When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her scheming step-sisters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger.
A vengeful fairy is driven to curse an infant princess, only to discover that the child may be the one person who can restore peace to their troubled land.
Director:
Robert Stromberg
Stars:
Angelina Jolie,
Elle Fanning,
Sharlto Copley
The magically long-haired Rapunzel has spent her entire life in a tower, but now that a runaway thief has stumbled upon her, she is about to discover the world for the first time, and who she really is.
Nineteen-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.
Director:
Tim Burton
Stars:
Mia Wasikowska,
Johnny Depp,
Helena Bonham Carter
When the newly crowned Queen Elsa accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice to curse her home in infinite winter, her sister, Anna, teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather condition.
When Cinderella's cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq, and from her Fairy Godmother.
Mia Thermopolis has just found out that she is the heir apparent to the throne of Genovia. With her friends Lilly and Michael Moscovitz in tow, she tries to navigate through the rest of her 16th year.
Director:
Garry Marshall
Stars:
Julie Andrews,
Anne Hathaway,
Hector Elizondo
Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Sam Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school's Halloween dance.
Director:
Mark Rosman
Stars:
Hilary Duff,
Chad Michael Murray,
Jennifer Coolidge
A girl named Ella (Cinderella) has the purest heart living in a cruel world filled with evil stepsisters and an evil stepmother out to ruin Ella's life. Ella comes one with her pure heart when she meets the prince and dances her way to a better life with glass shoes, and a little help from her fairy godmother, of course.
In seeking an object to turn into a coach, the fairy godmother says she "doesn't usually work with squashes...too mushy", but she had just asked Cinderella if she had a beef tomato, which is much more delicate than a pumpkin. See more »
Quotes
Lady Tremaine:
[to Cinderella, after she, Drisella, and Anastasia tear Cinderella's mother's dress]
Mark my words: you shall *not* go to the ball!
See more »
Crazy Credits
After the Fairy Godmother sings "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo (The Magic Song)" in the last part of the end credits, she asks "Oh, where did everybody go?" right before the closing Disney logo appears. See more »
Disney seems to be going through its catalogue of classics with these live-action adaptations. And sadly, this is one of the better ones I've seen so far. Not to say it's bad, but it certainly exemplifies the problems with these adaptations.
So, we all know the story. The father of our main character passes the curtain, leaving our lovable and innocent Cinderella to suffer the tyranny of her cruel stepmother and her two spoiled daughters. A prince, a ball, a fairy godmother, et cetera. It's a classic, but it's also one of those stories that's so iconic as an animated Disney film that it's hard to imagine it any different. But that's what we need to be able to do. This film needs to stand on its own to have any merit beyond nostalgia fodder or something that merely looks pretty. They could have done away with the mice, instead of these CGI monstrosities. They could have told it from the point of view of the prince. They could gone the Wicked route, and told it from the point of view of the stepmother. But no, it's the story we all know and have seen and heard a million times before.
Sure, it looks very good. Disney has enough talent and money for that. And, to the film's credit, I do like Richard Madden a lot as the prince. Especially because he and Cinderella actually bond in this film through multiple meetings instead of laying eyes on one another and bam, wedding bells. Sure, the meetings are not that far apart time- wise here either, but at least it's an improvement.
In the end I can't really blame this film for being what it is. It could have been better, but even as it is, you get more than you probably expect.
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Disney seems to be going through its catalogue of classics with these live-action adaptations. And sadly, this is one of the better ones I've seen so far. Not to say it's bad, but it certainly exemplifies the problems with these adaptations.
So, we all know the story. The father of our main character passes the curtain, leaving our lovable and innocent Cinderella to suffer the tyranny of her cruel stepmother and her two spoiled daughters. A prince, a ball, a fairy godmother, et cetera. It's a classic, but it's also one of those stories that's so iconic as an animated Disney film that it's hard to imagine it any different. But that's what we need to be able to do. This film needs to stand on its own to have any merit beyond nostalgia fodder or something that merely looks pretty. They could have done away with the mice, instead of these CGI monstrosities. They could have told it from the point of view of the prince. They could gone the Wicked route, and told it from the point of view of the stepmother. But no, it's the story we all know and have seen and heard a million times before.
Sure, it looks very good. Disney has enough talent and money for that. And, to the film's credit, I do like Richard Madden a lot as the prince. Especially because he and Cinderella actually bond in this film through multiple meetings instead of laying eyes on one another and bam, wedding bells. Sure, the meetings are not that far apart time- wise here either, but at least it's an improvement.
In the end I can't really blame this film for being what it is. It could have been better, but even as it is, you get more than you probably expect.