This article is about the 2015 live-action film. For the 1950 animated film, see Cinderella (1950 film).
Cinderella is a 2015 American-British live-action fantasy film directed by Kenneth Branagh, and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is an adaptation of the fairy tale Cendrillon by Charles Perrault and while not a remake, is largely inspired by the 1950 animated film of the same name. It stars Lily James and Cate Blanchett as the titular character and the evil stepmother Lady Tremaine respectively. The film was released on March 13, 2015 and is theatrically accompanied by the short film Frozen Fever.
Plot[]
Ella lives with her wealthy parents on a beautiful estate in a peaceful kingdom. From a young age, she is taught by her mother to believe in the existence of magic, allowing her to befriend many animals on the estate, particularly the mice, including Jacqueline and Gus. Everything is perfect until her mother contracts an illness one night. On her deathbed, she makes Ella promise that she will always be courageous and show kindness to others.
Years later, when Ella is grown up, her father marries Lady Tremaine, the widow of an old acquaintance, who has two daughters of her own, Drisella and Anastasia. Ella welcomes her stepfamily warmly, despite her stepsisters' unpleasant attitudes and her needing to protect her mice friends from her stepmother's cat, Lucifer. After overhearing that Ella's father still prefers his first wife, Lady Tremaine starts to slowly reveal her cruel and jealous nature.
Soon, Ella's father goes abroad on business, promising his stepdaughters gifts of luxury. His own daughter merely requests for the first branch that brushes against his shoulder on his journey. Taking advantage of Ella's hospitality, Lady Tremaine persuades her to give up her room for Drisella and Anastasia, presumably temporarily, while Ella retires to the attic with only her mouse friends to keep her company. After many weeks, one of the servants informs the family that Ella's father became ill during the trip and died. Ella receives a branch that she asked her father from the servant.
Not long after her second husband's death, Lady Tremaine dismisses the servants, leaving Ella to do all the work. Relegated to nothing more than a servant, she is subjected to cruel mistreatment by her stepfamily. She is forbidden to eat with them and is spitefully renamed "Cinderella" after waking up covered with ashes from the fireplace. Crushed by their cruelty, Ella goes for a ride on her horse into the forest, where she encounters a hunting party. She meets one of the hunters, who claims to be an apprentice named Kit (a nickname given to him by his father, the King) and lives in the palace. They learn from the other that they have been taught to have courage and be kind. Ella becomes attracted by Kit. Unknown to her, he is actually the only son of the land's dying king. He hides his true identity from Ella when the Captain of the guards almost reveals it while he informs him that the hunting party must be going. Kit and Ella bid farewell to each other, hoping they will meet again. Despite never learning her name, he is enchanted by Ella's charm, kindness, and unique outlook on life, and becomes infatuated with her. Upon learning that he has little time left, the King insists that Kit finds a bride at an upcoming ball. Despite the law saying that he must marry a princess, Kit can't get over the mystery girl, and deals with his father into letting every eligible maiden in the land attend. He agrees to this along with the Captain and the Grand Duke.
Once the ball is announced, the Tremaine family is ecstatic at the prospect of marrying into royalty. However, when Lady Tremaine refuses to buy Ella a new dress, she fixes up an old dress of her mother's with help from her mice friends. On the night of the ball, Ella tries to join her stepmother and stepsisters on the way out, but Lady Tremaine, claiming that her mere presence will disgrace them, leads her and Drisella into ripping up the dress before the Tremaine family leaves without her. This seemingly breaks Ella's spirit, and she runs into the garden in tears. She encounters an old beggar woman, who reveals herself to be her Fairy Godmother. The Fairy Godmother subsequently turns a pumpkin into a magnificent carriage, Ella's four mice friends into horses, two lizards into footmen, and a goose into a coachman. She then transforms Ella's dress into a gorgeous blue gown, complete with a delicate pair of glass slippers before sending her on her way with the warning that the spell on everything she transformed will only last until midnight.
At the ball, Kit is introduced by the Grand Duke to Princess Chelina, a beautiful Spanish princess from the kingdom of Zaragosa. When Ella finally arrives, the entire court is entranced by her, especially Kit. She wins the coveted first dance with him and becomes pleasantly surprised to learn his true identity. Their meeting irritates the Grand Duke, who secretly promised Kit's hand in marriage to Princess Chelina — a fact that Lady Tremaine overhears from the Grand Duke's private talk with the Captain. After dancing, Ella and Kit tour the palace and grounds together, slowly falling in love. He takes her to a secret garden he never shows anyone else. But before he can learn her name, the clock strikes close to midnight, forcing her to flee. During her departure, she stops for a second to tell the King kind words about Kit and accidentally drops one of her glass slippers on the palace stairs in the process. She manages to get away before the stroke of midnight and hides the other slipper in her room as a memento.
Soon after, the King tells Kit the same words Ella's mother spoke to her (revealing to be the one who taught Kit to have courage and be kind) and dies, but not before giving his son permission to find his true love. Once it's announced that the new king is willing to marry the mystery princess who wore glass slippers to the ball, Ella excitedly goes to her room to get the other slipper, only to find her stepmother waiting for her with it in her hand. Lady Tremaine, having figured out Ella's identity from her attitude after the ball, demands that Ella make her the head of the royal household once she becomes queen. She also demands that Ella ensures Drisella and Anastasia get proper husbands as well. Ella refuses to let Lady Tremaine underestimate her will, admitting that while she wasn't able to protect her father from her, she will protect the prince and the kingdom, no matter what becomes of her. Enraged by this remark, Lady Tremaine smashes the slipper against the wall and locks Ella in the attic. She then brings the shattered shoe and the identity of the mystery princess to the Grand Duke and blackmails him by striking a deal with him. He will grant her requests of her being a countess and advantageous marriages for her daughters in exchange of keeping Ella away from Kit. The Grand Duke takes the broken slipper to Kit, hoping to convince him to forget the mystery princess and marry Princess Chelina for the sake of the kingdom, but this makes him even more determined than ever to find his true love. He accepts that if the mystery princess is not found at all, he will marry Princess Chelina, telling the Grand Duke that he will spare no effort in showing Kit that the mystery princess can never be found.
The Grand Duke and the Captain lead a garrison to try the remaining slipper on all the maidens in the land, all of whom are rejected by its magic, before arriving at the Tremaine estate as the last house they haven't visit. When the slipper rejects both stepsisters, the men turn to leave the estate, only for everyone to hear Ella singing ("Lavender's Blue"), thanks to the mice opening her attic window. The Grand Duke tries to leave anyway, but one of the men reveals himself to be Kit in disguise, and subtly demands the Captain to investigate the singing. Once Ella is revealed, Lady Tremaine tries to forbid her from trying on the shoe, but is overruled by the Captain, who defends her. Ella tells Lady Tremaine that she has never been and never will be her mother before leaving the attic with the Captain to meet Kit downstairs. She and Kit are finally reunited as she reveals who she is to him. Sure enough, the slipper fits Ella perfectly and the stepsisters both plead to her for forgiveness. Ella graciously forgives her stepmother and leaves with Kit. Lady Tremaine later departs the kingdom with her daughters and the Grand Duke, never to return again.
At their wedding, Kit and Ella are crowned as the new king and queen. The Fairy Godmother narrates that they become the land's most beloved monarchs, ruling with courage and kindness like Ella had promised her mother.
Cast[]
- Lily James as Ella/Cinderella
- Eloise Webb as young Ella/Cinderella
- Richard Madden as Kit
- Cate Blanchett as Lady Tremaine
- Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother
- Stellan Skarsgård as the Grand Duke
- Nonso Anozie as the Captain
- Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera as Anastasia and Drisella Tremaine
- Derek Jacobi as the King
- Hayley Atwell as Ella's mother
- Ben Chaplin as Ella's Father
- Jana Pérez as Princess Chelina of Zaragosa
- Rob Brydon as Master Phineas
- Gerard Horan as Lord Veneering
- Alex MacQueen as Town Crier
Production[]
The 2015 and 1950 Cinderella.
After the success of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Disney began developing a new adaptation of Cinderella in May 2010.[1] Director Mark Romanek was initially going to direct the movie, however, he dropped out on January 9, 2013 due to creative differences. On February 1, 2013, Kenneth Branagh (Thor) stepped in as the new director. The screenplay is co-written by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada) and Chris Weitz (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) and stars Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett as Lady Tremaine.
The role of Cinderella was originally offered to former Harry Potter star, Emma Watson, but she eventually dropped out due to her commitment to another upcoming Disney project, Beauty and the Beast with Bill Condon directing it. After Watson left, other actresses such as Saoirse Ronan, Alicia Vikander, Gabriella Wilde, Imogen Poots, Bella Heathcote, Margot Robbie, and Lily James were all considered for the role. Ultimately, the role was given to the latter actress from Downtown Abbey on April 30, 2013.
On May 8, 2013, it was announced that Game of Thrones star, Richard Madden was cast as Prince Charming. In June 2013, Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera joined the film as Anastasia and Drisella. Later that month, Helena Bonham Carter was cast as the Fairy Godmother. On July 8, 2013, it was announced that Stellan Skarsgård was in talks for the role of the Grand Duke.[2] On August 19, 2013, Hayley Atwell revealed that she would be playing Cinderella's biological mother who dies when Cinderella is five years old.[3]
Production on the film started in London in September 2013 and post-production began in December 2013. It was released on March 13, 2015.
The first teaser trailer was attached to screenings of Maleficent.
Differences from the 1950 film[]
- Although it featured Ella singing her mother's lullaby, "Lavender's Blue", and the cast singing the songs from the original during the credits, unlike the original film, this was not a musical.
- Ella first appears as a baby. In the original film, she first appears as a young girl.
- During the narration at the start of the original film, all characters were silent. In the remake, the narration extends a bit further in the film, but the characters were only silent while the narrator is talking.
- Ella's mother appears at the start of the remake, but later dies from an illness. In the original film, she doesn't appear at all.
- In the remake, Lady Tremaine and Ella's father aren't married until Ella, Drisella, and Anastasia, are grown women. In the animated film, this happens while they are still young girls.
- Before Ella's father leaves on his business trip, he asks his daughter and stepdaughters what they would like when he returns. Anastasia and Drisella ask for parasols and lace while Ella asks for the first branch that brushes his shoulder. This is based on the Brothers Grimm version of the story, where the stepsisters ask for clothes and jewels and Cinderella asks for the first branch that brushes her father's hat. This is not in the original, which is based on the Charles Perrault version of the story.
- Ella is her original name in the remake, like in the original fairy tale. She was called "Cinderella" by her stepfamily when she woke up one morning with her face coated in soot. In the original film, it was presumed that Cinderella was her actual name.
- The clock tower is smaller in the remake and has a large bell underneath the clock itself. It is also part of the gate leading into the kingdom.
- In the remake, Ella listens to an announcement about the upcoming ball and delivers the news to her stepfamily. In the original film, she receives an invitation to the ball and gives the invitation to her stepfamily.
- In the remake, Lady Tremaine and Drisella tear the dress because they don't want Ella to attend the ball on the reasons that her dress would be insulting in the presence of the King and those who are attending the ball as well causing humiliation on the part of the Tremaine family. In the original film, Anastasia and Drisella destroyed the dress because they see their belongings sewed onto the dress.
- The Prince and Ella meet prior to the ball.
- The Prince is named Kit in the remake. His name is not ever mentioned in the original.
- In the remake, Ella had house servants before she became the sole housemaid.
- The animals all have significantly reduced roles in this version.
- Bruno doesn't appear in the remake.
- Lucifer doesn't antagonize Ella, Jaq, and Gus in the remake.
- Lucifer is gray instead of black.
- Jaq and Gus are silent characters in this film.
- Jaq is female in the remake instead of male, and is also Gus' love interest.
- Unlike in the original, Ella's mice friends are only four and they never wear any clothes.
- The King's personality is less destructive and he never antagonizes the Grand Duke in the remake.
- The Fairy Godmother appears as an old hag before transforming into a young, beautiful woman. In the original, she appears as an old woman the whole time.
- The Fairy Godmother turns Ella's mice friends into horses, a goose into a coachman, and two lizards into footmen (the latter is most common in traditional adaptations of the original story). In the original, she turns the horse Major into a coachman and the dog Bruno into a footman.
- The carriage is colored gold with glass instead of white, and the doors on both sides of the carriage are both double doors instead of single.
- The pumpkin that the Fairy Godmother uses is inside a greenhouse instead of in a pumpkin patch, and the greenhouse was integrated with the pumpkin to create the carriage.
- When the carriage turns back into a pumpkin, it breaks upon hitting the ground. In the original, the pursuing knights crush it while chasing her.
- Ella's dress is blue instead of silver. This is probably to reference the current color of Ella's ballgown in merchandising.
- The Fairy Godmother wears silver and Ella wears blue. In the original, it's the reverse.
- Ella's hair is down and has ribbon curls with rope braid as headband. In the original, her hair is in a high bun with a headband and earrings.
- Ella doesn't wear gloves or a choker, unlike the original.
- Ella receives the glass slippers some time after her dress transformation in the remake. In the original, the slippers appeared on her feet during the transformation.
- The Fairy Godmother also casts an additional spell that keeps Ella's stepfamily from discovering who she really is.
- While fleeing the castle, a footman closes the gate to stop the knights chasing the coach. In the original, the Grand Duke orders the gate closed to stop the coach but fails to do so in time, so he sends some knights after the coach and has the gate reopened.
- The Grand Duke takes part in the chase.
- The knights did not catch up to Ella after the Fairy Godmother's magic wears off (due to the fact that one of the lizard footmen pulled the lever that shuts the castle gate with his tail).
- In the remake, Ella notices her other glass slipper after returning to normal, which she uses to carry her mice friends. In the original film, her mice friends noticed it instead.
- The King's crown is not seen in the remake.
- The Grand Duke is an antagonist in the remake. He was good in the original.
- During the ball, he promised that Kit would marry Princess Chelina of Zaragoza.
- He allies himself with Lady Tremaine sometime later in the film.
- When Ella enters the ballroom, everyone notices her. In the original, only the Prince, the King, and the Grand Duke see her upon her arrival.
- The Herald doesn't appear in the remake. The Captain instead replaces him while some of his roles were taken over by the Town Crier.
- The King dies from an illness in the climax while in the original, he remains to be alive even in the ending in which Ella and the Prince get married.
- While Ella is heading home, it begins to rain. This never happened in the original film.
- Lady Tremaine breaks the glass slipper that Ella kept and Ella tries on the one she left behind to prove her identity. In the original, Lady Tremaine tripped the Herald to break the glass slipper Cinderella left behind and Cinderella reveals the one she kept to prove her identity.
- However, in Cinderella III: A Twist in Time, Lady Tremaine does break the glass slipper that Cinderella kept.
- Lady Tremaine was forced to set Ella free by the Captain of the Guards. In the original, Jaq and Gus set her free.
- In the remake, Drisella and Anastasia apologize to Cinderella but Lady Tremaine sits on stairs in defeat, but in the original she was shocked after Cinderella revealed that she has the other glass slipper.
- At the end of the film, it is mentioned that Lady Tremaine, her daughters, and the Grand Duke had left the kingdom. This didn't happen in the original film.
- Ella and the Prince become the new king and queen after their marriage. This does not happen at the end of the original film.
Videos[]
Trailers and Clips[]
Interviews[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This is the second of many live-action adaptations of classic Disney animated films released during the 21st century, following Maleficent (Pete's Dragon doesn't count as it is considered an adaptation of a live-action movie).
- This adaptation was in production following the success of the 2010 adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.
- Coincidentally, both remakes featured Helena Bonham Carter who portrayed the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland.
- Also coincidentally, Bonham Carter's roles in both of these remakes were voiced by Verna Felton in the original animated versions.
- The blue dress was created by Academy Award-winning costume designer Sandy Powell.
- Powell stated that the dress was "really light. It's a very fine silk crêpe line and a polyester which is light as air. The whole thing is over a wire cage and that gives it its volume. The most important thing was its movement. We did a lot of different combinations of fabric. That's what I hoped would happen when she's dancing - that all the layers would move independent of each other. They are all different colors."
- There were eight different versions made. "A couple were for the stunt woman who didn't do the dance - the stunt woman was used for running downstairs. The dress for dancing was only a couple of inches shorter so that it didn't touch the ground to help save Richard from treading on it and falling. The same for running downstairs and we had to make multiples because the hems get wet and dirty really quickly."
- A total of 10,000 Swarovski crystals were placed on the dress one-by-one and in James' hair as well.
- A total of 270 yards of fabric and up to two miles of hem were used to make the dress.
- Lily James was eventually cast as Ella.
- The lead role was offered to Emma Watson but she declined. She was later cast as Belle, another Disney Princess, in the 2017 live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.
- James originally auditioned for the role of Anastasia.
- Producer David Barron said "there's nobody else" that could have played the part as perfectly as James does. "Before Ken [Branagh] and I became involved, they had already tested quite a few Cinderellas. We knew she was the one – there's just something that emanates from her."
- James said she studied the animated movie to nail Ella's physicality. "One of the main things I wanted to take from the animated film was I wanted to take that grace and that ease and that movement – but I still wanted it to feel real. I didn't want her to seem like she's this ballet dancer, prancing about. I loved her physicality in the film. There's a moment where she cries by the well and her back undulates and without seeing her face, you can feel her grief. In the film, I tried to basically mimic that moment, which was the only time I mimicked."
- Early reports said that the screenplay was co-written by Aline Brosh McKenna and Chris Weitz, but after the struggle of the Writer's Guild of America (WGA), the promotional material and the closing credits said "Screenplay by Chris Weitz"
- Many actors worked together in previous roles, including Richard Madden (the Prince) and Nonso Anozie (the Captain) in Game of Thrones, Lily James (Ella) and Sophie McShera (Drisella) in Downton Abbey, Helena Bonham Carter (Fairy Godmother) and Derek Jacobi (the King) in The King's Speech, Helena Bonham Carter (Fairy Godmother) and Holliday Grainger (Anastasia) in Great Expectations (2012).
- Many actors also worked together in later roles, as well as director Kenneth Branagh. The West End revival of Romeo and Juliet was directed by Kenneth Branagh and starred Richard Madden (the Prince) as Romeo, Lily James (Ella) as Juliet, and Derek Jacobi (the King) as Mercutio. The Marvel Cinematic Universe saw Kenneth Branagh direct the first Thor film, Hayley Atwell (Ella's mother) as Peggy Carter, Stellan Skarsgård (the Grand Duke) as Erik Selvig, Cate Blanchett (Lady Tremaine) as Hela, and Richard Madden (the Prince) as Ikaris.
- This is the fifth Disney film to only show the studio's logo at the beginning, and the main title and the closing credits at the end.
- The famous painting The Swing features a girl on a swing in a garden, and she loses her shoe. That is reenacted while Ella is in the secret garden with the Prince.
- The doors of Cinderella's home have a few Hidden Mickeys.
- In the ballroom scene, there are various one-colored dresses with similar color patterns as those of Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, and Tiana.
- This is the only live-action film involving a Disney Princess that has the smallest production budget ranging from $90-95 million and the third smallest among the live-action remakes making it larger than Christopher Robin ($75 million) and 101 Dalmatians ($67 million).
- Cate Blanchett, who played Lady Tremaine in this film, starred in the 1999 film Pushing Tin alongside Angelina Jolie, who played Maleficent in the 2014 film of the same name and its 2019 sequel. Both Lady Tremaine and Maleficent were voiced by Eleanor Audley in the 1950 original animated film and Sleeping Beauty.
References[]
External links[]
Cinderella (2015 Disney film) on Wikipedia- Cinderella (2015 film) on IMDb
- Cinderella (2015 film) on Disney.com
- Cinderella in Spanish at Disney ¡Ajá!
