Cinderella and Disney Live-Action Remakes

Perhaps I don't remember much of the movie after all this time, or perhaps there really was not as much of a deep and impactful message to be gleaned. It was good, but it was nothing to special. Yes, there is the obvious underlying idea that "just because it's what is done does not mean it's what should be done", but I think this is something about which our society has become particularly aware. I do not think that we should still have to be explaining that a few years down the road, but when the film came out this certainly served as a good reminder about all of the less-than-preferable elements engrained in our society.

What I have always found most interesting about this movie is the key place it holds in the development of Disney's live-action reboot efforts. Beginning with Maleficent (a retelling more than a reboot) and extending to Beauty and the Beast, the current lineup of reboots follows a progression from recreation to replication.

When Maleficent came out, rewriting classic folk tales and the like was quite popular, especially when it complicated the story or the characters. I liked that these stories eliminate the black and white of the classic Disney stories by making the characters more realistic and 3-dimensional.

Flash forward to Beauty and the Beast last year, which was almost an exact replica of the original animated film. True, there were back stories added to underdeveloped characters, and more clear motives and actions for the villain, Gaston. The message of female empowerment was also worked in nicely. But for the most part it was just a remake of the classic film using real actors and CGI.

So where does Cinderella fit? Being somewhere in the middle of the timeline, I feel like this was the turning point. While the design and direction are by no means a shot-for-shot match to the original the way that Beauty and the Beast was, the story varies very little from the famous story. Again, underdeveloped characters get more backstory. We are given a chance to understand, and perhaps pity, Lady Tremaine. And we hear enough from the prince to know and like him. Plus, the relationship between the servant girl and the prince is not just based on looks or a single romantic evening. Instead, they at least get the chance to converse, and we see more of Cinderella's kindness and his openness. But does it ultimately change the story? Honestly, no. This was the stepping stone between rewriting and redoing for Disney's live-action movies. So what does this mean for Mulan, Aladdin, and The Lion King? We will just have to wait and find out!