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.
Plot Synopsis:
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In a beautiful kingdom, a little girl called Ella (Eloise Webb) lives a happy life in a lovely manor house with her doting parents. Her father (Ben Chaplin), a wealthy merchant, is often away on business trips, but always makes the most of his time with his family. Ella's mother (Hayley Atwell) encourages her to believe in magic, courage, kindness, and hope. Ella considers the resident farm animals to be her dear friends, and talks to them often.
Ella and her father are grief-stricken when Ella's mother falls gravely ill. On her deathbed, she tells her daughter that power and magic stem from kindness, and to always "have courage and be kind."
Over the next several years, Ella (now Lily James) carries on a comfortable life with her loving father, though they both miss her mother terribly. When her father announces his plan to remarry, Ella gives him her sincere blessing and hopes for his happiness in this new chapter of his life.
Ella's new stepmother, Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) is a stately widow with two daughters of Ella's age: Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera). The three women, along with their ill-tempered cat Lucifer, move into the manor house with Ella and her father. Lady Tremaine proves to be a prideful and cold woman with rather unsavory friends, while Anastasia and Drisella bicker constantly and only seem to bond over their disdain for Ella.
Ella's father prepares to depart on another business trip, and asks Ella and her stepsisters what presents they would like him to bring back. While Anastasia and Drisella ask for parasols and lace, Ella merely requests the first branch that brushes her father's head as he travels. He bids her a loving farewell the following morning.
No sooner had her husband departed, Lady Tremaine manipulates Ella into giving up her bedroom to Anastasia and Drisella. Ella is then relocated to the attic, where she finds that her mouse friends also reside. Despite this unjust development, Ella remains optimistic and continues to live by her mother's mantra: "Have courage and be kind."
Some time later, Ella is given tragic news by a local farmer: her father had taken ill and died on his journey. The farmer gives Ella the branch she had requested, along with his condolences. Ella is heartbroken. Lady Tremaine is also upset, but for solely financial reasons. Resentful of her new husband for leaving them with no source of income, she takes out her rage on her stepdaughter. After dismissing all the household servants, Lady Tremaine shifts the entire workload to Ella, who is so miserable that she views the endless chores as almost welcome distractions from her grief.
Ella's days of servitude grow increasingly dismal, as the shock of her father's death wears off and she realizes she no longer has a loving family. After a particularly cruel and hurtful incident (during which her stepfamily dubs her with the infamous nickname "Cinderella"), Ella rides her horse into the nearby woods to calm herself down. She encounters a stag, fleeing from an approaching hunting party, and her horse takes off in fright with Ella desperately trying to slow it down. Her plight is noticed by the young prince (Richard Madden), out hunting with his men, who manages to stop her horse and introduces himself as Kit, an "apprentice" from the palace. While Ella is charmed by the handsome stranger, whom she does not recognize as the king's son, she scolds him for hunting a helpless animal and requests that he refrain from harming the stag. While taken aback at Ella's odd request, Kit is smitten with her compassionate spirit, but is called back by his hunting party before he can learn her name.
Back at the palace, Prince Kit tells his father, the king (Derek Jacobi) about the pretty girl he met in the woods. While the king still insists that Kit marry a princess for the good of the realm, he sympathizes with his son's desire to break the occasional tradition. However, as the king is growing increasingly ill, he believes that Kit must marry quickly and properly in order to take the throne in the near future. Kit reluctantly agrees to his father's wishes, which are seconded heartily by the king's right-hand man, the grand duke (Stellan Skarsgard), but suggests that the entire kingdom be invited to the upcoming palace ball instead of merely the nobility and upper-class. The king agrees, and Kit looks forward to possibly seeing Ella again. The captain of the royal guard (Nonso Anozie), who is also Kit's friend and confidante, is more supportive of Kit's progressive thinking.
As Ella buys groceries in the market square, the royal crier (Alex MacQueen) announces to the gathered public that a grand ball will soon be held at the palace so the prince may choose a bride. Having never been to such a luxurious affair and hoping to see Kit the "apprentice" again, Ella is excited to learn that even the serving class is welcome to attend. She rushes home to relay the news to her stepfamily, who are overcome with anticipation. Lady Tremaine immediately plans for one of her daughters to win the prince's hand and bring riches to the family again. When Ella expresses interest in going to the ball, she is scoffed at and dismissed. Ella, still not disheartened, finds an old dress of her late mother's and begins to mend it herself in preparation for the event.
On the evening of the ball, Anastasia and Drisella are decked out in their new gowns and are aflutter with excitement. Lady Tremaine is delighted that she has "two horses in the race," and is all but convinced that the family will soon be elevated to royalty. Ella descends the stairs in her mother's old dress, taking one more stab at attending the ball. Lady Tremaine and her daughters cruelly rip the dress to tatters, taunting Ella and forbidding her to come with them. As the three women depart, Ella runs into the garden, weeping with rage and grief.
Ella, undergoing immense guilt for no longer feeling the courage she had promised her mother she would retain, is startled by an old beggar woman crouching in the corner of the courtyard who asks for a bit of nourishment. Despite her own misery, Ella kindly offers the woman a bowl of milk. To Ella's great surprise, the old lady transforms into a shimmering fairy and introduces herself as Ella's fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter). The fairy godmother wastes little time in transforming a pumpkin, Ella's mouse friends,a goose, and some lizards into a spectacular carriage, four while horses, a coachman, and footmen, respectively. Ella's ragged pink dress is spruced into a magnificent blue ball gown, and she is given a stunning pair of glass slippers. Ella is dumbfounded by her change in luck and is most grateful, but is warned by her fairy godmother that the spell will be broken at the last stroke of midnight and all will be as it was before. Ella promises to be home in time, and is sent off to the palace after receiving a charm that will prevent Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters from recognizing her.
The ball is just underway as Ella arrives, with scores of princesses being introduced to the prince and the king. When Ella appears on the ballroom balcony, the assembly goes silent and Kit recognizes the girl from the woods at once. He asks her for the first dance, which she gladly accepts, and the party officially begins. While Lady Tremaine sends her daughters into the fray to compete for the prince, Kit and Ella sneak away to the castle grounds. Realizing that Kit is, of course, the prince, Ella is a bit shocked, but upon getting to know him, sees he is an honest and caring man. He speaks of his inner conflict between pleasing his father, whom he loves and respects, and pursuing his own ambitions. Though having a marvelous time with Kit, Ella notices the clock beginning to strike twelve and hastily excuses herself. In her rush to leave the palace before the magic wears off, she loses one of her glass slippers on the palace steps. Kit sends the royal guard after her, determined to find out who she is, but Ella's goose coachman manages to evade them. At the last stroke of midnight, Ella's dress, coach, and attendants all return to their normal forms, although her one remaining glass slipper remains intact. She walks the rest of the way home, still giddy from her magical evening.
When her stepfamily finally arrives home, Ella is still in a wonderful mood as the stepsisters tell of the beautiful "mystery princess" who stole the show at the ball. Lady Tremaine is angry after overhearing the grand duke say that the prince was already promised to the Princess of Zaragosa, so the whole ball had been for naught. She is also suspicious as to why Ella is so cheerful after such a supposedly unpleasant evening alone at the house.
The King is lying on his deathbed. Kit sits by his side and admits that he wishes to follow his heart. His father tells him to marry for love. Kit weeps into his father's chest and stays by his side.
After the King passes on, Kit is made king, and he has a messenger go into town so that he may find the girl with the glass slipper, and he hopes to marry her when he finds her. Ella, along with Anastasia and Drizella, overhear. Ella runs back home to the attic to search for the slipper she hid beneath the floorboards. She finds that it's not there, but Lady Tremaine is, and she's holding the slipper. She tells Ella her own story, that is her originally marrying for love, until her first husband died, leaving her with her daughters. She married again, only for Ella's father to die and leave her with Ella. Lady Tremaine considers it unfair that Ella should live happily, and knowing that if she is indeed the mystery girl that the king will marry, she wants Ella to give her and her daughters power and a higher social status. Ella refuses, and Lady Tremaine smashes the slipper and locks Ella in the attic.
Lady Tremaine brings the remains of the glass slipper to the Grand Duke. They conspire to keep Ella away from Kit, and in exchange, the Grand Duke will allow Lady Tremaine and her daughters to have whatever they want.
All the women in the kingdom try on the other glass slipper, but none of them can fit it on their foots (despite their efforts). The king's guards arrive at Ella's home. The Captain tries the slipper on Anastasia and Drizella, and it doesn't fit either of them. As they are leaving, the mice open the attic window to let the guards her Ella as she sings. Lady Tremaine and the Grand Duke deny hearing any singing, but Kit, having been disguised as a guard, says he definitely hears singing. The Captain gets Lady Tremaine to bring Ella downstairs. She forbids Ella from leaving. The Captain asks who she is to deny her to go downstairs, and Lady Tremaine says she is Ella's mother. Ella firmly tells her she is not and never will be her mother. She goes downstairs and reunites with Kit. She says she is not a princess, but she hopes that he will accept her as she is. He does, and hopes she will accept him as he is the same way. He puts the slipper on her foot, proving Ella is the mystery girl. Anastasia and Drizella throw their apologies to Ella, hoping to get in her good graces. Ella leaves with Kit, but not before turning to Lady Tremaine and simply saying, "I forgive you."
Lady Tremaine and her two daughters, along with the Grand Duke, are banished from the kingdom. The Fairy Godmother tells us that Ella and Kit got married, and they were the most beloved rulers that ever lived in that kingdom. She adds that one can learn from Ella's ability to see the world as it could be, with courage, kindness, and a bit of magic.
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Open-mindedMuslimWoman from Turkey
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Salamu Alaykum.
This movie from Walt Disney Pictures is great in its entertainment,direction,romance,perfect acting, amazing direction and script. It is hard for me to see how some people defame Walt Disney because of envy.
Cinderella is a top and successful movie that had already achieved more than 335 million US$ all over the world ( A very clear proof that Walt Disney Pictures are the best expert in making animation and excellent movies).
This film is a real terrific family movie you must all see whether you are children or adults.
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dixonbixon from Canada
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I don't know Why Walt Disney movies have become so dull and tasteless.
The story of Cinderella is a great story,but the acting is simply terrible and the movie is so boring.
The story of "Cinderella" follows the fortunes of young Ella, whose merchant father remarries following the tragic death of her mother. Keen to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother Lady Tremaine and her daughters Anastasia and Drizella into the family home. But when Ella's father suddenly passes away, she finds herself at the mercy of a jealous and cruel new family. Finally relegated to nothing more than a servant girl covered in ashes, and spitefully renamed Cinderella since she works in the cinders, Ella could easily begin to lose hope.
Yet, despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, Ella is determined to honor her mother's dying words to "have courage and be kind." She will not give in to despair, nor despise those who abuse her. And then there is the dashing stranger she meets in the woods. Unaware that he is really the prince and not merely an employee at the palace, Ella finally feels she has met a kindred soul. It appears as if her fortunes may be about to change when the palace sends out an open invitation for all maidens to attend a ball, raising Ella's hopes of once again encountering the charming "Kit." Alas, her stepmother forbids her to attend and callously rips apart her dress. But as in all good fairy tales, help is at hand as a kindly beggar woman steps forward and, armed with a pumpkin and a few mice, changes Cinderella's life forever.
Disney failed to make a masterpiece from this clich.Most kids including my children hated this film and found it boring and uninteresting.
The story of Cinderella has been extremely overused.I don't know why Disney insists on making a new modern version from this clich!. Definitely Disney needs to make a lot of money. I advise you to avoid this movie,but if you wanna see this movie,see it on your own responsibility!.
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diavolo_gunaika from Canada
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I felt the story of Cinderella was was beautifully done. The acting was just as it should be for a fairy tale. The colours and the magic vibrant. The actors and actresses played their parts wonderfully.
Taking a story and making it into a movie most times is difficult. How we have interpreted the story can be very different from what the director envisioned.
As a lover of all fairy tales I enjoyed the movie. I believe all little girls and even grown ups like me can appreciate how well they did with the movie.
All in all it was well done.
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chetangangappa-44861 from India
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The film is the beautiful ever done Cinderella in real life. You have to hand it to Kenneth Branagh he remains so loyal to the source material of the animation movie while not letting us for once feel repetitive. Wonderful music and visualization with the nifty editing to keep the pace all works out beautifully in to a movie that will stand for generations to come.
Will there be haters that this movie is another boring clich, yes there will be and apparently they have become critics rather than enjoying the movie for the beauty that it is. Catch this one to get the beautiful feeling of joy.
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851222 from Lithuania
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Greetings from Lithuania.
Please don't get me wrong - i love "Game of Thrones", but this movie has to be the most opposite version of "Game of Thrones" out there.
"Cinderella" (2015) is superbly made movie for a whole family (young females especially). It tells well known story, and it doesn't re-imagine it nor it's a reboot of remake of it - it is superbly made retelling of this fairy tale. This has to be one of the most "cheezee" and beautifully made movies of all time.
Set design, costumes, music is all Oscar worthy. Cienamtography is gorgeous and acting is solid for this material - there are many well known faces doing their good jobs. Pacing of this movie excellent, at running time 1 h 39 min this movie barely drags and is entertaining from start till finish.
Overall, on one hand "Cinderella" is probably the most clich and cheeze movie ever made but one the other hand so was this fairy tale and this 2015 live version adaptation is just retelling this tale and at the same time it does so very well - it looks beautifully, it's involving and it's craftsmanship is superb.
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echo-98872 from Canada
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Cinderella's dress is really beautiful, the prince is handsome too! it is a traditional fairy tail movie, and that is how i like it to be The pumpkin car was well designed too just the prince and the captain are cast from Game of Throne, sometimes it is really easy for me to think of Game of Throne when I am watching it. By the way, how obvious the Prince's crotch is! Whenever he shows up with the tight white pants, I can not help but noticed his crotch! I also like the way that Cinderella's high heel drops on the staircase ,which is exactly the way how the original fairy tail did! And I like the Godmother in the movie too, the glass heels she created are really significant! One thing that I do not understand is : why over the whole country , there is even not one girl who is in the same size for shoes with Cinderella? It does not make a lot of sense, does it? Another thing, when the time hit 12 o'clock, in the midnight, everything turns back, the horses turns back to rats, the footman turns back to lizard, the carriage turns back to pumpkin, and why in hell the glass high heels stay the same? That I consider as a bug! And, it would not be very hygiene for every and each one of the girls in the kingdom to try it on without cleaning it, would it?
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sdw61 from United States
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I loved this version of Cinderella. The story was familiar, but very well done and felt like a unique embellished version, It was truly a joy to see. The unique nature of the film came from the well chosen cast, truly gorgeous and memorable costumes, beautiful sets and scenery, and thoughtful content from the story's lines.
Cinderella was truly a beautiful film! It was a true pleasure to see a movie that has moral values of the past, but completed in a modern cinematic way. I applaud all of those who were involved in the creation of this timeless film and am grateful to see a film like this one in this day and age.
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erminestoat from Canada
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A well acted fairy tail. Beautiful scenery, beautiful costumes. The story stays very true to the original - for the most part this is refreshing, though I do think the film could have stood to add a few new elements to the story or expand on existing ones, just to have some surprises for the audience. Emotional depth is added to the stepmother character, which to me enriched the Cinderella story, but I believe they should have gone a step further into the stepmother's back-story. The CG is frankly bad, but I didn't feel it detracted from the over-all presentation of the movie as seem to be intentionally fantastical/cartoonish. Cinderalla is a very well-rounded character that manages to tow the Mary Sue line without ever stepping over it. She remains likable without being too sickeningly sweet or unrealistic. She even has moments where she questions her own creed of always being kind and courageous. A good family film. If you like classic fairy tails, check it out. If you're looking for lots of action and a story you've never seen before, it might not be the movie for you.
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basilbenaz from Costa Rica
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There have been too many versions of the movie Cinderella and this modern version was so disappointing indeed.
It is made for kids only and not for adults.
The movie was so boring.
Walt Disney Pictures did not offer anything new in this dull and outdated sequel.
The remake was much worse than copy and paste.A lot of imitation of Cinderella movies and nothing original.
Walt Disney stole all the ideas and movie plot from Orlando Corradi. See Orlando Corradi's Cinderella Movie and See The Shocking Evidence How Disney is clever in Rip Off & Theft.
The Acting is so tasteless.
See the original version and avoid this imitated version!.
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DareDevilKid from India
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Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)
Rating: 1.5/5 stars
Kenneth Branagh, who boasts quite an impressive directorial repertoire, shockingly wields the camera like a quill pen in his latest offering, mannered and dull, seeking Shakespeare where he isn't. You couldn't even begin to imagine how Branagh mishandles "Cinderella", so reverent and corny in its approach, so reverent and corny gleeful abandon, a slight swerve from the traditional wouldn't hurt.
We obviously can't expect a rollicking fairy tale spoof like "Enchanted" or a delectably tangy retelling of Sleeping Beauty's classic yarn from the principal antagonist's perspective (a la "Maleficient"). No, "Cinderella" and her glass slippers or shoes or whatever they are doesn't offer as much scope for innovation as her other fairy princess counterparts. Besides, hers was also the one tale, unlike most other classic fairy tales, that had deep-rooted patriarchal, sexist, and downright questionable themes. With that being said, this "Cinderella" is still achingly old-fashioned, with scant humor, a regressive heroine, and a buffoon for a fairy godmother. A darn shame when Branagh and Disney's bosses could have easily tweaked the story without going completely off-course to usher in a new, rational age for Cinderella - the tale does date back to 1697 after all.
Branagh's film portrays an outdated Disney princess from a time before Ariel and Belle redefined femininity in enjoyable animated retellings. Plenty of assertive, ambitious women have been drawn since. The trend toward live-action fairy tales gives them even more backbone. So why does Ella, played by poseable starlet Lily James ("Downton Abbey"), need to be this bloodless, submissive, and desperately in need of Prince Charming? Branagh even robs Ella of her singing voice; no dream-wish song for her, or any compositions from the 1950 soundtrack until the end credits.
Screenwriter Chris Weitz ("About a Boy") sticks close to Charles Perrault's 1697 version of the folk tale, which informed Disney's animated 1950 version. Ella is orphaned early, but not before Mother (Hayley Atwell) teaches her to be courageous and kind, and Father (Ben Chaplin) remarries. The rest can't possibly be spoiled by now. None of it will come as a surprise to generations who have grown up on the sugary romanticism of this yarn. Branagh and Weitz don't attempt to bring any major twists or contemporary relevance to the material. An expanded prologue includes segments with a young Cinderella and her biological parents to minimal benefit, and there are the usual lessons about acceptance and kindness, and staying true to yourself, which hardly break the mold.
James makes a lovely submissive, always turning the other perfectly sculpted cheek when life slaps her character Ella. She doesn't convey any more depth than a theme park Cinderella welcoming guests. Even the CGI mice sharing her prison loft appear gradually disenchanted. It doesn't seem fair to match an amateurish James' pallid performance against veteran Cate Blanchett's deliciously wicked stepmother, Lady Tremaine. Her steely gaze and venomous line readings are the second-best thing about "Cinderella", the first being Sandy Powell's swoony costume designs. The stepsisters' wardrobe, a collection of matching patterns in clashing colors, offers visual comic relief to a movie needing it from anywhere. Indeed, the film's best virtue is its technical polish, complete with colorful sets and extravagant costumes (especially during the lavish ball sequence), along with seamless special effects during the Fairy Godmother transformation scene.
Running contrary to its message, the film seems content to fit in rather than stand out from its numerous predecessors on stage and screen. That familiarity renders its wholesome approach somewhat tedious. Perhaps it's missing a little "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo."
In the ballroom dance, many of the dresses designs are based on the dresses of various Disney princesses. Those of Belle from (Beauty and the Beast (1991)), Tiana (The Princess and the Frog (2009)), Aurora (Sleeping Beauty (1959), Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Mulan_ (1998)_, and Ariel (The Little Mermaid (1989)) can be spotted.
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Lily James originally auditioned for the role of Anastasia Tremaine before being cast as Cinderella.
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HIDDEN MICKEY: In the glass panels of the front door of Cinderella's house, a number of "Hidden Mickeys" are seen. When Cinderella is forbidden from going to the ball and is sobbing, a hidden Mickey with as the glassworks in the door windows can be seen.
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Emma Watson was in talks to star as the title character but a deal could not be worked out with Disney. She was later cast as Belle in Beauty and the Beast (2017).
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There was much controversy over whether the waist of Lily James was photo-shopped or if CGI was used, since it seemed to be impossibly thin. In later interviews, James herself, director Kenneth Branagh, and other cast members revealed that James' waist had already been naturally smaller and that for every dress she had to wear a corset, even during the dance. With her thin waist, corsets, and the poof from the blue dress, the perspective makes her waist look unnaturally thin.
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In an interview, Lily James, who plays Cinderella, said that the iconic glass slipper used in the film really doesn't fit on her foot. Instead, the slippers were added into the film later via CGI.
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Lily James, who plays Cinderella, and Sophie McShera, who plays Drizella, star alongside each other in Downton Abbey (2010). However. their roles are reversed: in Downton, McShera plays Daisy, the servant role, while James plays Lady Rose, the aristocrat.
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At the very end of the credits Helena Bonham Carter's voice can be heard saying, "Where did everybody go?"
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While approaching the project with a deep understanding of the fairy tale's history, Kenneth Branagh said: "It is impossible to think of Cinderella without thinking of Disney, and the timeless images we've all grown up watching. And those classic moments are irresistible to a filmmaker."
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The iconic blue dress in this film had a total of 8 versions made, all used depending on what Lily James had to do. For example, one dress was 4 inches off the ground for her running scene from the ball to the carriage, one dragged an the ground slightly for her entrance at the ball.
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A total of 10,000 swarovski crystals were one-by-one placed on the blue dress (in Lily James' hair as well).
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Lily James sang her version of "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" and Helena Bonham Carter sang her version of the magic words "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo". Both songs were made popular in the animated Cinderella (1950).
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There's a scene at the back of their house where Cinderella is feeding the animals while she's humming the song "Sing, Sweet Nightingale". The song is also sung by Cinderella while doing her chores in the 1950 animated film.
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It's a common misconception that Disney's Cinderella (1950) and subsequently this film cut some of the more violent and disturbing elements of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale (such as the stepsisters cutting off their heels and toes to make the slipper fit and birds pecking out their eyes) in order to make the film more family-friendly. In truth, Disney did not base the original film on the Brothers Grimm "Aschenputtel" (19th century) but rather on Charles Perrault's 1697 Cinderella. Perrault's version includes the fairy godmother and the pumpkin coach that are absent from the Grimm version, and does not include some of the more sinister elements. Both films credit the film as based on the Perrault story.
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Lily James, who plays Cinderella, is the girlfriend of Matt Smith in real life. Richard Madden, who plays Prince Kit, is the boyfriend of Jenna Coleman, who was Smith's co-star in Doctor Who (1963).
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Helena Bonham Carter (who played the Fairy Godmother) also played the Red Queen in Disney's live action remake of Alice in Wonderland (2010). Verna Felton, the original voice actress of the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella (1950) also provided the voice of the Queen of Hearts in Disney's original animated Alice in Wonderland (1951).
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Lily James' favorite part about playing Cinderella was wearing the big blue ballgown.
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The final dancing scene was entirely improvised. Director Kenneth Branagh decided to keep it in the final cut.
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For the blue dress, there was a total of 270 yards of fabric used, and up to 2 miles of hem.
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Director Kenneth Branagh and Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Ella's Fairy Godmother, had an affair and dated in the 1990s. Kenneth Baranagh and Helena Bonham Carter are both stars from the Harry Potter series. Baranagh played Professor Gilderoy Lockhart (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), Carter played Bellatrix Lestange.
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This film marks Kenneth Branagh's first collaboration with Walt Disney Pictures. Branagh also directed Thor (2011), which was distributed by Paramount Pictures but subsequently re-branded as a Disney film.
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Imogen Poots, Bella Heathcote, Margot Robbie, and Lily James tested for the lead role. The role went to James.
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This film marks the reunion of director Kenneth Branagh with Stellan Skarsgrd (Thor (2011)), Helena Bonham Carter (Frankenstein (1994)), Derek Jacobi (Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), and Hamlet (1996)).
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"Lavender's Blue" is sung by Cinderella's mother and by Cinderella. The melody is also played at the ball. It is an old traditional English song. Burl Ives won an Oscar for the song in an earlier Disney film, So Dear to My Heart (1948). It is also playfully referenced at the end of Disney's "Spectrum Song".
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Mark Romanek was hired as the director, but he eventually dropped out due to creative differences.
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The short film sequel to Frozen (2013), Frozen Fever (2015), was shown before the film. It contained an original song written by the creators of Frozen.
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Saoirse Ronan, Alicia Vikander, and Gabriella Wilde were all considered to play Cinderella.
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Nonso Anozie (the captain) and Richard Madden (the prince) both appeared on Game of Thrones (2011) as Xaro Daxos and Robb Stark respectively, though they shared no scenes in the show.
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While the exterior shots of the royal palace in the movie are CGI, it apparently is based on the "Zwinger" in Dresden, Germany, an 18th-century palace-complex. The Disney version is, however, greatly expanded in size.
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Lily James (Cinderella) and Hayley Atwell (Cinderella's mother) share a birthday, seven years apart.
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For her performance, Cate Blanchett drew inspiration for her character Tremaine primarily on Joyce Carey's performance in Brief Encounter (1945).
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In this film, Richard Madden played a slightly similar character with his character in Game of Thrones. A king torn between marrying a woman for power and another one for love.
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The prince (Richard Madden) is referred to as 'Kit'. Madden's co star in 'Game of Thrones' Jon Snow's real name is 'Kit'. In Game of Thrones (2011) Richard Madden plays Robb Stark who is the half brother of Jon Snow, the actor who plays Jon Snow is Kit Harington, and Richard Madden's name in Cinderella is Kit.
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Hayley Atwell starred in The Pillars of the Earth (2010). Ben Chaplin starred in the sequel, World Without End (2012).
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A second collaboration between director Kenneth Branagh and Nonso Alonzie. The first one was Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014).
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The original runtime of the film was 115-120 minutes with 10-15 minutes cut out during post-production.
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Along with the painting known as "The Swing" being used during the ball, it is also used in another Cinderella adaption, "The Slipper and the Rose".
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Richard Madden (The Prince) and Nonso Anozie (The Captain) both have played characters in Game of Thrones. Madden famously played Rob Stark and Anozie played Xaro Xohan Daxos.
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The famous Rococo painting "The Swing", which contains a woman losing her shoe as she swings in a garden (and is pictured in Frozen (2011) as Anna dances around the castle) is recreated in the scene where Cinderella is in the secret garden with Prince Kit.
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After the Ball, when Cinderella chooses to write down all that had happened, she picks up a pencil. She was writing with a 2HB wooden yellow pencil with a pink rubber eraser and a green and yellow metal eraser holder.
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When we see Ella mending her dress for the ball, the camera pans down to reveal the mice making her shoes. When she gets on the carriage later, her shoes are the dirty blue ones she's always been wearing.
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When Ella's father leaves on his last business trip, the pair of horses at the carriage he leaves in have no white on their legs. As he carriage pulls into the road (and the camera pans back to Ella), the horses each have four white legs (and are probably the same pair of bay hackney horses that bring Ella's father home in the opening scenes; each horse has a wide blaze on its face and 4 white stockings). This same pair of very distinctive horses also appear briefly at the beginning of the king's ball, while everyone is arriving.
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After the proclamation of the king that all maidens shall try on the slipper in his search for the 'mystery princess' Cinderella addresses him as the prince when speaking with her stepmother.
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When Lady Tremaine sends Cinderella to the attic for the first time, the entrance to the long staircase is past the living room on the ground floor. When Cinderella exits the attic at the end of the film to meet the Prince downstairs, she descends the grand staircase from the second floor into the foyer. Unless there was another exit from the attic stairs to the second floor, she would have entered on the ground floor.
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Cinderella's glass shoes magically appear on her feet, obviously under her dress. When the magic has finished she looks out in front of her dress at the spot where her old shoes were and says, "They are beautiful".
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When the painter falls, we see his palette on a right angle. The tin on the palette would have a paint thinner inside, however, nothing falls out of the tin when he falls. It would be impossible to use his paints without it.
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During the Royal Ball, when Cinderella and the Prince are walking through the gardens before midnight, a full moon is setting over the water on the western horizon. However, for this to occur the sun would have to be about to rise in the east. The sun doesn't rise until the following morning, as the Prince begins his search for Cinderella.
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fairy godmother|fairy tale|duke|dress|king|love|dance|attic|servant|kindness|magic|princess|hope|singing|lizard|garden|hunting|party|widow|glass slipper|horseback riding|box office hit|female protagonist|forgiveness|held captive|painting|transformation|horse and carriage|secret garden|royal ball|forest|mouse|sister sister relationship|father daughter relationship|mother daughter relationship|young version of character|character repeating someone else's dialogue|voice over narration|one word title|oppression|death of father|death of mother|title spoken by character|character name in title|prince|goose|cat|pumpkin|forename as title|stepsister stepsister relationship|stepmother stepdaughter relationship|
AKAs Titles:
Argentina - La Cenicienta
Azerbaijan - Sindirella
Bulgaria (Bulgarian title) - Ÿепелˆка
Brazil - Cinderela
Canada (French title) - Cendrillon
Chile - La Cenicienta
Czech Republic - Popelka
Denmark - Eventyret om Askepot
Spain - Cenicienta
Finland - Cinderella: Tuhkimon tarina
France - Cendrillon
Greece - ӄᇄο€ο„α
Croatia - Pepeljuga
Hungary - Hamupip‘ke
Israel (English title) - Cinderella
Italy - Cenerentola
Japan - Shinderera
Lithuania - Pelene
Latvia - Pelnruskite
Mexico - La Cenicienta
Norway - Eventyret om Askepott
Peru - La cenicienta
Poland - Kopciuszek
Portugal - Cinderela
Romania - Cenusareasa
Serbia - Pepeljuga
Russia - —олƒˆка
Sweden - Berttelsen om Askungen
Slovenia - Pepelka
Slovakia - Popoluska
Turkey (Turkish title) - Sindirella
Ukraine - ŸопелŽˆка
Release Dates:
Certifications:
Argentina:ATP / Australia:G / Canada:G / Chile:TE / Czech Republic:U / Germany:o.Al. / Hong Kong:I / Ireland:G / Mexico:A / Netherlands:AL / Philippines:G / Portugal:M/6 / Singapore:PG / South Korea:All / Sweden:7 / Switzerland:0 / UK:U / USA:PG (certificate #49280)
Movie Details:
MOVIE
