Ella’s WORSTS(Ep 1): “CINDERELLA” The Reboot we did not need.
By Ella Ogunnubi
If you thought the movie industry would grow tired of this classic fairytale, well think again. Director and writer Kay Cannon gives another twist to the story of the girl with a glass slipper in YET another remake.
“Have courage and be kind”. The 1950s animation provided a simple phrase to guide the plot. However, it appears Cinderella was not clear enough. Singer Camila Cabello plays the beloved maiden Cinderella with the introduction of a sense of humour and wit aimed at making viewers fall in love with her. It did not. Needless to say, Camila’s vocals could have done with a bit more autotune in “Am I wrong”.
Fortunately, Idina Menzel (stepmother) rescues our ears for the remainder of the plot. The inclusion of classic songs such as Queen’s “somebody to love” and Salt N Pepa’s “What a man” was a huge leap that sadly did not make it to the other side.
Kay Cannon failed to convey what era the story was set in, it kept flipping back and forth making it hard for viewers to keep up with the time travel. It was quite disappointing that the writer of all three pitch-perfect movies came up with such a script. The casting of Billy Porter as the “Fabulous Godmother” could have really made a cinematic impact. Instead, the heavy reliance on overcompensating phrases (YASSSSS FUTURE QUEEN WORK) seemed to be the only level of creativity they had in store.
However, not all hope was lost in the plot as the three mice (James Corden, Romesh Ranganathan and James Acaster) brought a couple of laughs our way. Also, the freestyle rapping by Doc Brown (Town Crier) of the Kingdom’s proclamation was refreshing to watch when combined with the kingdom’s Disney Descendants dance moves.
It's Quite understandable that Kay wished to promote the independent woman narrative as Cinderella would choose her dressmaking career over Prince Robert (Nicholas Galitzine) if it came to that.
Yet, why did it seem like a setback in feminism as Princess Gwen (Tallulah Grieve) despite being the brains, was consistently only used as a threat to keep her brother (Nicholas Galitzine) in line. Her only chance at the crown seemed to line up conveniently with Robert’s refusal to be King. If they wanted to promote feminism by making women a good backup plan well mission accomplished.
I’m sure you’re probably wondering why I forgot to mention Cinderella’s famous stepsisters (Charlotte Spencer and Maddie Ballio) well you’re not wrong because they were quite forgettable. The two sisters were given little to no character development when compared to their mother who apparently once wished to be a pianist.
The pressing need to humanize the stepmother overshadowed her mean qualities as Cinderella faced little to no hardships except for the stepmother pouring ink on her dress…. quite the horrific moment that was so evil. Whilst Cinderella created dresses and designs in the basement, the step-sisters did her chores under the guise of their mother teaching them how difficult life would be without a rich suitor.
So, when you think about it, what made Cinderella ‘Cinder’ Ella was missing from the entire plot. As Camila answered Tallulah when she asked what to call her relationship with the prince at the movie’s end, “we don’t want to put a label on it”. I for one agree because personally, I do not want to ever be caught associated with this movie.
