Log In


Reset Password
Film, TV and Streaming

Cinderella: A fairy tale for the ages

This image released by Disney shows Lily James as Cinderella in Disney's live-action feature inspired by the classic fairy tale, "Cinderella." (AP Photo/Disney, Jonathan Olley)

Behind Snow White, the most adapted and re-interpreted fairy tale of all time has to be Charles Perrault’s “Cinderella.”

Among the more successful attempts have been a popular Disney cartoon, three screen versions of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical, a period piece based on the tale “Ever After,” a Hilary Duff teen comedy called, simply, “A Cinderella Story” and now Disney’s second take on the classic.

With Cinderella’s familiar and basic plot, it’s easy and freeing to experiment with character development and all sorts of different settings. Let’s take a look back at almost a century of Cinderella in cinema and on TV.

Walt Disney chose “Cinderella” 65 years ago to be his second princess feature after the huge phenomenon of 1937’s “Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs,” which brought his film studio out of a dry spell of disappointments prior to World War II. Not only was the animation gorgeous, but the beautiful songs sung by Ilene Woods and happy ending made the animated film a smash hit to this day.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote their musical “Cinderella” for Julie Andrews at the beginning of her career. The collaboration was first televised in 1957 and became popular enough for an updated version with a then-unknown Lesley Ann Warren in 1965. A third version was made 32 years later to showcase the talent of R&B star Brandy. Though all three are fun in their own ways, Warren’s is a personal favorite.

Andy Tennant’s “Ever After,” starring Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston and Dougray Scott, was a period-piece favorite of young girls (including me) when it was released 17 years ago, and it continues to find new viewers. Barrymore portrays Cinderella as Danielle, an independent, book-smart servant who, despite her horrible stepmother, cautiously falls in love with a prince.

The 2004 teen movie “A Cinderella Story” goes a step further and makes the princess a 16-year-old high school student and waitress (Duff) who meets the ‘prince’ (Chad Michael Murray) online.

Kenneth Branagh’s newest feature takes cues from Disney’s first Cinderella movie and manages to be just as stunning; but like all the previous motion picture adaptations of Perrault’s original, it also succeeds at having its own vision and feel.

Lily James is just as charming as Andrews, Warren and Barrymore were in their days, and Blanchett is just as captivating as Huston or Disney’s animated stepmother. If the overnight success of the new Cinderella proves anything, it’s that the princess tale really is timeless and will be enjoyed for generations to come.

mbianco@durangoherald.com. Megan Bianco is a movie reviewer and also contributes to other entertainment-related features and articles.



Reader Comments