‘Cinderella’ Reimagined

Director Kenneth Branagh at the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures production company recently remade Disney’s “Cinderella” in 2015. The star of the film was Lily James, who played Cinderella.Helena Bonham Carter, who played the Fairy Godmother and narrator, and Richard Madden, who played Prince Kit, accompanied her. The run time of “Cinderella” is 105 minutes.

“Cinderella” is a classic Disney animated film that has inspired thousands of other movies’ plotlines. It was recently revamped in a new movie that mixed the magic of animation with traditional filming style. There really is no reason to foreshadow the plot of this movie because it is such a classic story. However, the new, reinvented version with Lily James is totally worth discussing because of the extravagant detail that adds even more magic than from every remake done before. As a child, I burned through probably ten VCR taps of the original animated “Cinderella” film. I was just as obsessed with the 1997 version of “Cinderella” that starred pop star Brandy Norwood. That cast was pretty innovative in itself because of the racially diverse cast with numerous interracial relationships and families.

There are several films that have recreated their original animated Disney movies. Some of them include “Maleficent,” “Snow White and the Huntsman,” and “Alice in Wonderland.” The recreations of these movies have all had a strong emphasis on the war between good and evil. The concept of evil is highlighted in these recreations because it gives the stories new focuses on moral dilemmas and helps to attract new audiences to the franchise. Despite these newer focuses, the story line of “Cinderella” is pretty true to the original animation. It is obvious that the writer, Chris Weitz, too some liberties with the dialogue because it seems to be a bit more modern and expressive than the original.

I mentioned before that this version of “Cinderella” did a beautiful job of mixing animation with traditional film, but it may not be in the way you think. The mice in the new version are animated, but they do not speak. A decent amount of the animations are extensions of Ella’s or the Fairy Godmother’s dresses. Also, the palace was created with animations.

Lily James is a British actress who is best known for her work in the BBC series “Downton Abbey.” Her character in “Downton Abbey” was Rose, who was a smart and well-behaved young woman who was curious about what the world had to offer. She was very adventurous and constantly testing the limits that her caregivers set for her. Lily James’ role as Cinderella was quite similar. Ella is a curious and quite girl, but only because she has been denied the right to speak her mind and has been confined to the small quarters of a maid. Lily James has a soothing voice and a beautiful air about her that makes her perfect of the role of Cinderella. I think this is one of her best acting roles to date.

This film had obvious influences from previous animated movies like “Pirates of the Caribbean” and dramatic films like “Thor.” The soundtrack and score were said to be very similar to “Brave,” which is a fully animated film with the same composer, Patrick Doyle. However, there are more similarities between “Brave” and “Cinderella.” One similarity is the heavy emphasis on the importance and power of the relationship between mothers and daughters.

That is another thing that this version of “Cinderella” did differently than the original. In the original, Cinderella’s mother was basically only mentioned at the very beginning, when the narrator informs the audience that Cinderella and her father are in mourning because the lady of the house had just passed away. In this new version, the loss of Ella’s mother is constantly revisited and used as a motive for Ella to fight for freedom and a life of her own.

Revisiting the topic of the soundtrack, the composer did a wonderful job of helping the audience members transition through the scenes and really be a part of the whimsicalness of the story. Also included in the movie is a fresh rendition of “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” and “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo,” which were first heard in the original version “Cinderella.”

As a girl who was already in love with the story of “Cinderella,” I was emotionally moved and thrilled to see my favorite childhood movie come to life. I went to the theatre to see it on its opening weekend with my own mother and it brought us both back to the multiple times a day I would watch the original. This film shows how Hollywood can create magical reimaginings of old school Disney.