I’ve said in the past that I am just not the target demographic for this film, and that remains true. I’m not sure why we need this film or what it offers to compel me to go to the theaters to see it. In fact, this trailer makes the film look like an almost completely straight up retelling of the animated classic, without quite so much of the outlandishness — well, in some ways. The whole fairy godmother/glass slipper routine looks just as outlandish as the cartoon.
To me, it looks like this film is trying to dazzle and charm, but it’s lacking what the original cartoon had in those areas. I’m just not jazzed about this.
On the plus side, Cate Blanchett looks like she does a pretty good job — as you would expect from such a top notch actress. Helena Bonham Carter as Fairy Godmother on the other hand seems a little weird and crazy, but maybe that will be a good thing.
The films opens to theaters on March 13, 2015. Here’s the official synopsis.
The story of “Cinderella” follows the fortunes of young Ella (Lily James) whose merchant father remarries following the death of her mother. Eager to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and her daughters Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera) into the family home. But, when Ella’s father unexpectedly 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, Ella could easily begin to lose hope. Yet, despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, Ella is determined to honor her mother’s dying words and to “have courage and be kind.” She will not give in to despair nor despise those who mistreat her. And then there is the dashing stranger she meets in the woods. Unaware that he is really a prince, not merely an apprentice at the Palace, Ella finally feels she has met a kindred soul. It appears 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 (Richard Madden). Alas, her stepmother forbids her to attend and callously rips apart her dress. But, as in all good fairy tales, help is at hand, and a kindly beggar woman (Helena Bonham-Carter) steps forward and – armed with a pumpkin and a few mice – changes Cinderella’s life forever.
And the trailer: