Cinderella (1997)

 

Genre: Musical/ Romance                Time: 1 hour 28mins            Director: Robert Iscove

Quick Summary: Although mistreated by her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, Cinderella is able to attend the royal ball with the help of a fairy godmother.

The 1997 film adaptation of Cinderella is one of the most underrated versions of this classic story.

There are no weak actors in the cast, combining great humour with incredible dance and musical performances. This is a film worth watching just on the cast alone, but it’s much more than just a great cast. Whoopi Goldberg does a superb job in a role that mixes her serious side and comedy. One thing this film does better than most is that it brings more to the side characters and lets them have more screen time, which I really appreciate.

The vocals in the film are fantastic, but Brandy’s vocals are what I considered great! Brandy was beautiful in her characterization of the famous princess, along with her amazing vocals.

One other thing I love the most about this film is that it has a dream-like quality to it. Not just the dream-like, fairytale aesthetic achieved by the sets and gorgeous costuming. The moment when Cinderella transforms into her dress for the ball is a stunning sequence. Albeit, the CGI is noticeable, it does not take away from the magical tone that the film was going for. Visually, the film is stunning. I really love how bright and colourful it was, it really gave me pantomime vibes.

Not just the vocals in this film are amazing but so is the choreography, it's so mesmerising to watch and nobody gets anything wrong. You can really tell how much thought had gone into this. The script is perfect, every joke landed really well with me when it needed to, and everyone fits their role superbly.

I will say, unfortunately, most of the songs are forgettable as they all blend into each other, but one song did stick out for me. "Stepsisters Lament", is a song the ugly step sisters both sing in, talking about how they don't understand why men don't go for plain girls like them. They both harmonize really well and their comedic elements really add to that song. 

Everything about this version of Cinderella is a sweet, remarkable, and feel-good film.

9/10