Cinderella

Cinderella is not really my cup of tea. The cartoon was released in 'ancient' times that it is too outdated and unbelievable in the current era. In recent years, there are plenty of movies based on childhood fairy tales peppered with dark twists. Cinderella does not follow that path and is literally faithful to the original Disney's cartoon. Another point to give this movie a miss. How about Frozen Fever clip? I like Frozen but when I heard the new song from the clip, I don't think it is as good as the songs in original Frozen. I am not sure on why I still watched the movie in the end. It is not exactly helpful when a friend kept telling me "Just watch the trailer. It is basically the whole movie!".

Apparently it was not a wrong decision. There is magic in the movie and I came out of the cinema like a little boy who just had his first ever fairy tale. I am going to skip the story as it is exactly the same as the cartoon. No twists, no changes, no suprises. Credits to the director! Being faithful to the original cartoon can either mean very boring or very unrealistic. The movie does not focus on the parts which we expect to see when Cinderella comes to mind: how she is being mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters which makes the whole story flows more smoothly and realistically. With less focus on the mistreatment, Cinderella's patience and kindness also become more believable. Cinderella speaks to the animals but the animals are not depicted talking to her again. Another good point considering realism. Humans do talk to animals/pets and animals/pets don't respond by talking in human's language you see. And it is a good choice to skip the Lucifer vs the mice parts.

I really love the setting, the environment, and the props. Every elements of fairy tales: big mansion, majestic castle, old towns, forests, etc are depicted beautifully. I think it would be fantastic to have a mansion where Cinderella lives! The next great thing is the effects when Fairy Godmother does her "bibbidi bobbidi boo" to transform Cinderella and when the effect of the magic vanishes at midnight. I think they are excellent without exaggeration to the point of unbelievable.

I don't know the actress who plays Cinderella but from the trailer, I thought she is so-so only. When watching the movie, I can't help to like her. I think she is a perfect representation of Cinderella. This may come out wrong: but I don't think her beauty is not the type that will attract people just from her look. Her beauty is more of the sweet-type and her beauty shines because of her kindness/personality. Aaaaah... What an ideal girl.. Haha.. Helena Bonham Carter did a great job as the Fairy Godmother although it is difficult to change the image of Fairy Godmother to a young lady. Haha.. She did a better job as when she disguised as the old lady. As always, she is always good when playing out-of-this-world characters. Cate Blanchett, as Lady Tremaine, is the other woman got me excited for this movie. I always know Galadriel can be a scary lady too. I definitely love her dresses. Unfortunately, the 2 stepsisters fail to shine and they fall into obscurity. They are dumb but they are not funny. I find the guy playing the prince is a bit too old but he does have a Disney prince aura.

In all, I think there is a magic in this movie and I really recommend this to everyone. I was prepared to be disappointed but I came out of the cinema filled with child-like joy. With all the realism, the message of "have courage and be kind" sounds very positive instead of being pretentious. And of course, other than believing in courage and kindness, a little bit of magic will be wonderful too.

Honestly, Cinderella is indeed an ideal girl that I am looking for: can work, can do housework, can ride a horse (drive), pretty, and kind-hearted. When will I ever find my Cinderella? Perhaps my Cinderella is still being locked somewhere by the evil stepmother.. Unfortunately, I am still not ready to search and rescue her yet...

By the way, I just realised that Lily James recorded "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and Helena Bonham Carter recorded "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" but both songs were only played at the ending credits. They should have included this in the movie!! Grr.. And Lily James has a very sweet voice too.