So I’ve seen the latest Cinderella movie, and as it is my favorite fairy tale, I’m gonna say a few things about it:
First off, this is not really a “Cinderella” movie - Ella isn’t the typical kind and forgiving and gentle girl you see, and while that’s a character choice I didn’t like at first, I came around and now I see that she has those traits, she’s just also funny and awkward and headstrong, and those traits overshadow the traits that make a Cinderella. In most other adaptations of fairytales, this “girlboss” characterization doesn’t work, but it fits very well in this one.
There’s also no real abuse or servitude at the hands of her stepfamily besides half a scene and a couple offhand mentions, and no emotional trauma because of it. If you’re looking for either of these two things that typically characterize Cinderella movies, 2015 Cinderella did it best.
I see a lot of people screaming “girlboss!” and “fake-woke” and “Mary Sue!” And yeah, I get that, but it works. I have a couple things to complain about Billy Porter’s character, but as far as the Ella-entrepreneur thing goes, I like it. Again, for the millionth time, this doesn’t really explore the typical themes of a Cinderella movie. It’s not really a fresh take, premise-wise, but it works. Also, this Ella is not a “not like other girls” character - she performs femininity and is still a strong character.
This is a POP JUKEBOX MUSICAL. I did not know that coming into it, so on the first watch I was underwhelmed.
The costumes and props for extras are all over the place period-wise, but you just gotta get used to the chaos and let it be.
The song choices are also all over the place, and you just have to sit back and let it happen. It ends up more or less working.
I loved the original songs; Million to One was very generic, but lovely nonetheless. Dream Girl stole the show for me - I’ll talk more about it later, but it was incredible.
Somebody to Love was either Queen heresy or simultaneously the most flamboyant, hilarious, and sexy thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t decide.
Really, this movie has some good points to make, but really it’s just a fun movie that’s not to be taken too seriously. Again, if you want that kind of Cinderella movie, go watch 2015 Cinderella.
The running sea monster gag was hilarious. Honestly? Most of the jokes hit their mark. This is a funny, feel-good movie.
The image of Pierce Brosnan screaming “GET OFF MY DAD” is now burned in my brain. I love it.
The whole sleazeball Thomas plotline doesn’t have enough screentime, so it doesn’t have much emotional impact.
Also, why is Ella lying on the bed and being really depressed??? I think in that scene she was supposed to be feeling that way bcs Vivian had just told her the prince was gonna marry that other princess (who is DEFINITELY a lesbian) but that just didn’t play out in the scene. Girl you got a hot queen to go meet and a future to chase!!!
QUEEN Tatiana is the hottest one in the movie. I take no criticism.
“Your Highness was the man whose blood I spilled to take this crown” ICONIC
I will wax poetry about Fra Fee and the definitely totally 100% canon relationship between Fra/Hench and Wibur
Honestly, you can tell that everyone on this movie just had fun. Half the time the background characters, like Robert’s posse, are just straight up vibing, and Camilla and Billy Porter really play off of each other. You can just tell that everyone making this was having a good time. Really living their best lives
I like Gwen a lot. Like, she was played off for laughs, but you connect with her as a character far more than you’d expect, just from the few lines she has in Am I Wrong and whatever other songs she’s in. I wish we had gotten to have more of her, and more interactions with characters that weren’t jokes. I especially wish we could have seen more of her interacting with her brother
I like her line “don’t let them control your life” in Am I Wrong - she says it to her brother, who is waking up to the realization that his life is mapped out by people that want to control him, and he doesn’t want any part of it. This is what she’s lived with for years and years, always being told to sit down and shut up and be a decoration, although she has meaningful contributions. She’s telling him to rebel, because that’s what she’s been doing; she understands how he feels, and she’s encouraging him. Gwen’s a chiche character, but those few lines she has in Am I Wrong give her more characterization and meaning than either of the stepsisters.
Honestly… Billy Porter was advertised as a “nonbinary fairy godmother,” but really he just plays the Gay™️ character, and Corden refers to him with he/him pronouns (obviously not all nb ppl use they/them pronouns, and many use he/him but I still feel like it was false advertising). Fab G was fun nevertheless, although VERY stereotypical gay with a capital G (I mean his first onscreen word is “Work!” Seriously. I’m not kidding. Ugh.) and his costume was absolutely GORGEOUS. Honestly all the characters’ costumes were incredible, and although I wasn’t a fan of the stepfamily’s floral prints, generally all of the costumes were beautiful. Which is fitting for a movie about a dressmaker.
Queen Beatrice was incredible and the dynamic between her and Rowan was just great. I’ve been tired by the “queen is either always dead or just a silent witness there to be nurturing and motherly, and occasionally a plot device with no characterization” trope. So I was so happy to see that Beatrice was an actual character! And can we talk about her rant at Rowan?? “Do you know how hard it is to just sit at your side and smile endlessly, like a decoration? My voice, completely silenced?” Up to that point, she’s only broken out of the “nurturing and motherly silent witness” type that I expected going into the movie with a few lines here and there. But this is where she tells Rowan, and the audience, that she knows what we expected of her, and she knows what she was doing. This is another subtle way the movie uses the stereotypes of a Cinderella movie against the audience.
One line that stood out to me in a very random place was Robert saying “you’ll be dressed by the finest dressmakers!” And Ella saying “I am a dressmaker.” It’s not the fashion she cares about, it’s getting to do what she loves.
Ok now I’m gonna talk IN DEPTH about Vivian, the stepmother
She’s a harsh, stern woman, but she also manages to be dynamic and stereotype-breaking— we’ve all seen the “villain has a tragic backstory” narrative before, but this pulls it off very well.
I really loved how they changed the Stepmother - like, throughout the movie, you keep waiting for her to do something just… needlessly cruel, but she never does. I’ll admit, the scene where she forbids Ella to go to the ball gets pretty close, but that just seems pretty in character for her, plus emotions are running high.
And even in that scene, you can tell that she expected Thomas to choose one of her daughters, not Ella, but she needs the money and security (it’s heavily implied that they’ve fallen on hard times after Ella’s father’s death), so even though it’s a blow to her and her daughters’ pride, she accepts.
I think that’s the beauty of it - you think Vivian is a manipulative, scheming monster, because that’s what you expect of the Evil Stepmother. But you come to realize that Vivian is just a hardhearted woman who’s been exploited and hurt, and she was being genuine throughout the film. When she told Ella she was sorry she hadn’t told her about the betrothal earlier, she meant it. That’s not to say she’s a good person, or that any of these things are excusable; it’s just to say that this film used the stereotypes against the audience.
Not to mention how, when she discovers Ella was the girl at the ball, she begs her on her knees to marry the prince! She’s not angry or jealous, she knows Ella will be happier and they will all be infinitely better off! I noticed how she immediately started being more tender with Ella, calling her family and such, subtle manipulation, and although I found it slightly out of character, because she hadn’t been *actually* manipulative anywhere else in the movie, I don’t think she meant it maliciously or even selfishly.
She admits that she was foolish to think either of her daughters could compete with any of the other princesses, not in a deprecating way towards the stepsisters, but in an “how could they ever compete with such riches, nobility, beauty, and talent in a world they were not born into” way. Also, no one ever makes jokes about Malvolia’s weight, which is something I appreciate, although I would appreciate not having a fat Ugly Stepsister at all, even if they deliberately cast out the Ugly part.
She doesn’t deprecate any of her daughters about things like their talents or looks, only their work/husband-catching skills
Can we talk about how Dream Girl???!?! How harsh and stoic she is in it, and then how close she is to breaking down as she lets everything out on the piano????
“The treasure you found: bury it. The only way out: marry it.” I like how this film highlights that the only (accessible) way out of poverty, abuse, and bad situations for women is to marry out of them. Of course, Ella proves that there is another way: women can make their own way, but it’s worth noting that Ella couldn’t do it on her own, and without her example, other girls probably wouldn’t ever be able to either.
“All that hope, and that pride/It’s a waste, it’s a lie”
“You’re so blind, you’re so green/You’ll give up, just like me”
“The wings are ornamental/They have no intention of letting you fly”
Anyways I think that’s it if you read all this way thank you idk how to do cuts or I would’ve spared you all this
Have a good day/night y’all
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