Fairy tales. We know the beginning. And we all know how it ends. But if an adaptation can revamp what goes in between. The results can be magical
Cinderella, a 2021 adaptation of the classic story. It features modern themes, modern music, an all star cast and lots of rhinestones.
Hear ye hear ye… some spoilers ahead
So what did I like about the modernization of the Perrault classic?
The British pantomime aesthetic. Using modern music, dialogue and fashion but keeping the fairytale setting. It works better on stage but I like the concept
Cinderella’s interest in fashion. This was a genius idea. Honestly why has no one thought of this before. A very nice plot point.
Idina Menzel as Vivian. She is delivering in every scene she is in. More snarky and rude than evil. With a very big attitude. She’s delicious every time she enters a scene, especially towards the end.
The prince’s storyline. Very well written. Very well acted by all the royals. This could have been a separate movie.
Billy Porter as the Fabulous Godmother. Making the fairy godmother non-binary and more importantly NOT MAKING IT A PLOT POINT, kudos! Billy Porter serves and leaves you wanting more. Hilarious and gorgeous. The best scene of the movie! I’ll take a sequel with just fab g.
The ball scene! Loved it, very Moulin Rouge vibes
Shout out to Minnie Driver who was so cute as Queen Beatrice. We needed more scenes with her!
Now the unfortunate downsides.
I’m very iffy with the music choices. This is a jukebox musical with some original songs. Also using mashups and remixes. The songs that work are really well done. Same for the original songs. The ones that don’t , stick out, and not in a good way. I’m all for a jukebox musical. But it needs to make sense. Let’s not throw a song in there because we got the rights to it.
There’s some plot holes here. Especially with Cinderella and her family. Cinderella as a character is not fleshed out enough. I love that she's not the maid in this version, all she really does is serve tea and do laundry. Love that she makes dresses and wants to follow that passion. But what else? The prince is more fleshed out than Cinderella is. Some characters got a couple of minutes of screen time, and I knew them better.
On a side note, I think this would have worked a lot better as a live tv musical. The way this was written, it needs an audience. The way some of these numbers were staged, needs an audience
So what’s my opinion of Cinderella. I think it’s very cute. Some of the song choices are a little cringe. What was done well, was done very well. I even found myself singing along. It’s a fun twist on the Cinderella story.
“Cinderella“ is available for streaming on Amazon Prime