Cinderella (2015), PG, ★★★1/2

Lily James transformed as Princess Cinderella.

We all know the story. We all know the fairy tale. Based on many fairy tales, we all want to wish the main female characters happily ever after. It brings to my attention that many children, not just girls, grew up not just watching the Disney animated classics such as 1949's Cinderella itself but we also heard our mothers or our fathers read us these stories to get us to go to sleep. Nevertheless, we enjoy the pleasures of listening to our mothers' or fathers' voice reading the words that the authors penned for future generations of children to enjoy. Now, we have another adaptation of the Cinderella fairy-tale and it is the best adaptation of them all and to my surprise, and this will astound you readers, I enjoyed a little bit more than the Disney cartoon.

Ella is living happily with her mother (Hayley Attwell) and father (Ben Chaplin) and she does not want that to cease. However, they both fall ill at different times and an adult Ella (Lily James) is in the care of the evil step-mother, Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) and her two step-daughters, Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drizella (Sophia McShera) and Tremaine's cat, Lucifer at her mother's and father's home. Her stepsisters display obnoxious behavior and Lady Tremaine looks caring initially but gets rambunctious and ill-advised.

Lady Tremaine fires the help and forces Ella to do all of the chores and take care of them. They treat her like garbage and calls her "Cinder-Ella". They do not allow Ella to sit with them for meals and Ella is forced to the left-overs, which are not much, and she dines with her "friends", the mice. In her miserable despair, Ella rides her horse into the woods and comes across a stag and is frightened by the sound of men approaching and she meets Kit (Richard Madden), a handsome prince who has a conversation with her and promises Ella not to hunt down the stag.

When heard upon the news that all commoners are invited to the ball, Lady Tremaine and the step-sisters are excited as they prepare and even Ella gets prepared but because they tear up her mother's dress and Tremaine forbidden her to go the ball, Ella cries. But, then, a fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) appears and transforms her into a beautiful princess with the help of her animal friends. And, then you basically know what happens from there...

Cinderella (Lily James) and Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett).

I have to admit that I had low expectations coming into this movie because we had so many familiar adaptations of the classic fairy tale. It has been redone and rehashed into not many great movies. An underrated movie is Ever After with Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston which is solidly produced and well-acted. This one is now the best adaptation because it is more complex and not manipulative in terms of emotion. You feel bad for Cinderella at times as her life seems to get worse and even we get a hint of sad emotion from Prince Charming. Also, it is more developed in its characters as we hear their back-stories.

Lily James is lovely and beautiful and I think this movie makes her a star that can get carried over to other projects. She has that quality of charm and sophistication that can enlighten you. She also has great chemistry with Richard Madden as the prince. Madden does not go over the top with him smiling too much or reciting his lines in too much sophistication. They both are natural together with charisma. Bonham Carter is good in a brief role but she does narrate for most of the movie. The actresses as the stepsisters are good. Stella Skarsgaard and Derek Jacobi are fine as the Grand Duke and the King respectively. But, it is Cate Blanchett that steals the movie and gives an excellent performance as the stepmother. It fits her like a glove as she captures the villainy and the temptation to get what she wants. She is on par with Glenn Close who played Cruella De Vil in the live-action 101 Dalmatians.

Even though it is familiar and does not break new ground, I'm judging this movie solely on its own and it is surprisingly very good. I do have some quibbles as I had a hard time accepting the mice as friends in a live-action film, the narration seems a bit out of place in a few scenes and a few characters' fates were not really acceptable and wrapped up too quickly. However, it is a beautifully produced film thanks to director Kenneth Branagh and he knows how to adapt a film quite well based on his experience with Shakespearean films. Patrick Doyle creates a vivid score, too. No doubt that little girls will love this movie but I think it is suitable for all families as it is one of the tamest Disney films. It is a well-acted, produced movie that captures imagination and vivaciousness that people will be enchanted by.

It is also preceded by a short called Frozen Fever which is cute on its own but does not break on too much ground. Of course, you'll enjoy Olaf.

***1/2