When I was a little kid and completely enamored with the world of Disney animated features I always wondered what it might be like to see those characters and those worlds come to life. Real life. I never thought it would happen after the live action versions of
101 Dalmatians and its money-grubbing sequel underwhelmed (at least they did in my adolescent mind), but then again I also desperately hoped that one day movie studios might wisen-up and begin building a shared universe where my favorite super heroes interacted on the big screen as well. I guess dreams really do come true (and that Disney will always be there to make them happen). And so, over the past few years, ever since the astounding success of Tim Burton's take on
Alice in Wonderland, we have seen an uptrend in live-action films based on classic Disney properties. Whether they be from the respective studio that originated the tale in popular culture or not everyone has noticed this as a way to make some guaranteed money. Most of the attempts from outside the mouse house (
Snow White & the Huntsman, Mirror Mirror) haven't exactly done gangbusters, while Disney, in its two previous efforts (the aforementioned
Alice and last summers
Maleficent), has seen nothing but green. Granted, neither one of these films were particularly good and neither were straight-up re-tellings of the original Disney classics either, but luckily things have begun to change on both fronts with the latest incrnation of this trend that is
Cinderella. If you're expecting anything from this latest interpretation of a story that has been told so many times you could literally drown in a stack of DVD copies of all the different versions you're likely to be disappointed. There is no alternate perspective presented here and this isn't some strange kind of prequel/origin story that gives more background into the reasons why Fairy Godmothers exist, but instead this is simply a new interpretation, a live-action interpretation, based on Disney's 1950 animated film. While it might be obvious to then question the point, what is most fascinating is still that simple joy that comes with seeing your childhood memories brought to vivid life and that is what Kenneth Branagh's version does best: it elicits joy.
