Using his diplomatic skills, Lionel offers a compromise between King Maximilian, Queen Constantina, and Prince Christopher: if a fitting bride is not selected at the ball, then he may seek his true love in his own way. Disappointed, she dreams of a world away from her cold and loveless life (" In My Own Little Corner"). Finding the idea humorous, her stepmother reminds her of her lowly station and warns against dreams of joy, success, and splendor. Cinderella wonders if she, too, can go to the ball. Meanwhile, Cinderella's stepmother, determined to see Calliope or Minerva get chosen, plans their big night. He wishes to fall in love the old-fashioned way, but they dismiss this, and Lionel is dispatched to proclaim that " The Prince is Giving a Ball". His parents, King Maximilian ( Victor Garber) and Queen Constantina ( Whoopi Goldberg), are making preparations for a ball where he is to select a suitable bride from all the eligible maidens in the kingdom. Upbraided by his frantic loyal servant, Lionel ( Jason Alexander), for his clandestine venture into the village, Prince Christopher tries to explain his sense of isolation and sadness. Her stepmother scolds her, and Prince Christopher reluctantly returns to the palace. Cinderella is nearly crushed by the royal coach, searching for missing royalty, but she is saved by Prince Christopher's heroic intervention and is immediately charmed by his sincere, direct nature, just as he is drawn to her naive honesty and purity. Disguised as a peasant, Prince Christopher (Paolo Montalban) strolls through the market. Her imagination wanders ("The Sweetest Sounds"). In the marker, Cinderella ( Brandy Norwood) struggles under the weight of the numerous gaudy purchases of her imperious stepmother ( Bernadette Peters) and her spiteful and envious stepsisters, Calliope (Veanne Cox) and Minerva (Natalie Desselle-Reid). Plus, Leonardo da Vinci is there for comic relief and an unintentional fairy godmother assist! If you want your Cinderella story with a compelling feminist arc but you’re also burnt out on the songs, this is your happily ever after.Cinderella's Fairy Godmother ( Whitney Houston) explains that nothing is impossible in this magical, mystical realm. While Disney’s animated Cinderella is romantic, Ever After is a romance: Danielle disguises herself as a comtesse in order to spend time with Prince Henry (Dougray Scott), and they develop an actual relationship, complete with rejection once her subterfuge is revealed. Danielle’s (Drew Barrymore) misfortune as an orphan servant girl is so believable thanks to the cruelty of her stepmother’s (Anjelica Huston, a legend) abuse, but so is her determination and ingenuity to rise above her station. By opening with the Brothers Grimm explaining the inspiration behind their own interpretation of Cinderella, Ever After rewrites all of the familiar themes into a historical fiction-specifically, Renaissance-era France-context. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1965)Ī truly successful adaptation is one that doesn’t have to feel beholden to its source material. Still, you’ve got plenty of better movie choices forget this adaptation and just read the book. Despite all that, it (mostly) sells Ella struggling against abuses of her obedience in a way that’s still more revelatory than many straight adaptations. But the film-despite its adorable, baby-faced stars Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy-overcomplicates an already daring plot with a throne-stealing subplot (that Cary Elwes, as the unnecessary evil uncle, can’t save) and an unforgivably cheesy cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” Hathaway’s voice is sweeter than Nicholas Galitzine’s rendition in the new Cinderella, but the giants dressed in early-aughts miniskirts strain even the most loose definitions of fantasy. This is a tough one, because the source material-that is, Gail Carson Levine’s 1997 middle grade novel-is unquestionably one of the very best Cinderella adaptations: Ella’s curse of obedience is an apt commentary on manipulating young girls into giving up their agency under the guise of people-pleasing.
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