Disney’s live-action movie lineup continues to grow. A trailer for Cinderella has been released, revealing a world of magic, beauty, cruelty, and kindness, hearkening back to the animated film and retelling it with both more realism and more magic.
Lily James (TV’s Downton Abbey) stars as Ella, a girl whose mother (Hayley Atwell) passes away and leaves her father to remarry the vile Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett), who puts the girl to work as a servant rather than stepping into the role of caring mother. In the trailer, Cinderella meets Prince Charming, played by Richard Madden (HBO’s Game of Thrones), as well as her fairy godmother, played by Helena Bonham-Carter (Sweeney Todd). Though everyone knows the ending of the fairy tale, it will certainly be interesting to see just how far the script has gone in creating more realistic characters, introducing more cruelty to Lady Tremaine, and possibly a relationship between the prince and Cinderella that blossoms out of actual conversation and interactions (rather than just a dance, as in the original animated movie).
Kenneth Branagh (Thor) directed the movie, which is currently in post-production. The very first teaser trailer can be seen here. Disney’s live-action adaptations have done incredibly well at the box office, from the recent adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (2010) to this year’s Maleficent. Disney will also release the live-action film Into the Woods this Christmas, which is a mash-up of all the Grimm fairy tales set to a stunning musical score.
Cinderella will be released in US theaters on March 13, 2015.