Cinderella (Live-Action)

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JeanGreyForever
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

Post by JeanGreyForever »

Disney Duster wrote:Thanks JeanGreyForever, I checked out the first chapter and it is drawn so beautifully and accurately! I can't draw that well, but maybe someday I could, or find someone who can. I may check out the rest of the chapters later. Is it complete or still in progress?

TheSequelOfDisney, I understand, but even as an avid fan of Walt's Cinderella I love the new version! And I did find the dress ripping and transformation best in Walt's version as well. However, I'm not a fan of Walt's Cinderella's songs. As I've grown up, I think Rodgers and Hammerstein's songs are better. Except maybe for "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", that song is magical, even though I'm actually still not crazy about that one either.
It's a WIP. It's actually meant for 50 chapters so it has several more years before it will be complete.

I must check out the Rodgers and Hammerstein's version of Cinderella then if you're praising it so much. Is the one on Broadway (or used to be on Broadway if it has been removed) the same as the Rodgers and Hammerstein movie with Brandy and Whitney Houston?
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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I hope to find time to read that princess comic.

The Rodgers and Hammerstein Cinderella exists in four different versions. All four are actually very different.

The one on Broadway opened in 2013 but closed in 2015. Here's a rundown of the four different versions.

The original one premiered live on TV in 1957. It starred Julie Andrews. She played the part very well. The songs are almost all great. However, it was in cramped TV sets, and I don't like the costumes. They seemed to be regency costumes, and I'm not a fan of that style. The story, however, is pretty good, except that there isn't as much drama as the other versions of Cinderella or as in the original fairy tale.

They re-made it in 1965, again on TV, but not live. It starred Lesley Ann Warren. Lesley Ann Warren was, in my opinion, phenomenal. When I was young I saw her as too weak. Now that I'm older I see her as delicate and full of emotion. The stepmother, stepsisters, Fairy Godmother, and queen are all excellent, too. The sets and costumes are nice in idea, but kind of cheap looking. But the drama is great. They added one Rodgers and Hammerstein song that was lying around and never put in any other show, for the Prince to sing of hoping to find his true love soon.

They re-made it again for non-live TV in 1997, with Brandy and Whitney Houston. I'd say Brandy's Cinderella wasn't as emotional as Julie or Lesley and was not as good as theirs. However, the sets, and most of the costumes, are fantastic. Also, this one has the best special effects. They added three Rodgers and Hammerstein songs that were lying around and never put in any other show, one for Cinderella and the Prince to sing of finding their true love at the beginning, once for the stepmother to sing that you shouldn't falling in love, and one in the end for the Fairy Godmother to sing of the "music" being in Cinderella to live happily.

Finally, the Broadway version starred Laura Osnes, and I saw the show with almost all the original principle players except for one stepsister. Laura was good, but she wasn't super great to me. I'd say she was better than Brandy, but not as good as the other two. The plot is very different from the past ones, though. The prince's parents are dead, the Lord Chancellor is using his influence to rule the kingdom cruelly, Cinderella has to help the prince rule well, her one stepsister is nice to her, and that stepsister has an interest in a revolutionary named Jean-Michel who cries of the injustice in the kingdom. And there is a ball and a banquet, so Cinderella visits the palace two times in magic clothes, like in the original fairy tale. This production also added some Rodgers and Hammerstein songs that were lying around and not put in any other show, one for the prince wondering who he is, one for Jean-Michel about how now was the time to take action against the injustice in the kingdom, one for the Prince to sing of finding his true love soon, the same one the prince sang in the 1965 version, and one for the Fairy Godmother to sing about the "music" in Cinderella, the same one the Fairy Godmother sang in the 1997 version.

For me, the very best one is the 1965 version. I even think that is the best Cinderella movie ever made, more than the one that is my favorite, Walt Disney's version. It's got a 50th Anniversary DVD out. It can't be on Blu-ray because it wasn't shot on film. I wonder if in the future there will be some technological magic to put it on some high definition format. I certainly hope so.
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

Post by JeanGreyForever »

Thanks for all the info! I've only ever seen the Brandy version although I've always wanted to watch the Broadway version for Santino Fontano's portrayal of the prince, but I guess it's too late for that now. I'll definitely check out the 1965 version because you've praised it so much! I never knew Julie Andrews played Cinderella though. I might check that out as well although much like you, I'm not a fan of Regency fashions.
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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Oh, so you did see the Brandy version! Yea that one has great designs and singing and choreography.

Santino Fontana was great as the prince. He gave the prince probably the most personality than all previous Rodgers and Hammerstein Cinderella princes.

If you look online you may be able to find some of his performance. He wasn't like an amazing actor, but he had personality.
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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I watched Cinderella at home yesterday (on Blu-ray) for the first time after seeing it at the cinema. And I still think it's the best live action movie I have seen that was based on an animated Disney classic.

The costumes/sets/art style is beautiful. The music is great. And the colors looks amazing, so much better compared to that grey and dark movie Maleficent (a train wreck of a movie, btw). Helena Bonham Carter is always a treat. And I love Lily James, she is just so sweat and pretty, and makes Cinderella a really likeable character to root for. And I really like the chemistry between her and the prince, they have a great relationship. The scenes at the ball are really magical. And Richard Madden is so handsome!^^

Still a bit let down over the fact that Disney did not release limited collector's editions dolls of the prince and the fairy godmother when they released 2 collector's edition dolls of Cinderella last year (one in her ball dress and one in her wedding dress). Collector's editions doll versions of the prince and fairy godmother would have looked wonderful I'm sure!

I can't wait for more Disney live action remakes in the style of Cinderella - remakes that takes what's great about the original animated classic and expands upon that movie, instead of entirely altering the plot and key characters. I have high hopes for Beauty and the Beast next year, and the upcoming Aladdin movie. I also wish we'll get The Little Mermaid and a proper Disney live action Sleeping Beauty movie in time...
Favorite Disney-movies: Snow White, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan, Tangled, Frozen, Pirates, Enchanted, Prince of Persia, Tron, Oz The Great and Powerful
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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I'm really glad you still love the movie so much, and agree with so much of what you said.

I find it so good, that I sometimes feel it's the best Cinderella film ever made.

And that is part of why it was made and why other Disney animated classics probably won't get the same treatment. They said in the book A Wish Your Heart Makes, they were trying to make the definitive live-action Cinderella movie. Not just remake the Disney version, but create the best version of Cinderella ever to be live. I bet they were even intending to make the definitive version of Cinderella in any form and they came quite close. But I still think the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1957 film and Disney 1950 film beat it. But hey, that's my opinion, so perhaps this was the best version ever. A lot of people seem to think so.

And it's so good, I don't mind. :D

Now, it's not to say that they won't give other Disney animated classics at least the same quality and faithfulness in live action, but they probably won't be making them with the idea of doing the definitive version of, well, the most known story in the world, that Cinderella is.
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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Has anyone else watched the DVD or Blu-Ray with the English Descriptive Audio? It's actually quite fun and interesting. It's a nice perspective when listening to the sophisticated-sounding English lady describe everything that is going on in the film.
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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Thanks for the tidbit about Drisella's name almost being Noémie, tsom. I don't know how you find such information! Thank God they did go with Drisella. And maybe I'll check out the English descriptive audio sometime.

So I re-watched the movie this night and I wanted to remark on how I think Cinderella loved the prince in part because he did what she asked, which was let the stag go. That was a loving gesture of his. Just one reason this film is so well-crafted. Cinderella staying in her house because she loves it so much, and the balance of her servitude and abuse, it's all done so well. However, I feel the best way her becoming a servant was done is actually in the original Disney animated classic and in The Slipper and the Rose. Sometimes I even think Slipper and the Rose is the better movie. Everything in it's just so charming and enjoyable. With this live-action Cinderella, they pack so many bad things happening to Cinderella in the beginning, like first her mom, then her new stepfamily, then her dad leaving, then being alone with her stepfamily, then her dad dying, then becoming a servant. Damn! And the narration I feel is too much. Things should be more shown than said. But really, once Cinderella becomes a servant, has her break-down, and meets the prince, it's like everything through the rest of the film is great and I love. Except they really should have put in the deleted "Getting to Know You" scene. Come on Kenneth, it's not moving the story along? Their relationship is the story!
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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Duster, what was it about her transition to servitude in the original film and in The Slipper and the Rose that made them so good? Just want to know. Before this film, I always applauded Slipper and the Rose for really being the only Cinderella film to show us how she became a servant. In the other ones, she's either already a servant, we're told she became a servant, or it jumps several years from her childhood to adulthood where she's already a servant (i.e. Ever After and A Cinderella Story). I liked how we really see how it happened during the "Mourning" deleted scene. I think that may have been too depressing if they kept all that in.

As for the narration, when I first saw the movie, that was one of my problems about it. There was too much narration and I felt we were being told things that we clearly could see was happening on screen. However, now I'm fine with the narration. The film is sort of framed as a child listening to a beloved story, so I guess the narration makes sense. There was actually more narration, but they ended up cutting several lines. An example is when Cinderella is off to the ball, the fairy godmother narrates "HOW HAPPY HER MOTHER WOULD HAVE BEEN, TO SEE ELLA RIDE OFF IN SUCH SPLENDOR, AND WITH HER COURAGE AND HER KINDNESS INTACT. THE CARRIAGE TOOK HER NOT JUST FROM HOME TO THE VERY GATES OF THE PALACE, BUT FROM MISERY TO HOPE AND BACK TO THE TIME WHEN ANYTHING WAS POSSIBLE." Lovely lines though!
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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Those lines are lovely! How do you know about Noémie and those extra narration lines though? How do you know all this stuff?! lol I am ok with some narration as it fits that it is a fairy tale and it's like it's being told to us, I just feel they could have used less of it and I feel that movies are better when you show more than tell...except Into the Woods...for some reason that worked both in the play and film, to me!

As for when Cinderella becomes a servant, I must say this film does it so well. First she helps her family out of kindness. Then they move her to the attic. Then they take her helping them as either for granted and they're mean despite her kindness, or they make her serving them a requirement to live in the house. It actually seems to be the first one, that they are simply mean to her and make her do everything but not necessarily to live there. It is in "The Mourning" that when they say she is "another mouth to feed" that it may be they use her servitude to pay them to live there. Oh, and the other reasons are she does all the work because they had to dismiss the staff, and to "keep her distracted from her grief". Rather clever, well-crafted stuff.

But, I like how in The Slipper and the Rose, everything is done quite plainly and not...drawn out? As soon as they come back from the burial, the stepmother, who we can soon guess was not that nice even when Cinderella's father was alive, comes out and tells Cinderella she will throw her out or make her the servant, and she must choose. And Cinderella reveals she hated the stepmother and thought she tricked her father into loving him. Then she sings about her lost familial love.

I feel like that way when Cinderella moves to a crappy room to live in, there's no question why the stepmother makes her do it. In Cinderella, the stepmother making Cinderella go to the attic is a little odd. It's like The Slipper and the Rose is the no bullcrap version, if that makes sense? Everything's out in the open? And I feel it's done more dramatically. But not so...sentimental?

By the way, have you ever seen the Faerie Tale Theatre version of Cinderella? It's great! I highly recommend it. It shows Cinderella getting the news of her father's death, and how she becomes a servant. It does it well, too, though not as dramatic and well as Slipper and the Rose, in my opinion. The Faerie Tale Theatre version is also full of personality. It's quite good.

By the way everyone, Nostalgia Critic Doug Walker did three videos on the new 2015 Cinderella, all of which compare it to the original 1950 one!:
Cinderella (2015) - Disneycember 2015)
Sibling Rivalry: Cinderella (2015)
Old vs New: Cinderella - Nostalgia Critic
And by the way tsom, since you like Ever After so much, I think you'll like the first and second videos a lot!
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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Oh, I think I know more now why I think The Slipper and the Rose's way of Cinderella becoming a servant is better. It's because it's so juicy and dramatic. It's true that the way Cinderella breaks down in Cinderella (2015) is also very dramatic, I just think The Slipper and the Rose version is more juicy drama and not sentimental.
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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I was thinking about how people said Cinderella takes destiny in her own hands in this version, and I had thought for a while, no she doesn't. But then I realized today, she started her salvation by running into the forest to escape her evil stepfamily for a while. She started the meeting with the prince. She started their love. She started what would end up saving her. So in a way, she did kind of take part in her own salvation (aside from being kind and earning magical help and animal help in return).

Also, I'm wondering - did Lady Tremaine and her daughters have a noble or genteel name, and Ella and her parents didn't? Is that why Anastasia called their home a "farm house"? Did Lady Tremaine just want the money Ella's father made but she and her daughters had titles while Ella's family didn't?

Oh, and I found this amazing picture of Lily James as Cinderella transforming!:
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Apparently it's done by a guy named Ryan Monsod, because his name is on the picture. He apparently does art all by himself, no photo manipulation. If he really drew a new pose, or at least drew a completely new picture, of Lily James here, he is truly amazing!
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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I believe Cinderella saved herself by being resilient. She also showed courage by mending her mother's dress with the intentions of going to the ball, and, if we count the deleted scene, wrote a letter to the prince. There are other examples, but I'm too tired to list them. Haha.

Yes, Lady Tremaine and her daughters were nobles, albeit struggling financially since the death of Sir Francis Tremaine. Ella's family were wealthy commoners. Even though Ella's father was a merchant, he obviously was a successful one. Lady Tremaine may have married beneath her status, but her new husband still had money. In turn, I suspect Ella's father's marriage to a noblewoman would've brought him a bit of prestige.
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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Great explanations! Thanks! Yea Cinderella saved herself by being resilient - I like that idea. And I like that Cinderella wasn't born noble so the prince marrying her is a bigger deal and makes more connection to one of the main messages of the story - rank doesn't matter in love. Also, you are right Cinderella was courageous to try to go to the ball on her own even though her stepmother practically forbade it already! Good point! Another reason this film is so great!
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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Disney Duster wrote: Image
I love it!!!!
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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Now that is what I call really good fan art.
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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So the other night I did try out the "English Descriptive Audio", and it was pretty nice. It was so funny how she said "Lady Tremaine looks like she was sucking on lemons" or whatever she exactly said. lol

You know, after thinking about it, perhaps this is all I would change for the movie: Have the "I'm your hairy dogfather" line match the lip movements, The Fairy Godmother says, "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" for every spell, there is at least some more dialogue heard between Cinderella and Kit in the garden that furthers their love and relationship, and I would actually keep the ending as it is. Sure, Cinderella's not being so feminist not doing anything to save herself in the attic, but she is trying to make herself happy as she can be while she's left in a situation she may not be able to get out of, and the way she is found and freed is so well done, and sweetly done, and beautifully done, and cleverly done, I would keep it.
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

Post by WillytheDino »

There is a new show in Disneyland Studios in Paris and it features the updated version of the 2015 live action version of Cinderella. It is brief, but it's nice.
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

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Oh, thanks for telling us! I MUST look it up!
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Re: Cinderella (2015)

Post by Atlantica »

Gosh, which show is this ?! Mickey and the Magician ? As I thought that was the animated version that was featured ?
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