Cinderella Review (2015)

Cinderella

  March is known as one of the worst months for movies, however, Cinderella seemed to be getting a lot of critical praise and so I decided to check it out.

  The movie starts out with her as a child, showing Ella's relationship with her parents. They're the perfect little family until a random, unnamed illness befalls the mother and she dies. Her father remarries the evil stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and that is where the story from the beloved cartoon comes into play.

  When the story started, I was worried because I dislike most child actors and the girl playing young Ella is an example of why. Thankfully, within five to ten minutes, Lily James came in as Ella and the story got a little better. 

  Cinderella is a very paint by the numbers type of movie. It doesn't change much of anything from the source material, which is fine, except we've had so many versions of this particular fairytale already. 

  What I did really like about the movie, was the costume design and the sets. Everything was shot very beautifully and I really felt like I was immersed in the world. Lily James and Richard Madden (the Prince) had good, believable chemistry, and Cate Blanchett really gave some layers to the evil stepmother. 

  There were some cheesy moments, particularly with the stepsisters and Fairy Godmother, but there were also some really sweet moments that brought magic to the film. If you like the original Cinderella cartoon, it's almost guaranteed you'll like this. 3 out of 5 stars. (Rent It)