughter).

It isn't something I usually comment on for movies, but I thought the costuming in this was very good. Clearly a lot of work went into designing the dresses that the female characters wear.

This is not an amazing movie nor did I love it, but I did highly enjoy it and thought it was very well made.

I am surprisingly going to be buying this when it comes out on blu-ray, which is definitely not what I expected to be doing going in.

Rating - 4.25/5

[jPod]

82% on Rotten Tomatoes!

There's 81 positive reviews (19 from top critics) and 18 negative reviews (6 from top critics). I know I shouldn't care what the critics think, but I genuinely want the film to continue to receive positive reviews and reactions. I've been in love with the Disney animated film and the fairy tale since I was three-years-old -- I want to see something that I passionately love succeed financially and critically.

[Holmes]

In Walt Disney Studios' big-budget and largely faithful new live-action update of corporation cornerstone Cinderella, the form shines more than the content. The storyline is well-known and, a few diversions and flourishes excepted, honored here: once upon a time in an unspecified kingdom, protagonist Ella's childhood idyll gives way to perilous domestic blending and ashen-faced servitude in a whirlwind of parental death until her fairy godmother spirits her to a luxurious ball where she can dance with the dashing prince. Kenneth Branagh directs this version with a level of detail-oriented pageantry reminiscent of his masterful and momentous adaptation of Hamlet two decades ago. The camera glides and spins, and the opulent flair of the frame-enveloping art direction—the fabric! the furniture! the paintings! the sculptures!—is outmatched only by the evocative and luxurious costume design, ranging from the malevolent stepmother's severe-chic wardrobe (vile at heart, but astonishing in emerald green) to Ella's central ball gown, a cerulean and crystalline spectacle hypnotic in motion.

Branagh has also convened a fine cast. Two-time Academy Award champion Cate Blanchett is invited to pose, glance with murderous intent, and exude a general, delicious, just-shy-of-camp air of the diabolical. She is fun, but the fresh-faced and relatively inexperienced Lily James may have a harder role. Since this is not a revisionist film, her Ella, as a heroine, must swing widely around any hint of the prefix "anti-." She must not rage against either her tormentors or her circumstances. Instead, she can only quietly cry in private and register as an earnest, heartfelt martyr who believes it impolite to object to inequity. "Forgive them, Fairy Godmother, for they know not what they do!" Within such confines, James delivers a charming performance. She is subtle, but animated. There is an authentic sense of wonder in her eyes, and hers is a great, yet still down-to-earth beauty.

So why does this film, well-designed, well-shot, and acted by a capable ensemble, not soar as it should? It is hard to say. Perhaps it is too picture-perfect, practiced and safe. The intended lows of the drama—the death of various parents, the abuse of Ella in the domestic sphere—never sting, and the intended highs of adventure and romance register as elementary and preordained rather than alive, dangerous, or sexy. A few of the detours from traditional Cinderella lore are undernourished, including the political subterfuge of a modestly dastardly grand duke played by Stellan Skarsgård on autopilot. At the end, despite the various delights on display (sartorial and otherwise), it is hard to not to shrug and say, "Yes, this certainly was Cinderella" and forget much of the experience on the way out.

C+

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Holmes

[Show spoiler]In Walt Disney Studios' big-budget and largely faithful new live-action update of corporation cornerstone Cinderella, the form shines more than the content. The storyline is well-known and, a few diversions and flourishes excepted, honored here: once upon a time in an unspecified kingdom, protagonist Ella's childhood idyll gives way to perilous domestic blending and ashen-faced servitude in a whirlwind of parental death until her fairy godmother spirits her to a luxurious ball where she can dance with the dashing prince. Kenneth Branagh directs this version with a level of detail-oriented pageantry reminiscent of his masterful and momentous adaptation of Hamlet two decades ago. The camera glides and spins, and the opulent flair of the frame-enveloping art direction—the fabric! the furniture! the paintings! the sculptures!—is outmatched only by the evocative and luxurious costume design, ranging from the malevolent stepmother's severe-chic wardrobe (vile at heart, but astonishing in emerald green) to Ella's central ball gown, a cerulean and crystalline spectacle hypnotic in motion.

Branagh has also convened a fine cast. Two-time Academy Award champion Cate Blanchett is invited to pose, glance with murderous intent, and exude a general, delicious, just-shy-of-camp air of the diabolical. She is fun, but the fresh-faced and relatively inexperienced Lily James may have a harder role. Since this is not a revisionist film, her Ella, as a heroine, must swing widely around any hint of the prefix "anti-." She must not rage against either her tormentors or her circumstances. Instead, she can only quietly cry in private and register as an earnest, heartfelt martyr who believes it impolite to object to inequity. "Forgive them, Fairy Godmother, for they know not what they do!" Within such confines, James delivers a charming performance. She is subtle, but animated. There is an authentic sense of wonder in her eyes, and hers is a great, yet still down-to-earth beauty.

So why does this film, well-designed, well-shot, and acted by a capable ensemble, not soar as it should? It is hard to say. Perhaps it is too picture-perfect, practiced and safe. The intended lows of the drama—the death of various parents, the abuse of Ella in the domestic sphere—never sting, and the intended highs of adventure and romance register as elementary and preordained rather than alive, dangerous, or sexy. A few of the detours from traditional Cinderella lore are undernourished, including the political subterfuge of a modestly dastardly grand duke played by Stellan Skarsgård on autopilot. At the end, despite the various delights on display (sartorial and otherwise), it is hard to not to shrug and say, "Yes, this certainly was Cinderella" and forget much of the experience on the way out.

C+

Shame the pieces didn't add up to a better experience for you, but very good review