As I sat down and prepared myself
with a cup of tea, a blanket and my cat to watch Disney’s live action
adaptation of the fairy tale by Charles Perrault, images of the classic
animation were running through my mind. Needless to say, I had expectations
that this movie would indeed be a remake of the classic animation that I grew
up with, but with actual human beings. I was pleasantly surprised. For one
thing, the live adaptation of Cinderella was not a musical: there were no random
song sequences that characterize many of Disney’s princess movies. With an
all-star cast, including Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter, as well as
some new faces, such as Lily James and Richard Madden, the film’s portrayal of
the classic fairy tale is well done. Not only did this live adaptation stray
from the animated Cinderella, making it a tale all on its own, it also kept
just enough similarities to create the nostalgia of the animated Disney classic
that I grew up watching.
In Disney’s live action Cinderella, there was more
context provided in the film for the characters, giving more depth to the
characters and allowing the audience, such as myself, to understand them and
their actions. The stepmother, Lady Tremaine, is a prime example. In the
animated classic, Lady Tremaine was just the woman that married Cinderella’s
father and proceeded to treat Cinderella as a servant in her own home. The
animation doesn’t explain any reason for her treatment of Cinderella. In the
live action version, however, Lady Tremaine tells her own story: of a woman who
married for love and had two loving daughters, until one day her love dies,
leaving her heart broken and shattered. The next time she married, she married
out of advantage to give her daughters the life they deserved, but that man
also died, leaving her with a stepdaughter that represented everything that was
taken from her. I couldn’t help but feel sad, that even though Lady Tremaine
was not pleasant, she suffered a true heartache that created the shattered, torn
woman who had known love and what it was to lose it.
The live action Cinderella also transformed the
character of Cinderella into more of a heroine. Now don’t get me wrong,
Cinderella is not the type of hero that slays dragons, fights monsters, and
goes on magnificent quests. In this film, Cinderella is a hero because she
follows her mother’s words: she has courage and she is kind. Cinderella shows
kindness to others throughout the entire film. She is kind to the mice, sharing
her food and protecting them from Lucifer, the cat. Cinderella is kind to strangers,
giving milk to an old beggar woman without any thought, other than to help
someone in need (Of course, this scene was a test by Cinderella’s fairy
godmother to see if Cinderella was kind, which she passed with flying colours).
Cinderella shows her courage by standing up for herself and what she believes
in at the end of the film. She will not let Lady Tremaine control Kit (aka
Prince Charming) and run the kingdom, no matter what happens to her as a
consequence. She also shows courage by forgiving Lady Tremaine for everything
that she has done—whether Lady Tremaine deserved the forgiveness is a different
story. By giving forgiveness, Cinderella in this film shows audiences that you
don’t need to slay a dragon to be a hero, but that anyone can be a hero as long
as they are kind, true to themselves, and courageous in their everyday
actions.
All in all, I believe this film was well done. It
captured and portrayed many moments from the animated film that audiences were
looking for, while also creating a unique film of its own. The live action
Cinderella also provided more depth into the characters, making a truly
enjoyable film to watch.
