On March 13, the new Disney movie Cinderella was released in theaters with about $67,877,361 that was grossed on the opening weekend. The movie starred Lily James as Cinderella, Cate Blanchette as the stepmother, Richard Madden as the Prince, and Helena Carter as the godmother.

The film followed the classic story of Cinderella that was animated back in 1950, but now has been made into the live action version of the story. While the story follows fairly close to the original Disney telling of the story, the story has a few plot points that are different. The movie expands upon the relationship with the mother and father a little bit more at the beginning of the movie to give the audience a little more depth into Cinderella’s struggle. The movie also gives development into how the name Cinderella comes into play. Throughout most of the movie, she is referred to as her real name which is Ella, but eventually the stepmother and stepsisters give her the nickname Cinderella after she got ashes on herself from cleaning the fireplace.

Personally, I love this whole movie. It’s a great adaptation of the story that’s a little bit more real and well developed. Ella’s struggle seemed a lot more tangible and relatable to the audience and you really felt for her because of the things she had to endure. I think the fact that they expanded upon Ella’s parent relationships really moved the story into a believable format, so you understood why she was trying to be kind to everyone.

I also liked how they expanded a bit more on the Prince. He is still not well developed, but at least the writers made sure that it wasn’t like the original where the prince meets her at the ball and wants to get married immediately. The writers made sure there was a little more of a reason for the attraction to her and there’s a little more development and reason to get married to her. The relationship between the two was genuine and very pure, and I really think that also is prominent throughout the whole movie.

All in all, I really loved it. I had high expectations for this movie, and personally, I felt they not only met those standards, but they exceeded them. It’s a fantastic re-telling of the story and I would highly recommend to see it. I would give this movie a 9 out of 10.

15rarthur@usd489.com