Cinderella (2021) Movie | Camila Cabello | Nicholas Galitzine | Idina Menzel | Review & Facts

[Music] e e e hello guys welcome to my channel in this video we are going to review Cinderella movie so join us as we dive into the world of movie review exploring the depth of Cinderella movie get ready to embark on an Epic Journey filled with interesting facts as we explore movie review and fact so whether you're a season with movie review or just curious about Cinderella movie review so then hit that subscribe button and join our community don't forget to turn on notifications so you never miss out on our latest Adventures now let's dive in Cinderella is a 2021 romantic musical film based on the fairy tale of the same name by Charles pero written and directed by K Canon it stars singer Camila Cabo as the title character in her acting debut alongside Nicholas galaty ad Dina Manzel mini driver Billy Porter and Pierce brosman it is a jukebox musical featuring pop and rock hits in addition to several original songs two development began in April 2019 when Sony Pictures announced a musical style film of Cinderella with Canon writing and directing the film was produced by James Cordon through fullwell 73 with Leo proman Jonathan Caden and Shannon Macintosh principal photography began in February 2020 at Pinewood Studios and was suspended in March 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic production resumed in August 2020 and concluded in September Cinderella was released in Select theaters and digitally on Amazon Prime video on September 3rd 20213 to mix reviews from critics commercially according to samb TV it was watched in 1.1 million us households over its 4-day Labor Day weekend debut and in 2.2 million households by the end of its first 30 days according to the analytics company screen engine Cinderella was the most watched streaming film during its opening weekend as well as the most watched musical film of 2021 in April 2019 Columbia Pictures announced a musical retelling of Cinderella with K Canon writing and directing for the idea to reinterpret Cinderella came from James cordin who produced the film through fullwell 73 with Leo colan Jonathan Caden and Shannon McIntosh five in April 2019 Camila Cabo was attached in the role of Cinderella five in October 2019 it was announced that talks were underway with Adena manzela Cinderella's stepmother six and Billy Porter for the role of Fairy Godparent 7 in December 2019 Nicholas gallat scene was added to the cast as Prince Robert 8 principal photography began in February 2020 at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom 10 filming was suspended in March 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic 10 production resumed in August 2021 and concluded in September 12 Cinderella's Carriage was designed to promote Mercedes-Benz as part of the film's marketing Amazon Prime video partnered with Mercedes-Benz in August 2021 19 on August 9th Japanese shoes brand an Asuka tiger announced the release of limited edition sneakers created in collaboration with Cinderella 20 on August 11th hair brand John Frida announced a collaboration with Cinderella Cinderella was released in Select theaters and digitally in 240 territories via Amazon Prime video on September 3r 2021 322 it had a Premiere event on August 30th 2021 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles 2324 zit TV reported that 1.1 million American households streamed the film over its first 4 days of release while Amazon claimed it was the most watched bod title over the same frame 25 in June 2019 Sony scheduled the film for release February 5th 2021 26 in January 2021 the release date was pushed back to July 16th 2021 27 in May 2021 Sony canceled the film's theatrical debut and announced that the film had been bought by Amazon Studios except China Sony would also main home entertainment and linear television rights to the film according to samb TV the film was watched in 1.1 million us households over its 4-day Labor Day weekend deew and in 2.2 million households by the end of its first 30 days 31 according to the analytics company screen engine Cinderella was the most watched streaming film during its opening weekend as well as the most watched musical film yet in 2021 on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 41 % based on 135 reviews with an average rating of 4.9 out of 10 the website's critics consensus reads this singalong worthy Cinderella sprinkles some modern fairy dust on the off toold Tale But flat performances and clunky dialogue make watching often feel like a chore 33 on Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100 based on reviews from 30 critics indicating mixed or average reviews 34 Richard roer of the Chicago Chicago Times gave the film three out of four stars and praised Cabo for her performance saying she has a real neck for comedy and described the film is having an upbeat Breezy and sentimental Style laed with some sharp humor and filled with familiar and catchy pop tunes refashioned to fit the story lot 35 Jonathan Sim of Cummings in.net wrote It's a progressively Charming take on a romantic tale and there are sweet romantic moments throughout the film even if there isn't much you haven't seen before 30 did Courtney Howard of variety was critical of many of the creative choices the inconsistent pacing and the character development she called the film a mediocre Musical and felt it was both underdeveloped and overstuffed at the same time Cinderella has survived a lot over the years first the wicked stepmother in the midnight curfew and then hundreds of versions in adaptations and books on television and in film undertaken by just about everyone including Walt Disney Julie Andrews Jerry Lewis Drew Barrymore and half away and Rogers and Hammerstone she is going to survive this tried up version 2 a mishmash of Relentless air quotes and sensory overload that wants to grab you by the shoulders and Shout no sing be entertained and sometimes we are but it is less a movie than a string of Tik Tok clips and it made my eyes spin like pin Wheels In fairness my 5-year-old cousin will love it it helps a lot that the Cinderella story is a classic for a reason the essence of this tale about the mistre but pure-hearted girl who gets the ultimate makeover and the classic fairy tale happily ever after ending appears in many cultures going back as far as recorded history there are moments in this film where that imperishable story shines through despite all efforts to clutter it up with Snippets of pop songs and Winks at the audience each generation brings its own perspective to the Cinderella story recent versions focused on more diversity the Brandy SL Whitley Houston version more agency Ever After for at least the better explanation for her obedience Ella Enchanted in this version Cinderella singer Camila Cabo has big dreams of being a fashion designer and supporting herself so that she no longer has to live in her Stepmother's basement it also tries to give the stepmother Adena Menzel some understanding of the reason for her cruelty and tones down the Mean Girl element of the two step sisters but the screenplay by writer director K Canon Pitch Perfect overcorrects Cinderella and leaves the story line unbalanced it's possible to give the Title Character more aspirations Independence and humor without delling down everyone around her but attributes are handed out here one to a character a challenge even The Talented cast cannot overcome the king Pierce brosman is dictatorial the queen mini driver is frustrated the princess Tula grieve studies public policy and the fairy god person Billy Porter as fabg is flamboyant Prince Robert Nicholas galline barely has any attributes at all other than being handsome singing nicely and being crazy about Cinderella it's supposed to be a running joke that he is referred to as the king's idiot son but it's kind of not wrong okay maybe not an idiot but kind of a spoiled slacker who is clear on what he's not interested in but not so clear on what he might be interested in audiences may not notice all of that though because there's a lot going on and most of it is very tuneful and colorful with some big bright dance numbers hence the prediction about the five year-old and I have to admit the 5-year-old that lives in all of us the movie begins with a spirited opening number showing the villagers dancing to Rhythm Nation yes Janet Jackson's version of a new national anthem calling for social justice is just the thing for a vaguely 18th or 19th Century Village to sing as they get ready for the day on the other hand it's undeniably pppy and energetic with lots of popular songs from the era of Jen's parents and grandparents like what a man shining star and Seven Nation Army but Queen Somebody to Love is an unfortunate reminder that it was used better in Ella Enchanted the musical numbers are much better than the dialogue which is cutesy not once but twice we hear that the prince still gets spanked on the tush tush even Porter snap cannot save his lines about the glass slippers not being comfortable Musical characters like to introduce themselves with an I want song and so we meet Cinderella in her basement Workshop saving a caterpillar from a spiderweb and singing you got to be by desray so what does she want to be bold tough wiser and better and for love to save today she is sweet she is optimistic and she is loved by mice one of them voiced by producer James Cordon this is yet another reminder that one reason the producer should not be in the movie is that producers are not the best judge of whether they add value to the movie the fonetic silliness and uneven tone are unfortunate distractions from the genuine pleasures of the film including Cabo's appealing performance as Cinderella and the creative and energetic musical numbers this Cinderella Story should have asked fabg for a makeunder there have been so many Cinderella retellings that it's often hard to keep track of them all most are medoc While others are completely forgettable made for TV movies that enjoy the familiarity of a classic story that has been around for centuries in some form or other stemming from an idea by James Cordon who plays a mous turn footman in the build Amazon Cinderella mixes the old with the new in a musical adaptation that tries to make Progressive certain parts of the story written and directed by K Canon Pitch Perfect Cinderella's music is enjoyable but it's Hollow the performance is flat and the dialogue often cringeworthy set in a distinctly vague time period one that is defined by the old-fashioned town that is too hesitant to change Cinderella follows its Title Character Camila Cabo an aspiring fashion designer with a dream of selling her her dresses if only she could escape the control of her stepmother Vivien Adena Manzel a widow who understands how little a woman can have if she doesn't play into her societal role and also marry Rich during a j to town Cinderella meets a poorly disguised Prince Robert Nicholas galline an irresponsible Royal who often butts heads with his father King Rowan Pierce brasen over his monarchical duties who offers to buy her dress before inviting her to the ball to meet others who might help her business Ambitions the two are smitten with each other but things are made complicated when Cinderella learns of Robert station and is later pressured by Vivien to marry someone she doesn't want to be with and ignore her passion Cabo and Galatin have no chemistry which makes their Central romance all the harder to believe or root for there are no longing looks and no charm to their relationship it's something that certainly needed to exist to make Cinderella work and to make up for the parts of the story that are lacking despite the songs and setup the film is void of any romantic moments between them and the pair are better when interacting with almost everyone else but each other Menzel and bren's performances are fine but viewers have seen them do better in other projects though the former does play Vivien with some nuance and she's painted with a more sympathetic brush than previous iterations of the character while Billy Porter makes a grand entrance of Cinderella's fairy godmother Fab G it's actually mini driver is Queen beatric who stands Out Among the cast elevating the material by exhibiting the many layers to her character there is a sad longing and Sparks of joy that are made apparent in her performance one that rises above everyone else's despite the obviously thin screenplay Cinderella attempts to flip the script by sprinkling in Progressive subplots Cinderella has Ambitions to be a fashion designer and not a royal at court the prince recognizes he doesn't want to be king and believes his sister Gwen to Lula grieve is far more suited for the role with her ideas to move the kingdom forward but all of these elements are heavy-handed and cringeworthy the film would rather tell instead of show with the dialogue doing most of the heavy lifting to point out issues of sexism and the patriarchal system to the audience instead of exploring and engaging with them in a more meaningful way openly pointing out that sexism exists is only stating a fact and the film offers empty platitudes about empowerment without delving into who Cinderella is as a person outside of her circumstances and this is true of every character all of whom are one not and ostensibly dull what the film also lacks is an emotional core Theo's performance isn't strong enough to be the anchor the film quickly loses its momentum and transforms into an empty shell that is too hindering to the story to ignore the musical only works if one word to lean into the silliness of it all and when the film's own script does that as well there are genuine moments of humor and fun this is especially true when Canon script Poes fun at all of the nonsense fabg announcing that Cinderella needs help to which her response is yeah I was just singing about it minutes ago well Prince Robert very sarcastically asking his father what he and his future wife will even talk about until their deaths at the age of 40 there aren't enough of these moments but when they arrive they're a treat and a nice break from some of the more ridiculous and monotonous aspects of the film and yet it doesn't go far enough the directorial choices are uninspired and devoid of Personality with the overly bright lighting likely meant to make the film feel more fairy tale likee though it makes for a rather dull aesthetic the cinematography by Andrew Dunn is as overly sanitized as the story what makes up for an overall one-dimensional story are the meticulously designed gorgeous costumes by Ellen mnik which have aure and Grandeur while reflecting the film's more modern styling the old Meats new Vibes are prevalent in the film song Choices a mixture of popular music Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation Queen Somebody to Love with original songs like million to one which Cabo sings As the centerpiece being a statement of the film's attempts at modernity unfortunately Cinderella lacks the specificity of Ever After and doesn't commit to the full fantasy of Brandy Cinderella either nor does it have the Charisma of Ella Enchanted Canon's film does emulate each of these adaptations to various degrees though it has very little to say because its message's surface level dressed up to mask its lack of depth the film very rarely leans into the fun and its heavy-handed execution mediocre performances and lack of exuberance makes for an overall Bland watch from the outset of Amazon studios's new Cinderella movie writer director K Canon welcomes audiences into a fantasy unlike any before it putting a glimmering girl boss gloss on the of adapted fairy tale in this heightened unreality characters can break into song with the Janet Jackson chart topper as easily as they belt out a new Broadway style power ballot this latest retelling of the Charles pero classic offers a feminist friendly update as its titular heroin dreams of a career not a man to whisk her away while Canon's inspired creative approach and Juke bot's musical style all point to an elegant and empowering redesign of this most familiar of garments her execution puts quite a few tears in the fabric Ella Camila Cabo has been relegated to a life of servitude after her father died years prior leaving her in the care of his cruel second wife Vivian Adena Menzel further scrutinized by her obnoxious stepsisters molia Maddie baleo and narissa Charlotte Spencer nicknamed Cinderella because of the layer of suit she acquires doing household chores she dreams of breaking out of the home's dingy basement and into the world of fashion as a dressmaker but since the times are not conducive to a career-minded woman and the town's folk are set in their old-fashioned ways all she can do is sing to vent about her burning desires meanwhile potential soulmate Prince Robert Nicholas gall scene is trapped in a life he's reticent to lead as his arrogant father King Rowan Pierce broen and kindly mother Queen beatric mini driver are demanding that he find a bride and take the throne he'd rather slack off with his band of merry men than marry and wear the crown his smart sister princess Glen to Lula grieve is the more suitable sibling to leave the kingdom except she's up against unabashed male chauvinism guiding the king's call the plan is to throw a grand ball with invitations sent to the entire Kingdom giving The Reluctant Royal ample options from which to select his perfect match yet he meets True Love Ella before the lavish Affair is set to take place first discovering her at the announcement ceremony and then later in Disguise bumping into her at the marketplace buying an evening gown from her as fade and Ella's fabulous Fairy Godmother fabg Billy Porter worked their magic conflict surrounding her career goals surface threatening to separate the dynamic duo Canon takes great craft and care to ensure that her heroin's internal and external motivations serve to drive the story forward this modernized take has the sympathetic protagonist wrestle with the compelling conundrum figuring out how Ella and her prince can continue to love each other while attaining their respective career Ambitions or hers at least since he maddeningly never verbalizes what he wants in that regard their superficial struggles surrounding class structure and wealth disparity is assuredly still part of the Tal's DNA culminating in an imp power powering musical number dream girl in which all the women led by Vivien joined together to sing about the stifling suffocating societal sexism they've endured this showstopper hits like a sledgehammer to the glass ceiling that restrains them all humanizing Ellis Tormentor in the process may seem ill advised but it winds up being one of the film's Blessed surprises still for all the Innovative Intelligent Decisions made there are an overwhelming number of frustrating creative choices the movie's pacing is inconsistent especially when it comes to character development which can feel at once underdeveloped and overstuffed from the step sisters who are soften to the point of serving little to no purpose to the members of the Royal Court whose arcs are extraneous practically everyone Beyond Ella and Vivien suffers greatly from tissue paper thin character motivations that pivot on a whim making the audience question why these Superfluous story threats are there at all it's clear Ella is the underlying Force inspiring change in these folks but the reasons instigating those changes defy logic lavish musical set pieces this film's bread and butter failed to immerse or transport audiences as intended though designed to conjure energy and bewitching wonderment in their design there's a pervasive lack of aesthetic Intrigue in individual identity these numbers are exhausting not enthralling composed like music videos with quick Sharp Cuts alternating between wide and medium shots these sequences do a disservice to Ashley Waller 's wonderfully anachronistic choreography and Ellen marik's breathtaking costumes the wonderful wardrobe is valued for its poignancy and Power in the creation of Ellis magical ball gown only to be undermined in later scenes as the film flows through palpable moments like Ellis designer deal while some of the material sags a few performances uplift the indomitable Spirit of the time honor taale and its refashioned sentiments Cabo is a magnetic spren presence who demonstrates a natural sense of iic timing infusing her character with vulnerability compassion and effervescent she and galline share a sweet chased chemistry but it's Porter who steals the show he does not disappoint he's vivacious vibrant and knows precisely how to deliver a satisfying well well well so much so that younger audiences might assume he invented its usage his Charisma Sparkles as brightly as his sewind Ensemble and his sole physical appearance he also partially narrates this journey is filled with magnificent magical Splendor even though prior iterations of this tale such as ever after Disney's TV movie adaptation Cinderella and Kenneth bro's liveaction Cinderella offered similarly enlightened Forward Thinking commentary canons for better and worse is far more obtuse about its machinations and while it's a noble effort from a capable director this glass slipper Crews frustratingly ill-fitting of the plethora of fairy tales I personally think the story of Cinderella is perhaps one of the most iconic one maybe it's because it's easy to follow and very straightforward it's not super scary or dark well at least the more kid-friendly version which is the more commonplace iteration of the taale and it has a good dose of Happily Ever After naturally the whole Fairy Godmother the glass flipper and the stroke of midnight are always iconic to hear in the narration so it's always a welcomed one offering a sort of comfort in hearing such familiar beats it's because of these familiarity that Cinderella has been around and relevant throughout many generations with Hollywood revisiting the fairy tale story throughout the decades creating different variations of the classic as mentioned the Rogers and Hammerstein's version is one of the more iconic iterations but I have yet to still see the original 1957 version although I do remember seeing the 1997 TV movie version Rogers and Hammerstein Cinderella which I will mention a little bit later on in this review of course perhaps the most widely accepted SL vied iteration of the fairy tale would have to be Disney's 1950 animated film Cinderella which is what I was first like many of my Generations were first introduced to the story of fairy tale as well as the key features made in this cartoon film I.E the bibid Bobby Boo song there were a few other film adaptation that I liked including the more realistic period peace drama of Ever After A Cinderella Story loved Angelica Houston and the stepmother and Disney's liveaction remake Cinderella which definitely is one of their better releases in their reimagining of their past animated Classics overall the Allure and fascination of the story of a young poor girl going to a ball to meet her prince charming is something that will continue to be bringing hope and wonder into the lives of many for generations to become thus Cinderella throughout all its transforms and iterations has become Timeless in its own right this brings me back around to talking about Cinderella a 2021 romantic Musical and the latest iteration of the iconic fairy tale story this movie sort of got shuffled around for me as I really didn't hear much about it when it was first announced but soon came to hear about when it was said the role of the Fairy Godmother character was going to be a male instead of the more traditional representation of female this sparked a debate online which was when I first heard about the upcoming film after that I really didn't hear much about this movie with the exception of people talking about the new Cinderella movie coming out soon heck I didn't even see the film's movie trailer for the project so I couldn't get hyped nor did I get a chance to be intrigued by it when I went on vacation to Costa Rica at the beginning of September I read that this new Cinderella movie was released on Amazon Prime video and the reviews for it were missed ranging from mediocre to that because of this I was intrigued to see how the movie was so after completing some of the movie reviews that had to get done I decided to check out this new Cinderella movie on Amazon Prime video to see if it was just as bad as many were making it out to be and what did I think of it well I have to agree with many of those opinions despite a few fleeting moments 2021 Cinderella is a woefully bad and poorly executed Endeavor that's unremarkable and uninspiring this version of the classic fairy tale story is so generic and Bland It ultimately begs the question on how this movie got greenlet to begin with Cinderella is directed by K Canon whose previous Works includes as a producer for projects like Pitch Perfect 2 new girl and 30 Rock as well as her directorial debut film of 2018 blockers thus given her background in comedic Endeavor and slash or more light-hearted projects Canon seems like a suitable choice to helm such a film in reimaging the classic fairy tale for a new generation however that's pretty much it when it comes to Canon's Direction but more on that later in this review the only thing I think that Canon does a good job is making the film have an upbe and positive feeling the film at its core is light-hearted approachable and easy to digest though it's quite hard to swallow if you know what I mean as for the positives this movie only has a few as most are found within its technical presentation yes Cinderella doesn't have the grandiosity of Blockbuster that Disney's 2015 liveaction remake had but the overall presentation is still relatively good replicating that iconic look of a pseudo medieval fantasy Kingdom fairy tale setting throughout the movie from from art direction to costume attire the movie's colorful background is good and definitely as eye-catching with a lot of pop in vibrancy thus the films behind the scenes team including Paul Kirby production designs Katherine pile set decorations Ellen mynick costume designs and the entire art Direction team for their efforts in making Cinderella's setting come alive lastly the film score which was done by Mel Dana and Jessica Ron Weiss is good it's not the absolute best movie / film soundtrack I've heard but it definitely works for the movie and is probably better than the pop songs that are Incorporated in the feature unfortunately the movie isn't the happily ever after Endeavor that one could hope in a Cinderella movie Finding the feature to be riddled with glaring and numerous problems throughout the entire project perhaps the most glaring aspect that the movie criticisms focuses on is how the feature itself feels like a cobbled up versions of different ideas that doesn't exactly gel together cohesively resulting in a fairy tale remake that has a lost sense of its own personal identity how so well right from the get-go there is a lot of emphasis of musical numers which tries to replicate the same modern style energy that Hamilton had but never fully reached idea and doesn't have Lin Manuel Miranda to evoke that prolific siip and finesse the same goes with the covers of the musical songs themselves more on that below which tries to emulate the same style that Mulan Rouge did but lacks the boldness and vision AR that director Bas lurman had for his 2001 film there is also a hints of Bridgerton with a lot of colorful SL flashy costume period piece attires and handsome good-looking young people but never fully captures what made that Netflix show memorable also I felt that the movie tried to be like Ella Enchanted with the movie trying to update fairy tale tropes as well as singing modern songs but lacks the same type of charm and fun that the 2004 film produced additionally for all of its modern style Forward Thinking and lofty ideas of the current generation as well controversy that surrounds the gender swapping of one character more on that below the movie Never quite captures the Bold casting choices as was done in 1997's TV movie of Rogers and Hammerstein Cinderella that had singer Brandy African-American as Cinderella singer Whitney Houston African-American as the Fairy Godmother Victor gber Caucasian as the king whoopy Goldberg African-American as the queen and Callo montal ation as the prince there's a few other ones that the movie tries to copy from but you get the gist of it suffice to say Cinderella ultimately has a classic case of mistaken identity with Canon's Direction trying too hard to appease everyone and taking ideas that never quite come together as whole rendering the movie choppy and unbalanced speaking of Canon the direction for the movie is poorly executed and has greatly difficulty discovering what the film's identity wants to be as mentioned mentioned above the identity for Cinderella is all over the map in Canon's choices and overall decision in shaping the film is really called into questioning this is where the criticism gets to the nuts and bolts finding Canon trying too hard to appease viewers with a modernization SL updated version of the classic fairy tale but never fully committing to those intentions what exactly is the ultimate vision for this iteration of Cinderella well it's kind of hard to say and I don't think that Canon has had clear idea of that there is the class classic fairy tale tropes of the original Cinderella story that the movie incorporates and that's pretty much inescapable but the movie needs new material bounce off because what's the point of revisiting a tail that has been over numerous times Canon tries as she might fails to interject some new ideas yes there is a few new additions that make into the film including character motivations and subplots but all of feels unwanted in surface level material with some threats left unfinished SL dangling by the time reaches its ending additionally Canon's direction for Cinderella just feels lackluster never truly coming into her own creation and just generates something that would be hip or cool with the current demographic that are trying to capitalize on Modern interpretation yet despite that notion nothing really feels original or new making Cinderella just so generic and derivate that it's painful to watch and begging the question of how did a film like this get green lit there is also several casing issues that movie has throughout its runtime with uninteresting mechanics of subplots which slow down the film's progression and makes the 113 minutes 1 hour and 53 minute cinematic run time feel bloated and sluggish Cinderella is a 2021 romantic musical film based on the fairy tale of the same name by Charles pero written and directed by Kate Canon it stars singer Camila Cabo as the title character in her acting debut alongside Nicholas galy Adena Menzel mini driver Billy Porter and Pierce broen it is a jukebox musical featuring pop and rock hits in addition to several original songs two development began in April 2019 when Sony Pictures announced a musical style film of Cinderella with Canon writing and directing the film was produced by James Cordon through fullwell 73 with Leo croman Jonathan Kaden and Shannon Macintosh principal photography began in February 2020 at Pinewood Studios and was suspended in March 20 due to the covid-19 pandemic production resumed in August 2020 and concluded in September Cinderella was released in Select theaters and digitally on Amazon Prime video on September 3rd 20213 to mix reviews from critics commercially according to S TV it was watched in 1.1 million us households over its 4-day Labor Day weekend debut and in 2.2 million households by the end of its first 30 days according to the analytic company screen engine Cinderella was the most watched streaming film during its opening weekend as well as the most watched musical film of 2021 in April 2019 Columbia Pictures announced a musical retelling of Cinderella with K Canon writing and directing for the idea to reinterpret Cinderella came from James Cordon who produced the film through fullwell 73 with Leo croman Jonathan Kaden and Shannon McIntosh five in April 2019 cila Cabo was attached in the role of Cinderella five in October 2019 it was announced that talks were underway with Adena manzela Cinderella's stepmother six and Billy Porter for the role of fairy god parent seven in December 2019 Nicholas galline was added to the cast as Prince Robert 8 principal photography began in February 2020 at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom 10 filming was suspended in March 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic 10 production resumed in August 2021 and concluded in September 12th Cinderella's Carriage was designed to promote mercedesbenz as part of the film's marketing Amazon Prime video partnered with Mercedes-Benz in August 2021 19 on August 9th Japanese shoes brand on auka tiger announced the release of a limited edition sneakers created in collaboration with Cinderella 20 on August 11th hair brand John Freda announced a collaboration with Cinderella Cinderella was released in select theaters and digitally in 240 territories via Amazon Prime video on September 3rd 2021 322 it had a Premiere event on August 30th 2021 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles 2324 zamb TV reported that 1.1 million American households streamed the film over its first 4 days of release while Amazon claimed it was the most watched VOD title over the same frame 25 in June 2019 Sony scheduled the film for release February 5th 2021 26 in January 2021 the release date was pushed back to July 16 2021 27 in May 2021 Sony canceled the film's theatrical debut and announced that the film had been bought by Amazon Studios except China Sony would also retain home entertainment and linear television rights to the film according to S TV the film was watched in 1.1 million us households over its 4-day Labor Day weekend deut and in 2.2 million households by the end of its first 30 days 31 according to the analytics company screen engine Cinderella was the most watched streaming film during its opening weekend as well as the most watched musical film yet in 2021 on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes The thil holds an approval rating of 41% based on 135 reviews with an average rating of 4.9 out of 10 the website's critics consensus reads this thing along worthy Cinderella sprinkles some Modern fairy just on the off told tail but flat performances and clunky dialogue make watching often feel like a chore 33 on Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100 based on reviews from 30 critics indicating mixed or average reviews 34 Richard rer of the Chicago sometimes gave the film three out of four stars and praised Cabo for her performance saying she has a real neck for comedy and described the film as having an upeat greasy and sentimental Style laced with some sharp humor and filled with familiar and catchy pop tunes refashioned to fit the story line 35 Jonathan Sim of Cummings in.net wrote It's a progressively Charming take on a romantic tale and there are sweet romantic moments throughout the film even if there isn't much you haven't seen before 36 Courtney Howard of variety was critical of many of the creative choices the inconsistent pacing and the character development she called the film a mediocre Musical and felt it was both underdeveloped and overstuffed at the same time Cinderella has survived a lot over the years first the wicked stepmother and the midnight curfew and then hundreds of versions and adaptations in books on television and in film undertaken by just about everyone including Walt Disney Julie Andrews Jerry Lewis Drew Barrymore and Hathaway and Rogers and hammerstad she is going to survive this tricked up version too a mishmash of Relentless air quotes and sensory overload that wants to grab you by the shoulders and Shout no sing be entertained and sometimes we are but it is less a movie than a string of Tik Tok clips and it made my eyes spin like pin Wheels In fairness my 5-year-old cousin will love it it helps a lot that the Cinderella story is a classic for a reason the essence of this tale about the mistreated but pure-hearted girl who gets the ultimate makeover and the classic fairy tale happily ever after ending appears in many cultures going back as far as recorded history there are moments in this film where that imperishable story shines through despite all efforts to clutter it up with Snippets of pop songs and Winks at the audience each generation brings its own perspective to the Cinderella story recent versions focused on more diversity the Brandy Whitney Houston version more agency Ever After or at least a better explanation for her obedience Ella Enchanted in this version Cinderella singer Camila Cabo has big dreams of being a fashion designer and supporting herself so that she no longer has to live in her Stepmother's basement it also tries to give the stepmother Adena Menzel some understanding of the reason for her cruelty and tones down the Mean Girl element of the two stepsisters but the screenplay by writer director K Canon Pitch Perfect overcorrects Cinderella and leaves the storyline unbalanced it's possible to give the Title Character more aspirations Independence and humor without dulling down everyone around her but attributes are handed out here one to a character a challenge even The Talented cast cannot overcome the king Pierce brosman is dictatorial the queen mini driver is frustrated the princess Tula grieve studies public policy and the fairy god person Billy Porter is fi is flamboyant Prince Robert Nicholas galline barely has any attributes at all other than being handsome singing nicely and being crazy about Cinderella it's supposed to be a running joke that he is referred to as the king's idiot son but it's kind of not wrong okay maybe not an idiot but kind of a spoiled slacker who is clear on what he's not interested in but not so clear on what he might be interested in audiences may not notice all of that though because there's a lot going on and most of it is very tuneful and colorful with some big bright dance numbers hence the prediction about the 5-year-old and I have to admit the 5-year-old that lives in all of us the movie begins with a spirited opening number showing the villagers dancing to Rhythm Nation yes Janet Jackson's version of a new national anthem calling for social justice is just the thing for a vaguely 18th or 19th Century Village to sing as they get ready for the day on the other hand it's undeniably pey and energetic with lots of popular songs from the era of Jim's parents and grandparents like what a man shining star and Seven Nation Army a Queen Somebody to Love is an unfortunate reminder that it was used better in Ella Enchanted the musical numbers are much better than the the dialogue which is cutesy not once but twice we hear that the prince still gets spanked on the tush tush even Porter snap cannot save his lines about the glass slippers not being comfortable Musical characters like to introduce themselves with an I want song and so we meet Cinderella in her basement Workshop saving a caterpillar from a spiderweb and singing you got to be by desr so what does she want to be bold tough wiser and better and for love to save the day she is sweet she is optimistic and she is loved by mice one of them voiced by producer James Cordon this is yet another reminder that one reason the producer should not be in the movie is that producers are not the best judge of whether they add value to the movie the fenetic silliness and uneven tone are unfortunate distractions from the genuine pleasures of the film including Cabo's appealing performance as Cinderella and the creative and energetic musical numbers this Cinderella Story should have asked fabg for a make under there have been so many Cinderella retellings that it's often hard to keep track of them all most are mediocre While others are completely forgettable made for TV movies that enjoy the familiarity of a classic story that has been around for centuries in some form or other stemming from an idea by James Cordon who plays a mouse turn footman in the film Amazon Cinderella mixes the old with the new in a musical adaptation that tries to make Progressive certain parts of the story written and directed by K Canon Pitch Perfect Cinderella's music is enjoyable but it's Hollow the performance is flat and the dialogue often cringeworthy set in a distinctly VAP time period one that is defined by the old-fashioned town that is too hesitant to change Cinderella follows its Title Character Camila Cabo an aspiring fashion designer with a dream of selling her dresses if only she could escape the control of her stepmother Vivian Adena Menzel a widow who understands how little a woman can have if she doesn't play into her societal role and also marry rich during a j to town Cinderella meets a poorly disguised Prince Robert Nicholas galline an irresponsible Royal who often butts heads with his father King Rowan Pierce broen over his monarchical duties who offers to buy her dress before inviting her to the ball to meet others who might help her business ambition the two are smitten with each other but things are made complicated when Cinderella learns of Robert station and is later pressured by Vivian to marry someone she doesn't want to be with and ignore her passion C and galine have no chemistry which makes their Central romance all the harder to believe or root for there are no longing looks and no charm to their relationship it's something that certainly needed to exist to make Cinderella work and to make up for the parts of the story that are lacking despite the songs and setup the film is devoid of any romantic moments between them and the pair are better when interacting with almost everyone else but each other Menzel and bren's performances are fine but viewers have seen them do better in other projects though the former does play viven with some nuance and she's painted with a more sympathetic brush than previous iterations of the character while Billy Porter makes a grand entrance of Cinderella's fairy godmother Fab G it's actually mini driver is Queen beatric who stands Out Among the cast elevating the material by exhibiting the many layers to her character there is a sad longing and Sparks of joy that are made apparent in her performance one that rises above everyone else's despite the obviously thin screen play Cinderella attempts to flip the script by sprinkling in Progressive subplots Cinderella has Ambitions to be a fashion designer and not a royal at court the prince recognizes he doesn't want to be king and believes his sister Gwen Tula grieve is far more suited for the role with her ideas to move the kingdom forward but all of these elements are heavy-handed and cringeworthy the film would rather tell instead of show with the dialogue doing most of the heavy lifting to point out issues of sexism and the patriarchal system to the audience instead of exploring and engaging with them in a more meaningful way openly pointing out that sexism exists is only stating a fact and the film offers empty platitudes about empowerment without delving into who Cinderella is as a person outside of her circumstances and this is true of every character all of whom are one note and ostensibly dull what the film also lacks is an emotional core Cabo's performance isn't strong enough to be the anchor the film quickly loses its momentum and transforms into an empty shell that is too hindering to the story to ignore the musical only works if one were to lean into the silliness of it all and when the film's own script does that as well there are genuine moments of humor and fun this is especially true when Canon script pokes fun at all of the nonsense fabg announcing that Cinderella needs help to which her response is yeah I was just singing about it minutes ago or Prince Robert very sarcastically asking his father what he and his future wife will even talk about until their death at the to 40 there aren't enough of these moments but when they arrive they AET treat and a nice break from some of the more ridiculous and monotonous aspects of the film and yet it doesn't go far enough the directorial choices are uninspired and devoid of Personality with the overly bright lighting likely meant to make the film feel more fairy tale likee though it makes for a rather dull aesthetic the cinematography by Andrew Dunn is as overly sanitized as the story what makes up for an overall one-dimensional story are the meticulously designed gorgeous costumes by Ellen mnik which have aure and Grandeur while reflecting the film's more modern stylist the old meet's new Vibes are prevalent in the film song Choices a mixture of popular music Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation Queen Somebody to Love with original songs like million to one which Cabo sings As the centerpiece being a statement of the film's attempts at modernity unfortunately Cinderella lacks the specificity of Ever After and doesn't commit to the full fantasy of Brandy Cinderella either nor does it have the Charisma of Ella Enchanted Canon film does emulate each of these adaptations to various degrees though it has very little to say because its message is surface level dressed up to mask's lack of death the film very rarely leans into the fun and its heavy-handed execution mediocre performances and lack of exuberance makes for an overall Bland watch from the outset of Amazon studi new Cinderella movie writer director K Canon welcomes audiences into a fantasy unlike any before it putting a glimmering girl boss gloss on the off adapted fairy tale in this heightened unreality characters can break into song with the Janet Jackson chart topper as easily as they belt out a new Broadway style power ballot this latest retelling of the Charles pero classic offers a feminist friendly update as its titular heroin dreams of a career not a man to whisk her away while Canon's inspired creative approach in jukebox music style all point to an elegant and empowering redesign of his most familiar of garments her execution puts quite a few tears in the fabric Ella Camila Cabo has been relegated to a life of servitude after her father died years prior leaving her in the care of his cruel second wife Vivien ad Dina Menzel further scrutinized by her obnoxious stepsisters molia Manny baleo and narissa Charlotte Spencer nicknamed Cinderella because of the layer of soot she acquires doing household chores she dreams of breaking out of the home's dingy basement and into the world of fashion as a dress maker but since the times are not conducive to a career-minded woman and the town's folk are set in their old-fashioned ways all she can do is sing to vent about her burning desires meanwhile potential soulmate Prince Robert Nicholas galline is trapped in a life he's reticent to lead as his arrogant father King Rowan pier broen and kindly mother Queen beatric mini driver are demanding that he find a bride and take the throne he'd rather slack off with his band of married men than marry and wear the crown his smart sister princess Gwen Tula gree is the more suitable sibling to lead the kingdom except she's up against unabashed male chauvinism guiding the king's call the plan is to throw a grand ball with invitations sent to the entire Kingdom giving The Reluctant Royal ample options from which to select his perfect match yet he meets True Love Ella before the lavish Affair is set to take place first discovering her at announcement ceremony and then later in Disguise bumping into her at the marketplace buying an evening gown from her as fade and Ella's fabulous Fairy Godmother fat G Billy Porter worked their magic conflicts surrounding her career goals surface threatening to separate the dynamic duo Canon takes great craft and care to ensure that her heroine's internal and external motivations serve to drive the story forward this modernized take has the sympathetic protagonist wrestle with the compelling conundrum figuring out how Ella and her prince can continue to love each other while attaining their respective career Ambitions or hers at least since he maddeningly never verbalizes what he wants in that regard their superficial struggles surrounding class structure and wealth disparity is assuredly still part of the Tal's DNA culminating in an empowering musical number dream girl in which all the women led by Vivian joined together to sing about the stifling suffocating societal sexism they've endured this showstopper like a sledgehammer to the glass ceiling that restrains them all humanizing Ella's Tormentor in the process may seem ill advised but it winds up being one of the film's Blessed surprises still for all the Innovative Intelligent Decisions made there are an overwhelming number of frustrating creative choices the movie's pacing is inconsistent especially when it comes to character development which can feel at once underdeveloped and over stuffed from the stepsisters who are soften to the point of serving little to no purpose to the members of the Royal Court whose arcs are extraneous practically everyone Beyond Ella and Vivien suffers greatly from tissue paper thin character motivations that pivot on a whim making the audience question why these Superfluous story threads are there at all it's clear Ella is the underlying Force inspiring change in these folks but the reasons instigating those changes defy logic lavish musical set pieces this film's bread and butter failed to immerse or transport audiences as intended though designed to conjure energy and bewitching wonderment in their design there's a pervasive lack of aesthetic Intrigue in individual identity these numbers are exhausting not enthralling composed like music videos with quick Sharp Cuts alternating between wide and medium shots these sequences do a disservice to Ashley wallen's wonderfully anachronistic choreography and Ellen myn's breathtaking costumes the wonderful wardrobe is valued for its poignancy and Power in the creation of Ella's magical ball gown only to be undermined in later scenes as the film plows through palpable moments like Ella's designer debut while some of the material sags a few performances uplift the indomitable Spirit of the time honor tale and its refashioned sentiments Cabo is a magnetic screen presence who demonstrates a natural sense of comedic timing infusing her character with vulnerability compassion and eff foresets she and galline share a sweet chased chemistry but it's Porter who steals the show he does not disappoint he's vivacious vibrant and knows precisely how to deliver a satisfying well well well so much so that younger audiences might assume he invented its usage his Charisma Sparkles as brightly as his sequin Ensemble and his sole physical appearance he also partially narrates this journey is filled with magnificent magical Splendor even though prior iterations of this tale such as ever after Disney's TV movie adaptation Cinderella and Kenneth bral's live action Cinderella offered similarly enlightened forward-thinking commentary cannons for better and worse is far more obtuse about its machinations and while it's a noble effort from a capable director this glass slipper proves frustratingly ill-fitting of the plethora of fairy tales I personally think the story of Cinderella is perhaps one of the most iconic one maybe it's because it's easy to follow in very straightforward it's not super scary or dark well at least the more kidfriendly version which is the more commonplace iteration of the tale and it has a good dose of Happily Ever After naturally the whole Fairy Godmother the glass slipper and the stroke of midnight are always iconic to hear in the narration so it's always a welcomed one offering a sort of comfort in hearing such familiar beings it's because of these familiarity that Cinderella has been around and relevant throughout many generations with Hollywood revisiting the fairy tale story throughout the decades creating different variations of the class as mentioned the Rogers and Hammerstein's version is one of the more iconic iterations but I have yet to still see the original 1957 version although I do remember seeing the 1997 TV movie version Rogers and Hammerstein Cinderella which I will mention a little bit later on in this review of course perhaps the most widely accepted flash view iteration of the fairy tale would have to be Disney's 1950 animated film Cinderella which is what I was first like many of my Generations we're first introduced to the story of fairy tale as well as the key features made in this cartoon film I Bob Boo song there were a few other film adaptation that I like including the more realistic period peace drama ever After A Cinderella Story loved Angelica Houston as the stepmother and Disney's live action remake Cinderella which definitely is one of their better releases in their reimagining of their past animated Classics overall the Allure and fascination of the story of a young poor girl going to a ball to meet her prince charming is something that will continue to be bringing hope and wonder into the lives of many for generations to become thus Cinderella throughout all its transforms and iterations has become Timeless in its own right this brings me back around to talking about Cinderella a 2021 romantic Musical and the latest iteration of the iconic fairy tale story this movie sort of got shuffled around for me as I really didn't hear much about it when it was first announced soon came to hear about when it was said the role of the Fairy Godmother character was going to be a male instead of the more traditional representation of female this sparked a debate online which was when I first heard about the upcoming film after that I really didn't hear much about this movie with the exception of people talking about the new Cinderella movie coming out soon heck I didn't even see the film's movie trailer for the project so I couldn't get hyped nor did I get a chance to be intrigued by it when I went on vacation to Costa Rica at the beginning of September I read that this new Cinderella movie was released on Amazon Prime video and the reviews for it were mixed ranging from mediocre to B because of this I was intrigued to see how the movie was so after completing some of the movie reviews that had to get done I decided to check out this new Cinderella movie on Amazon Prime video to see if it was just as bad as many were making it out to be and what did I think of it well I have to agree with many of those opinions despite a few fleeting moments 2020 one Cinderella is a woefully bad and poorly executed Endeavor that's unremarkable and uninspiring this version of the classic fairy tale story is so generic and Bland It ultimately begs the question on how this movie got green lit to begin with Cinderella is directed by K Canon whose previous Works includes as a producer for projects like Pitch Perfect 2 new girl and 30 Rock as well as her directorial debut film of 2018 blockers thus given her background in comedic Endeavor and FL or more light-hearted projects Canon seems like a suitable choice to helm such a film in reimaging the classic fairy tale for a new generation however that's pretty much it when it comes to Canon's Direction but more on that later in this review the only thing I think that Canon does a good job is making the film have an upbeat and positive feeling the film at its core is lighthearted approachable and easy to digest though it's quite hard to swallow if you know what I mean as for the positives this movie only has a few as most are found within its technical presentation yes Cinderella doesn't have the grandiosity of Blockbuster that Disney's 2015 liveaction remake had but the overall presentation is still relatively good replicating that iconic look of the pseudo medieval fantasy Kingdom fairy tale setting throughout the movie from art direction to costume attire the movie's colorful background is good and definitely as eye-catching with a lot of pop and vibrancy thus the films behind the themes team including Paul Kirby production designs Katherine pile set decorations Ellen marnik costume designs and the entire art Direction team for their efforts in making Cinderella setting come alive lastly the film score which was done by Mel Dana and Jessica Ron Weiss is good it's not the absolute best movie SL film soundtrack I've heard but it definitely works for the movie and is probably better than the pop songs that are Incorporated in the feature unfortunately the movie isn't the happily ever Endeavor that one could hope in a Cinderella movie Finding the feature to be riddled with glaring and numerous problems throughout the entire project perhaps the most glaring aspect that the movie criticisms focuses on is how the feature itself feels like a cobbled up versions of different ideas that doesn't exactly gel together cohesively resulting in a fairy tale remake that has a lost sense of its own personal identity how so well right from the get-go there is a lot of emphasis of musical numbers which tries to rep replicate the same modern style energy that Hamilton had but never fully reached idea and doesn't have Lin Manuel Miranda to evoke that prolific zip and finesse the same goes with the covers of the musical songs themselves more on that below which tries to emulate the same style that Mulan Rouge did but lacks the boldness and Visionary that director Bas lurman had for his 2001 film there is also a hints of Bridgerton with lot of colorful SL flashy costume period piece attires and handsome good-looking young people but never fully captures what made that Netflix show memorable also I felt that the movie tried to be like Ella Enchanted with the movie trying to update fairy tale tropes as well as singing modern songs but lacks the same type of charm and fun that the 2004 film produced additionally for all of its modern style Forward Thinking and lofty ideas of the current generation as well controversy that surrounds the gender swapping of one character more on that below the movie Never quite captures the both casting choices as was done in 1997's TV movie of Rogers and Hammerstein Cinderella that had singer Brandy African-American as Cinderella singer Whitney Houston African-American as the Fairy Godmother Victor Garber Caucasian as the king whoopy Goldberg African American as the queen and Paulo montala Asian as the prince there's a few other ones that the movie tries to copy from but you get the gist of it suffice to say Cinderella ultimately has a classic case of mistaken identity with Canon's Direction trying too hard to appease everyone and taking ideas that never quite come together as whole rendering the movie choppy and unbalanced speaking of Canon the direction for the movie is poorly executed and has greatly difficulty discovering what the film's identity wants to be as mentioned above the identity for Cinderella is all over the map in Cannon's choices and overall decision and shaping the film is really called into questioning this is where the criticism gets to the nuts and bols finding Canon trying too hard to appease viewers with a modernization SL updated version of the classic fairy tale but never fully committing to those intentions what exactly is the ultimate vision for this iteration of Cinderella well it's kind of hard to say and I don't think that Canon has had clear idea of that there is the classic fairy tale tropes of the original Cinderella story that the movie incorporates and that's pretty much inescapable but the movie needs new material bounce off because what's the point of revisiting a tale that has been over numerous times Canon tries as she might fails to interject some new ideas yes there is a few new additions that make into the film including character motivations and subplots but all of feels unwanted in surface level material with some threads left unfinished SL dangling by the time reaches its ending additionally Canon's direction for Cinderella just feels lackluster never truly coming into her own creation and just generates something that would be hip or cool with the current Dem graphic that are trying to capitalize on Modern interpretation yet despite that notion nothing really feels original or new making Cinderella just so generic and derivate that it's painful to watch and begging the question of how did a film like this get green lit there is also several pacing issues that movie has throughout its runtime with uninteresting mechanics of subplots which slow down the film's progression and makes the 113 minutes 1 hour and 53 minute cinematic runtime feel bloated and sluggish Cinderella is a 2021 romantic musical film based on the fairy tale of the same name by Charles perau written and directed by K Canon it stars singer Camila Cabo as the title character in her acting debut alongside Nicholas galline Adena Manzel mini driver Billy Porter and Pierce bronnen it is a jukebox musical featuring pop and rock hits in addition to several original songs two development began in April 2019 when Sony pictures announced a musical style film of Cinderella with Canon writing and directing the film was produced by James Cordon through fullwell 73 with Leo prman Jonathan Caden and Shannon McIntosh principal photography began in February 2020 at Pinewood Studios and was suspended in March 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic production resumed in August 2020 and concluded in September Cinderella was released in Select theaters and digitally on Amazon Prime video on September 3rd 20213 to mix reviews from critics commercially according to samb TV it was watched in 1.1 million us households over its 4-day Labor Day weekend debut and in 2.2 million households by the end of its first 30 days according to the analytics company screen engine Cinderella was the most watched streaming film during its opening weekend as well as the most watched musical film of 2021 in April 2019 Columbia Pictures announced a musical retelling of Cinderella with K Canon writing and directing for the idea to reinterpret Cinderella came from James cordin who produced the film through fullwell 73 with Leo pran Jonathan Caden and Shannon McIntosh five in April 2019 Camila Caba was attached in the role of Cinderella five in October 2019 it was announced that talks were underway with Adena Manzel Cinderella's stepmother six and Billy Porter for the role of fairy god parent seven in December 2019 Nicholas gy was added to the cast as Prince Robert eight principal photography began in February 2020 at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom 10 filming was suspended in March 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic 10 production resumed in August 2021 and concluded in September 12 Cinderella's Carriage was designed to promote Mercedes veds as part of the film's marketing Amazon Prime video video partnered with Mercedes-Benz in August 2021 19 on August 9th Japanese shoes brand on Aika tiger announced the release of a limited edition sneakers created in collaboration with Cinderella 20 on August 11th ha brand John Freda announced a collaboration with Cinderella Cinderella was released in Select theaters and digitally in 240 territories via Amazon Prime video on September 3rd 2021 322 it had a premier event on August 30th 2021 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles 20324 samb TV reported that 1.1 million American households streamed the film over its first 4 days of release while Amazon claimed it was the most watched VOD title over the same frame 25 in June 2019 Sony scheduled the film for release February 5th 2021 26 in January 2021 the release date was pushed back to July 16th 2021 27 and May 21 Sony canceled the film's theatrical debut and announced that the film had been bought by Amazon Studios except China Sony would also retain home entertainment and linear television rights to the film according to S TV the film was watched in 1.1 million us households over its 4-day Labor Day weekend debut and in 2.2 million households by the end of its first 30 days 31 according to the analytics company screen engine Cinderella was the most watched streaming film during its opening weekend as well as well as the most watched musical film yet in 2021 on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 41% based on 135 reviews with an average rating of 4.9 out of 10 the website's critics consensus reads this thing along worthy Cinderella sprinkles some modern fairy dust on the off toold tail but flat performances and clunky dialogue make watching often feel like a chore 33 on Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100 based on reviews from 30 critics indicating mixed or average reviews 34 Richard roer of the Chicago Times gave the film three out of four stars and praised Cabo for her performance saying she has a real neck for comedy and described the film is having an upbeat Breezy and sentimental style laced with some sharp humor and filled with familiar and catchy pop tunes ref fashioned to fit the story lot 35 Jonathan Sim of Cummings in.net wrote It's a progressively Charming take on a romantic tale and there are sweet romantic moments throughout the film even if there isn't much you haven't seen before 36 Courtney Howard of variety was critical of many of the creative choices the inconsistent pacing and the character development she called the film a mediocre Musical and felt it was both underdeveloped and overstuffed at the same time Cinderella has survived a lot over the years first the wicked stepmother in the midnight curfew and then hundreds of versions and adaptations in books on television and in film undertaken by just about everyone including Walt Disney Julie Andrews Jerry Lewis Drew Barrymore and halfway and Rogers and Hammerstein she's going to survive this tripped up version two a mishmash of Relentless air quotes and sensory overload that wants to grab you by the shoulders and Shout no s be entertained and sometimes we are but it is less a movie than a string of Tik Tok clips and it made my eyes spin like pin Wheels In fairness my 5-year-old old cousin will love it it helps a lot that the Cinderella story is a classic for a reason the essence of this tale about the mistreated but pure-hearted girl who gets the ultimate makeover and the classic fairy tale happily ever after ending appears in many cultures going back as far as recorded history there are moments in this film where that imperishable story shines through despite all efforts to clutter it up with Snippets of pop songs and Winks at the audience each generation brings its own perspective to the Cinderella story recent versions focused on more diversity the Brandy / Whitney Houston version more agency Ever After or at least a better explanation for her obedience Ella Enchanted in this version Cinderella singer Camila Deo has big dreams of being a fashion designer and supporting herself so that she no longer has to live in her Stepmother's basement it also tries to give the stepmother Adena Menzel some understanding of the reason for her cruelty and tones down the mean girl element of the two stepsisters but the screenplay by writer director K Canon Pitch Perfect overcorrects Cinderella and leaves the story line unbalanced it's possible to give the Title Character more aspirations Independence and humor without delling down everyone around her but attributes are handed out here one to a character a challenge even The Talented cast cannot overcome the king Pierce brasen is dictatorial the queen mini driver is frustrated the princess Tula griev studies public policy and the fairy god person Billy Porter as fabg is flamboyant Prince Robert Nicholas galline barely has any attributes at all other than being handsome singing nicely and being crazy about Cinderella it's supposed to be a running joke that he is referred to as the king's idiot son but it's kind of not wrong okay maybe not an idiot but kind of a spoiled slacker who is clear on what he's not interested in but not so clear on what he might be interested in audiences may not notice all of that though because there's a lot going on and most of it is very tuneful and colorful with some big bright dance numbers hence the prediction about the 5-year-old and I have to admit the 5-year-old that lives in all of us the movie begins with a spirited opening number showing the villagers dancing to Rhythm Nation yes Janet Jackson's version of a new national anthem calling for social justice is just the thing for a vaguely 18th or 19th Century Village to sing as they get ready for the day on the other hand it's undeniably pppy and energetic with lots of popular songs from the era of Jen's parents and grandparents like what a man shining star in Seven Nation Army but Queen Somebody to Love is an unfortunate reminder that it was used better in Ella Enchanted the musical numbers are much better than the dialogue which is cutesy not once but twice we hear that the prince still get spanked on the tush tush even Porter snap cannot save his lines about the glass slippers not being comfortable Musical characters like to introduce themselves with an I want song and so we meet Cinderella in her basement Workshop saving a caterpillar from a spiderweb and singing you got to be by desr so what does she want to be bold tough wiser and better and for love to save the day she is sweet she is optimistic and she is loved by mice one of them voiced by producer James Cordon this is yet another reminder that one reason the producer should not be in the movie is that producers are not the best judge of whether they add value to the movie The frenetic silliness and uneven tone are unfortunate distractions from the genuine pleasures of the film including Cabo's appealing performance at Cinderella and the creative and energetic musical numbers this Cinderella Story should have asked fabg for a makeunder there have been so many Cinderella retellings that it's often hard to keep track of them all most are mediocre While others are completely forgettable made for TV movies that enjoy the familiarity of a classic story that has been around for centuries in some form or other stemming from an idea by James Cordon who plays a mous turn footman in the film Amazon Cinderella mixes the old with the new in a musical adaptation that tries to make Progressive certain parts of the story written and directed by K Canon Pitch Perfect Cinderella's music is enjoyable but it's Hollow the performance is flat and the dialog often cringeworthy set in a distinctly vague time period one that is defined by the old-fashioned town that is too hesitant to change Cinderella follows its Title Character Camila Cabo an aspiring fashion designer with a dream of selling her dresses if only she could escape the control of her stepmother Vivien Adena Menzel a widow who understands how little a woman can have if she doesn't play into her societal role and also marry Rich during a Jaun to town Cinderella meets a poorly disguised Prince Robert Nicholas gallad scene an irresponsible Royal who often buts heads with his father King Rowan Pierce broen over his monarchical duties who offers to buy her dress before inviting her to the ball to meet others who might help her business Ambitions the two are smitten with each other but things are made complicated when Cinderella learns of Robert station and is later pressured by Vivian to marry someone she doesn't want to be with and ignore her passion Cabo and galine have no chemistry which makes their Central romance all the harder to believe or root for there are no longing looks and no charm to their relationship it's something that certainly needed to exist to make Cinderella work and to make up for the parts of the story that are lacking despite the songs and setup the film is devoid of any romantic moments between them and the pair are better when interacting with almost everyone else but each other Menzel and bren's performances are fine but viewers have seen them do better in other projects though the former does play Vivian with some nuance and she's painted with a more sympathetic brush than previous iterations of the character while Billy Porter makes a grand entrance ising is Fairy Godmother Fab G it's actually mini driver as Queen beatric who stands Out Among the cast elevating the material by exhibiting the Min layers to her character there is a sad longing and Sparks of joy that are made apparent in her performance one that rises above everyone else's despite the obviously thin screenplay Cinderella attempts to flip the script by sprinkling a progressive subblock Cinderella has Ambitions to be a fashion designer and not a royal at court the prince recognizes he doesn't want King and believes his sister Gwen Tula grieve is far more suited for the role with her ideas to move the kingdom forward but all of these elements are heavy-handed and cringeworthy the film would rather tell instead of show with the dialogue doing most of the heavy lifting to point out issues of sexism and the patriarchal system to the audience instead of exploring and engaging with them in a more meaningful way openly pointing out that sexism exists is only stating a fact and the film offers empty platitudes about empowerment without delving into who Cinderella is as a person outside of her circumstances and this is true of every character all of whom are one note and ostensibly dull what the film also lacks is an emotional core Cabo's performance isn't strong enough to be the anchor the film quickly loses its momentum and transforms into an empty shell that is too hindering to the story to ignore the musical only works if one were to lean into the silliness of it all and when the film's own script does that as well there are genuine moments of humor and fun this is especially true when Canon script Poes fun at all of the nonsense fabg announcing that Cinderella needs help to which her response is yeah I was just singing about it minutes ago or Prince Robert very sarcastically asking his father what he and his future wife will even talk about until their deaths at the age of 40 there aren't enough of these moments but when they arrive they're a treat and a nice break from some of the more ridiculous and monotonous aspects of the film and yet it doesn't go far enough the directorial choices are uninspired and devoid of Personality with the overly bright lighting likely meant to make the film feel more fairy tale likee though it makes for a rather dull aesthetic the cinematography by Andrew Dunn is as overly sanitized as the story what makes up for an overall one-dimensional story are the meticulously designed gorgeous costumes by Ellen marnik which have Allure and Grandeur while reflecting the film's more modern stylings the old Meats new Vibes are prevalent in the film song Choices a mixture of popular music Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation Queen Somebody to Love with original songs like million to one which Cabo sings As the centerpiece being a statement of the film's attempts at modernity unfortunately Cinderella lacks the specificity of Ever After and doesn't commit to the full fantasy of Brandy Cinderella either nor does it have the Charisma of Ella Enchanted Canon's film does emulate each of these adaptations to various degrees though it has very little to say because its message is surface level dressed up to mask its lack of depth the film very rarely leans into the fun and its heavy-handed execution mediocre performances and lack of exuberance makes for an overall Bland watch from the outset of Amazon studios's new Cinderella movie writer director K Canon welcomes audiences into a fantasy unlike any before it putting a glimmering girl boss gloss on the of adapted fairy tale in this heightened unreality characters can break into song with the Janet Jackson chart topper as easily as they built out a new Broadway style power ballad this latest retelling of the Charles perro classic offers a feminist friendly update as its titular heroin dreams of a career not a man to whisk her away while Canon's inspired creative approach and jukebox's musical style all point to an elegant and empowering redesign of this most familiar of garments her execution puts quite a few tears in the fabric Ella Camila Cabo has been relegated ated to a life of servitude after her father died years prior leaving her in the care of his cruel second wife Vivien Adena Manzel further scrutinized by her obnoxious step sisters molia Maddie baleo and narissa Charlotte Spencer nicknamed Cinderella because of the layer of soot she acquires doing household chores she dreams of breaking out of the home stingy basement and into the world of fashion as a dress maker but since the times are not conducive to a career-minded woman and the town's folk are set in their old-fashioned ways all she can do is sing to vent about her burning desires meanwhile potential soulmate Prince Robert Nicholas gallot scene is trapped in a life he's reticent to lead as his arrogant father King Rowan Pierce broen and kindly mother Queen beatric mini driver are demanding that he find a bride and take the throne he'd rather slack off with his band of marry men than marry and wear the crown his smart sister Princess D to Lula grieve is the more suitable sibling to lead the kingdom except she's up against unabashed male chauvinism guiding the king's call the plan is to throw a grand ball with invitations sent to the entire Kingdom giving The Reluctant Royal ample options from which to select his perfect match yet he meets True Love Ella before the lavish Affair is set to take place first discovering her at the announcement ceremony and then later in Disguise bumping into her at the marketplace buying an evening gown from her as faded Ella's fabulous Fairy Godmother fabg Billy Porter work their magic conflicts surrounding her career goals surface threatening to separate the dynamic duo Canon takes great craft and care to ensure that her heroine's internal and external motivations serve to drive the story forward this modernized take has the sympathetic protagonist wrestle with a compelling penundrum figuring out how Ella and her prince can continue to love each other while attaining their respective career Ambitions or hers at least since he maddeningly never verbalizes what he wants in that regard their superficial struggles surrounding class structure and wealth disparity is assuredly still part of the Tal's DNA culminating in an owering musical number dream girl in which all the women led by Vivien joined together to sing about the stifling suffocating societal sexism they've endured this showstopper hits like a sledgehammer to the glass ceiling that restrains them all humanizing Ella's Tormentor in the process may seem ill advised but it winds up being one of the film's bless surprises still for all the Innovative Intelligent Decisions made there are an overwhelming number of frustrating creative choices the movie's pacing is inconsistent especially when it comes to character development which can feel at once underdeveloped and overstuffed from the stepsisters who are softened to the point of serving little to no purpose to the members of the Royal Court whose arcs are extraneous practically everyone Beyond Ella and Vivian suffers greatly from tissue paper thin character motivations that pivot on a whim making making the audience question why these Superfluous story threads are there at all it's clear Ella is the underlying Force inspiring change in these folks but the reasons instigating those changes defy logic lavish musical set pieces this film's bread and butter failed to immerse or transport audiences as intended though designed to conjure energy and bewitching wonderment in their design there's a pervasive lack of aesthetic Intrigue in individual identity these numbers are exhausting not enthralling composed like music videos with quick Sharp Cuts alternating between wide and medium shots these sequences do a disservice to Ashley wallen's wonderfully anachronistic choreography and Ellen mik's breast taping costumes the wonderful wardrobe is valued for its poignancy and Power in the creation of Ellis magical ball gown only to be undermined in later scenes as the film plows through palpable moments like Ellis designer de while some of the material sags a few performances uplift the indom able Spirit of the time honored tale and its refashioned sentiments Cabo is a magnetic screen presence who demonstrates a natural sense of comedic timing infusing her character with vulnerability compassion and effervescence she and galine share a sweet Chase chemistry but it's Porter who steals the show he does not disappoint he's vivacious vibrant and knows precisely how to deliver a satisfying well well well so much so that younger audiences might assume he invented its usage M his Charisma Sparkles as brightly as his sequin Ensemble and his sole physical appearance he also partially narrates this journey is filled with magnificent magical Splendor even though prior iterations of this tale such as ever after Disney's TV movie adaptation Cinderella and Kenneth brow's liveaction Cinderella offered similarly enlightened Forward Thinking commentary cannons for better and worse is far more obtuse about its machinations and while it's a noble effort from a capable director this glass slipper proves frustratingly ill-fitting of the plethora of fairy tales I personally think the story of Cinderella is perhaps one of the most iconic one maybe it's because it's easy to follow and very straightforward it's not super scary or dark well at least the more kid-friendly version which is the more commonplace iteration of the taale and it has a good dose of Happily Ever After naturally the whole Fairy Godmother the glass slipper and the stroke of midnight are always iconic to hear in the narration so it's always a welcomed one offering a sort of comfort in hearing such familiar beats it's because of these familiarity that Cinderella has been around and relevant throughout many generations with Hollywood revisiting the fairy tale story throughout the decades creating different variations of the classic as mentioned the Rogers and Hammerstein's version is one of the more iconic iterations but I have yet to still see the original 1957 version although I do remember seeing the 1997 TV movie version Rogers and Hammerstein Cinderella which I will mention a little bit later on in this review of course perhaps the most widely accepted SL viwed iteration of the fairy tale would have to be Disney's 1950 animated film Cinderella which is what I was first like many of my Generations were first introduced to the story of fairy tale as well as the key features made in this cartoon film i. the bibid Bob Buu song there were a few other film adaptation that I liked including the more realistic period peace drama of Ever After A Cinderella Story loved Angelica Houston as the stepmother and Disney's liveaction remake Cinderella which definitely is one of their better releases in their reimagining of their past animated Classics overall the Allure and fascination of the story of a young poor girl going to a ball to meet her prince charming is something that will continue to be bringing hope and wonder into the lives of many for generations to become thus Cinderella throughout all its transforms and iterations has become Timeless in its own right this brings me back around to talking about Cinderella at 2021 romantic Musical and the latest iteration of the iconic fairy tale story this movie sort of got shuffled around for me as I really didn't hear much about it when it was first announced but soon came to hear about when it was said the role of the Fairy Godmother character was going to be a male instead of the more traditional representation of females this sparked a debate online which was when I first heard about the upcoming film after that I really didn't hear much about this movie with the exception of people talking about the new Cinderella movie coming out soon heck I didn't even see the film's movie trailer for the project so I couldn't get hyped nor did I get a chance to be intrigued by it when I went on vacation to Costa Rica at the beginning of September I read that this new Cinderella movie was released on Amazon Prime video and the reviews for it were mixed ranging from mediocre to bad because of this I was intrigued to see how the movie was so after completing some of the movie reviews that had to get done I decided to check out this new Cinderella movie on Amazon Prime video to see if it was just as bad as many were making it out to be and what did I think of it well I have to agree with many of those opinions despite a few fleeting moments 2021 Cinderella is a woefully bad and poorly executed Endeavor that's unremarkable and uninspiring this version of the classic fairy tale story is so generic and Bland It ultimately begs the question on how this movie got green lit to begin with Cinderella is directed by K Canon whose previous Works includes as a producer for projects like Pitch Perfect 2 new girl and 30 Rock as well as her directorial debut film of 2018 blockers thus given her background in comedic Endeavor and slash or more light-hearted projects Canon seems like a suitable choice to helm such a film in reimaging the classic fairy tale for a new generation however that's pretty much it when it comes Canon's Direction but more on that later in this review the only thing I think that Canon does a good job is making the film have an upbeat and positive feeling the film at its core is light-hearted approachable and easy to digest though it's quite hard to swallow if you know what I mean as for the positives this movie only has a few as most are found within its technical presentation yes Cinderella doesn't have the grandiosity of Blockbuster that Disney's 2015 liveaction remake had but the overall present is still relatively good replicating that iconic look of the pseudo medieval fantasy Kingdom fairy tale setting throughout the movie from art direction to costume attire the movie's colorful background is good and definitely as eye-catching with a lot of pop and vibran thus the films behind the scenes team including Paul Kirby production designs Katherine pile set decorations Ellen mynic costume designs and the entire art Direction team for their efforts in Cinderella's setting come alive lastly the film score which was done by Mel Dana and Jessica Ron Weiss is good it's not the absolute best movie SL film soundtrack I've heard but it definitely works for the movie and is probably better than the pop songs that are Incorporated in the feature unfortunately the movie isn't the happily ever after Endeavor that one could hope in a Cinderella movie Finding the feature to be riddled with glaring and numerous problems throughout the entire project perhaps the most glaring aspect that the movie movie criticisms focuses on is how the feature itself feels like a cobbled up versions of different ideas that doesn't exactly gel together cohesively resulting in a fairy tale remake that has a lost sense of its own personal identity how so well right from the get-go there is a lot of emphasis in musical numbers which tries to replicate the same modern style energy that Hamilton had but never fully reached idea and doesn't have Lin Manuel Miranda to evoke that prolific Sip and finesse the same goes with the covers of the musical songs themselves more on that below which tries to emulate the same style that Mulan Rouge did but lacks the boldness and Visionary that director baz lurman had for his 2001 film there is also a hints of Bridgerton with lot of colorful SL flashy costume period pie at tires and handsome good-looking young people but never fully captures what made that Netflix show memorable also I felt that the movie tried to be like Ella Enchanted with the movie trying to update fairy tale tropes as well as singing modern songs but lacks the same type of charm and fun that the 2004 film produced additionally for all of its modern style Forward Thinking and lofty ideas of the current generation as well controversy that surrounds the gender swapping of one character more on that below the movie Never quite captures the B casting choices as was done in 1997's TV movie of Rogers and Hammerstein Cinderella that had singer Grandy african-amer as Cinderella singer Whitney Houston African-American as the fairy godmother Victor Garber Caucasian as the king whoopy Goldberg African-American as the queen and Paulo montalba asan as the prince there's a few other ones that the movie tries to copy from but you get the gist of it suffice to say Cinderella ultimately has a classic case of mistaken identity with Canon's Direction trying too hard to appease everyone and taking ideas that never quite come together as whole rendering the movie choppy and unbalanced speaking of Canon the direction for the movie is poorly executed and has greatly difficulty discovering what the film's identity wants to be as mentioned above the identity for Cinderella is all over the map in Canon's choices and overall decision in shaping the film is really called into questioning this is where the criticism gets to the nuts and bolts finding Canon trying too hard to appease viewers with a modernization SL updated version of the classic fairy tale but never fully committing to those intentions what exactly is the ultimate vision for this iteration of Cinderella well it's kind of hard to say and I don't think that Canon has had clear idea of that there is the classic fairy tale tropes of the original Cinderella story that the movie incorporates and that's pretty much inescapable but the movie needs new material bounce off because what's the point of revisiting a taale that has been over numerous times Canon tries as she might fails to interject some new ideas yes there is a few new additions that make into the film including character motivation and subplots but olive feels unwanted in surface level material with some threats left unfinished SL dangling by the time reaches its ending additionally Canon's direction for Cinderella just feels lackluster never truly coming into her own creation and just generates something that would be hip or cool with the current demographic that are trying to capitalize on modern interpretations yet despite that notion nothing really feels original or new making Cinderella just so generic and derivate that it's painful to watch and begging the question of how did a film like this get green lit there is also several pacing issues that movie has throughout its runtime with uninteresting mechanics of subplots which slow down the film's progression and makes the 113 minutes 1 hour and 53 minute cinematic runtime feel bloated and sluggish 19 on August 9th Japanese shoes brand on auka tiger announced the release of a limited edition sneakers created in collaboration with Cinderella 20 on August 11th hair brand joh Freda announced a collaboration with Cinderella Cinderella was released in Select theaters and digitally in 240 territories via Amazon Prime video on September 3rd 2021 322 it had a premier event on August 30th 2021 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles 20 through 24 samb TV reported that 1.1 million American households streamed the film over its first 4 days of release while Amazon claimed it was the most watched VOD title over the same frame 25 in June 2019 Sony scheduled the film for release February 5th 2021 26 in January 2021 the release date was pushed back to July 16th 2021 27 in May 2021 Sony canceled the film's theatrical debut and announced that the film had been bought by Amazon Studios except China Sony would also retain home entertainment and linear television rights to the film according to S TV the film was watched in 1.1 1 million us households over its 4-day Labor Day weekend debut and in 2.2 million households by the end of its first 30 days 31 according to the analytics company screen engine Cinderella was the most watched streaming film during its opening weekend as well as the most watched musical film yet in 2021 on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 41% based on 135 reviews with an average rating of 4.9 out of 10 the website's critics consensus reads this thinging along worthy Cinderella sprinkles some modern fairy dust on the off told tail but flat performances and clunky dialogue make watching often feel like a chore 33 on Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100 based on reviews from 30 critics indicating mixed or average reviews 34 Richard roer of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film three out of four stars and praise Cabo for her performance saying she has a real knack for comedy and described the film as having an upbeat greasy and sentimental style laced with some sharp humor and filled with familiar and catchy pop tunes refashioned to fit the story line 35 Jonathan Sim of Cummings in.net wrote It's a progressively Charming take on a romantic tale and there are sweet romantic moments throughout the film even if there isn't much you haven't seen before 36 Courtney Howard of variety was critical of many of the creative choices the inconsistent pacing and character development she called the film a mediocre Musical and felt it was both underdeveloped and overstuffed at the same time Cinderella has survived a lot over the years first the wicked stepmother in the midnight curfew and then hundreds of versions and adaptations in books on television and in film undertaken by just about everyone including Walt Disney Julie Andrews Jerry Lewis Drew Barrymore and Hathaway and Rogers and Hammerstein she's going to survive this tried up version too a mishmash of Relentless air quotes sensory overload that wants to grab you by the shoulders and Shout no sing be entertained and sometimes we are but it is less a movie than a string of Tik Tok clips and it made my eyes spin like pin wheel In fairness my 5-year-old cousin will love it it helps a lot that the Cinderella story is a classic for a reason the essence of this tale about the mistreated but pure-hearted girl who gets the ultimate makeover and the classic fairy tale happily ever after ending appears in many cultures going back as far as recorded history there are moments in this film where that imperishable story shines through despite all efforts to clutter it up with Snippets of pop songs and Winks at the audience each generation brings its own perspective to the Cinderella story recent versions focused on more diversity the Brandy Whitney Houston version more agency Ever After or at least a better explanation for her obedience Ella Enchanted in this version Cinderella singer camil too has big dreams of being a fashion designer and supporting herself so that she no longer has to live in her Stepmother's basement it also tries to give the stepmother Adena menel some understanding of the reason for her cruelty and tones down the Mean Girl element of the two step sisters but the screenplay by writer director K Canon Pitch Perfect overcorrects Cinderella and leaves the story line unbalanced it's possible to give the Title Character more aspirations Independence and humor without dulling down everyone around her but attributes are handed out here one to a character a challenge even The Talented cast cannot overcome the king Pierce Broan is dictatorial the queen mini driver is frustrated the princess Tula griev studies public policy and the fairy god person Billy Porter as fabg is flamboyant Prince Robert Nicholas galline barely has any attributes at all other than being handsome singing nicely and being crazy about Cinderella it's supposed to be a running joke that he is referred to as the king's idiot son but it's kind of not wrong okay maybe not an idiot but kind of a spoiled slacker who is clear on what he's not interested in but not so clear on what he might be interested in audiences may not notice all of that though because there's a lot going on and most of it is very tuneful and colorful with some big bright dance numbers hence the prediction about the 5-year-old and I have to admit the 5-year-old that lives in all of us the movie begins with a spirited opening number showing the villagers dancing to Rhythm Nation yes Janet Jackson's version of a new national anthem calling for social justice is just a thing for a vaguely 18th or 19th Century Village to sing as they get ready for the day on the other hand it's undeniably peppy and energetic with lots of popular songs from the era of Jen's parents and grandparents like what a man shining star and Seven Nation Army a Queen Somebody to Love is an unfortunate reminder that it was used better in Ella Enchanted the musical numbers are much better than the dialogue which is cutesy not once but twice we hear that the prince still gets spanked on the tush tush even Porter snap cannot save his lines about the glass slippers not being comfortable Musical characters like to introduce themselves with an I want song and so we meet Cinderella in her basement Workshop saving a caterpillar from the spider web and singing you got to be by desite so what does she want to be bold tough wiser and better and for love to save the day she is sweet she is optimistic and she is loved by mice one of them voiced by producer James Corda this is yet another reminder that one reason the producer should not be in the movie is that producers are not the best judge of whether they add value to the movie The frenetic silliness and uneven tone are unfortunate distractions from the genuine pleasures of the film including Cabo's appealing performances Cinderella and the creative and energetic musical numbers this Cinderella Story should have asked fabg for a makeunder there have been so many Cinderella retellings that it's often hard to keep track of them all most are mediocre While others are completely forgettable made for TV movies that enjoy the familiarity of a classic story that has been around for centuries in some form or other stemming from an idea by James Cordon who plays a mouse turn footman in the film Amazon Cinderella mixes the old with the new in a musical adaptation that tries to make Progressive certain parts of story written and directed by K Canon Pitch Perfect Cinderella's music is enjoyable but it's Hollow the performance is flat and the dialogue often cringeworthy set in a distinctly VAP time period one that is defined by the old-fashioned town that is too hesitant to change Cinderella follows its Title Character Camila Cabo an aspiring fashion designer with a dream of selling her dresses if only she could escape the control of her stepmother Vivian Adena menel a widow who understands how little a woman can have if she doesn't play into her societal role and also marry Rich during a jaunt to town Cinderella meets a poorly disguised Prince Robert Nicholas galline an irresponsible Royal who often butts heads with his father King Rowan Pierce broen over his monarchical duties who offers to buy her dress before inviting her to the ball to meet others who might help her business Ambitions the two are smitten with each other but things are made complicated when Cinderella learns of Robert station and is later pressured by Vivan to marry someone she doesn't want to be with and ignore her passion Cabo and galine have no chemistry which makes their Central romance all the harder to believe or root for there are no longing looks and no charm to their relationship it's something that certainly needed to exist to make Cinderella work and to make up for the parts of the story that are lacking despite the songs and setup the film is devoid of any romantic moments between them and the pair are better when interacting with almost everyone else but each other zelle and bren's performances are fine but viewers have seen them do better in other projects though the former does play Vivian with some nuance and she's painted with a more sympathetic brush than previous iterations of the character while Billy Porter makes a grand entrance of Cinderella's fairy godmother Fab G it's actually mini driver is Queen beatric who stands Out Among the cast elevating the material by exhibiting the many layers to her character there is a sad longing and Sparks of joy that are made apparent in her performance one that rises above everyone else's despite the obviously thin screenplay Cinderella attempts to flip the script by sprinkling in Progressive subplots Cinderella has Ambitions to be a fashion designer and not a royal at court the prince recognizes he doesn't want to be king and believes his sister Gwen to Lula grieve is far more suited for the role with her ideas to move the kingdom forward but all of these elements are heavy-handed and cringeworthy the film would rather tell instead of show with the dialogue doing most of the heavy lifting to point out issues of sexism and the patriarchal system to the audience instead of exploring and engaging with them in a more meaningful way openly pointing out that sexism exists is only stating a fact and the film offers empty platitudes about empowerment without delving into who cerella is as a person outside of her circumstances and this is true of every character all of whom are one note and ostensibly dull what the film also lacks is an emotional core Coo's performance isn't strong enough to be the anchor the film quickly loses its momentum and transforms into an empty shell that is too hindering to the story to ignore the musical only works if one were to lean into the silliness of it all and when the film's own script at that as well there are genuine moments of humor and fun this is especially true when Canon script pokes fun at all of the nonsense fabg announcing that Cinderella needs help to which her response is yeah I was just singing about it minutes ago or Prince Robert very sarcastically asking his father what he and his future wife will even talk about until their deaths at the age of 40 there aren't enough of these moments but when they arrive they're AET treat and a nice break from some of the more ridiculous and monotonous aspects of the film and yet it doesn't go far enough the directorial choices are uninspired and devoid of Personality with the overly bright lighting likely meant to make the film feel more fairy tale likee though it makes for a rather dull aesthetic the cinematography by Andrew Dunn is as overly sanitized as the story what makes up for an overall one-dimensional story are the meticulously designed gorgeous costumes by Ellen mynick which have aure and Grandeur while reflecting the film's more modern stylings the old Meats new Vibes are prevalent in the film song Choices a mixture of popular music Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation Queen Somebody to Love with original songs like million to one which Cabo sings As the centerpiece being a statement of the film's attempts at modernity unfortunately Cinderella lacks the specificity of Ever After and doesn't commit to the full fantasy of Brandy Cinderella either nor does it have the Charisma of Ella Enchanted Canon's film does emulate each of these adaptations to various degrees though it has very little to say because its message is surface level dressed up to mask its lack of depth the film very rarely leans into the fun and its heavy-handed execution mediocre performances and lack of exuberance makes for an overall Bland watch from the outset of Amazon studi new Cinderella movie writer director K Canon welcomes audiences into a fantasy unlike any before it putting a glimmering girl boss gloss on the oft adapted fairy tale in this heightened unreality characters can break into song with the Janet Jackson chart topper as easily as they belt out a new Broadway style power ballot this latest retelling of the Charles cro classic offers a feminist friendly update as its titular heroin dreams of a career not a man to whis her away while Canon's inspired creative approach and jukebox's musical style all point to an elegant and empowering redesign of this most familiar of garments her execution puts quite a few tears in the fabric Ella Camila Cabo has been relegated to a life of servitude after her father died years prior leaving her in the care of his cruel second wife Vivien Adena Menzel further scrutinized by her obnoxious stepsisters molia Maddie baleo and narissa Charlotte Spencer nicknamed Cinderella because of the layer of soot she acquires doing household chores she dreams of breaking out of the home's dingy basement and into the world of fashion as a dress maker but since the times are not conducive to a career-minded woman and the town's folk are set in their old-fashioned ways all she can do is sing to vent about her burning desires meanwhile potential soulmate Prince Robert Nicholas Galaxy is trapped in a life he's reticent to lead as his arrogant father King Rowan Pierce brosman and kindly mother Queen beatric mini driver are demanding that he find a bride and take the throne he'd rather slack off with his band of merry men than Mary and wear the crown his smart sister princess Gwen to Lula geve is the more suitable sibling to leave the kingdom