Everyone is familiar with the story of Cinderella; however, Disney’s live action Cinderella is a refreshing rendition. This version of the classic story does an excellent job of portraying the main characters as more dimensional. With that, the audience will feel more attached and sympathetic for the characters. Additionally, the costumes were beautiful and were one of the highlights of the film.

The beginning of the film deals with Cinderella’s or Ella’s jovial childhood. She grows up in a loving household with two kind and magnanimous parents. The happiness soon fades away when Ella’s mother dies. The main theme of the film is revealed when Ella makes a promise to her dying mother; she promises to “have courage and be kind.” This promise is brought up and shown throughout the entirety of the movie.

When Ella is living with her emotionally abusive stepmother and stepsisters, she is moved to the attic and forced into servitude. Even throughout their greed and cruelty, Ella, or now Cinderella, is still fair and kind to her family.

There is a scene where Cinderella is riding out into the woods to get away from the house. While she’s out riding she meets the Prince. He tells her that he is an apprentice at the palace and that his name is Kit. There was an awkward and meaningful little talk between Cinderella and the Prince. The audience can tell right away that they are smitten with each other. This scene is very nice in creating an attraction between the two before the ball.

The costumes were the best part of Cinderella. Each character had their clothing as a telling of who they are. The stepmother wore mostly green and black. Her dresses showed her coolness and strictness in their complicated design. Anastasia and Drizella wore similar dresses of one another. The colors chosen for them were salmon and yellow just like the colors in the 1950’s Cinderella. For Cinderella herself, the bar has been raised for glass slippers. The slippers worn at the ball were CGI, however, they were very striking and couldn’t have been done better. The staple dress of the film was Cinderella’s gown. Although it did not look like the classic Cinderella dress, this dress was perfect for the movie. It had a beautiful movement to it especially when she danced.

Cinderella was very tight and hardly strayed into unnecessary details or moments. However, there was a moment that could have been left out. When the Prince is having his portrait done, the artist bumbles around and falls. This was meant for comic relief, but it was poorly done. Also, for those who are familiar with the Grimms version of the story, sorry to disappoint, the sisters do not cut off their toes or heels.

Overall Cinderella seems to be a success. The story was interesting, the costumes were flattering, the setting was aesthetically pleasing, and the characters were dynamic. Anyone who loves fairy tales will love Cinderella.