Cinderella (2015) — PICK
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1957) — PICK
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1965) — PICK
It seems too good to be true: Kenneth Branagh’s lavish and lovely Cinderella — new on Blu-ray/DVD from Disney — isn’t dark, cynical, gritty or revisionist.
Ella (Lily James) isn’t an embodiment of a feminist critique of patriarchal society. Cate Blanchett’s stepmother isn’t reinvented as a wrongly maligned heroine. And the Prince (Richard Madden) isn’t a preening buffoon.
Branagh said he wanted to make Cinderella a film in which “kindness was a superpower.” Mission accomplished. Ella is shamefully treated and misused, but her goodness is like a force field protecting her heart and her dignity, no matter what happens to her. The Prince is strong and appealing, but more, he’s humble — easily the best fairy-tale prince in, like, forever.
More princess movies like this, please.
Want more Cinderella?
The 1950 Disney version is okay, but I prefer the two musical TV movies of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella: the better-known 1965 color version starring Leslie Ann Warren — probably my favorite version of the story until Branagh’s came along — as well as a lesser-known 1957 black-and-white kinescope starring a 22-year-old Julie Andrews (yes, Julie Andrews!). Not only are the songs better than the Disney version, they serve the story better.
Caveat Spectator: Cinderella (2015): Deaths of parents; depictions of cruelty and abusive treatment (no violence). Both versions of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella: nothing problematic. All fine family viewing.