Cinderella (2015)

Cinderella is a 2015 American-British romantic fantasy film directed by Kenneth Branagh from a screenplay by Chris Weit. A remake of Disney's classic film Cinderella, the film tells the story of Ella, a young lady who wants to find true love following the deaths of her parents.

Plot
Ella is a beautiful girl who lives in a far, far away kingdom with her parents. Following her mother's death, her father remarries to the nefarious Lady Tremaine, who brings her bratty daughters to the house, complicating Ella's life. The abuse turns much worse after the death of Ella's father, but she will keep the morals she was taught and search for true love while fighting for not losing hope.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Good grasp of the source material, honoring the original fairy tale in Disney's classic way.
 * 2) Good acting, especially that of Lilly James as Cinderella and Cate Blanchett as Lady Tremaine.
 * 3) Some funny moments.
 * 4) It includes a prologue featuring Ella's life back when her parents were still alive and how her father remarries before passing away, whereas the original film didn't show this and just mentioned it as part of the narration.
 * 5) Lady Tremaine is rewritten as a dimensional villainess. Unlike the original one, who was mean and spiteful for no apparent reason, here she is given a reason for which she no longer believes in love and poses as a more meaningful threat, making her more melodramatic and sophisticated.
 * 6) Rather than being a bland love interest with minimal screentime, Prince Charming (real name: Kit) has a major role here and does much more than in the original film.
 * 7) Ella is a good role model like her original counterpart, keeping her morals and positiveness despite all the abuse inflicted on her.
 * 8) * While on that topic, her line "You were never my mother!" was a strong but unexpected line.
 * 9) *Also her forgiving her abusive family is very powerful.
 * 10) The King's death scene is emotional.
 * 11) Kenneth Branagh shows good direction skills.
 * 12) Amazing costuming.
 * 13) Fine pacing.
 * 14) Nice special effects.
 * 15) Unlike most Disney live-action remakes of their classic animated films, this one stands out by improving the original film and correcting its flaws.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The scene where Ella's stepfamily tear her dress is less impactful and lacks drama.
 * 2) While Ella is a good role model with a good personality as stated in (WIR 7) her personality is not as good or strong as her original 1950. The original Cinderella has breaking points emotional moments while this one is just bland and smiles. Also she is not as strong or independent as her animated original and has much less agency best shown in (BQ 3,4,&5)
 * 3) She has more freedom as she is allowed to leave the house and have friends unlike being trapped in a abusive household like the original so she could leave at anytime. It takes away from the power of Cinderella entering the ball because she wasn't imprisoned in a abusive home for most of her life.
 * 4) Unlike in the original she goes to the ball to be with the prince and even finds out he a prince at the ball. While in the original she goes to the ball for peace and freedom but dances with the prince without knowing he is one. This change makes Ella more dependent on a man to save her which brings to point 5.
 * 5) While in the original Cinderella fights to escape the attic and saves herself with the prince nowhere in sight here she gives up, the mice lucky opens the window for her and the prince saves her.
 * 6) They try to make her flawness but instead makes her unrelatable.
 * 7) The size of Cinderella's waistline can come off as exaggerated and unrealistic.
 * 8) Jaq and Gus from the original 1950 Disney film are now recast as by normal mice as opposed to anthropomorphic mice.
 * 9) As stated in (WIR 5) Lady Tremaine is much developed villian but at a cost of making her less evil and more sympathetic. She also didn't met Ella as a kid but instead as a teen in this movie making her abuse of Cinderella not as long. This may be hard for fans who relate to Cinderella because they were also abused by making the abuser sympathetic and understandable.
 * 10) Some fans did not like the change of the Grand Duke becoming a villain, much like King Stefan in Maleficent.
 * 11) Bruno the Dog is absent.
 * 12) The Fairy Godmother is played too comically and annoying where the original is a supportive grandma figure who comforts her in her darkest moment. She even tests Ella to see if she is nice instead of letting her cry on her lap like in the original because she knows she kind.
 * 13) The stepsisters are just annoying here but unlike their animated counterparts it just irritating rather then entertaining.
 * 14) The message "Have courage and be kind." is repeated way too much.

Videos
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Reception
Critical reception to Cinderella was mostly positive. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 83%, based on 250 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Refreshingly traditional in a revisionist era, Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella proves Disney hasn't lost any of its old-fashioned magic". On Metacritic, it received a score of 67 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "genereally favorable reviews".

Unlike most of the Disney live-action remakes, which have been badly criticized, this one is considered one of the best for upgrading the original film by solving many of the flaws it originally contained (like Prince Charming's blandness) and updating the story for today's public.