Today I saw Disney's new live-action Cinderella with my daughter Hope. It may be that my heart was so full from having some quality daddy-daughter time that it skews my perception a bit, but it was a wonderful experience. Right now I think it is the best fairy tale movie I have ever seen.
I may do a movie review from time to time just for the sake of sharing my thoughts on the quality of the movie, but this one had such positive themes that I will have to share some of the scriptural stories and principles I found at work in this film.
So read on for my Four Reasons Disney's (New) Cinderella Is Fantastic...
(1) It Fills Out the Tale Without Fouling It Up
One of the challenges of making a movie out of a fairy tale is that these are really five-minute bedtime stories, not full-length novels, so the story always needs to be filled out a bit. Sometimes that can be a disaster (like in the Dr. Seuss adaptations, to varying degrees) or gives writers a place to change to story into something else entirely (like in most of the recent live-action adaptations like Maleficent and the Snow White movies).
This one is true to the story. They give us time to get to know Ella's (Cinderella's true name) parents, introducing us to a wonderfully strong and gracious character in her mother, in particular. They managed to develop the relationship between Ella and the prince without taking away the essence of the mystery of their encounter at the ball. They also gave time for the relationship between Ella and her step-family to evolve and gave some reasoning for the stepmother's jealous hatred of her.
There's enough Disney silliness--in the form of the little mice (who don't quite talk, but their muffled squeaks seem to be voices lifted from the original animated film) and the other creatures once they are transformed into coachmen and such for the ball--that the movie stays fun and lets a four-year-old little girl laugh a few times. But the story stays focused on the main narrative throughout.
The extra time also allows for the writers to make some of the more implausible ideas in the original story (like carrying the glass slipper everywhere) more justification.
(2) The Female Protagonists Are Strong Women Fitting to Their Context
Often when writers try to make women strong characters in historic settings, they often give them ideas, aspirations, and other characteristics that fit a more modern prism. Ella's mother is strong because she loves her husband and daughter whole-heartedly and faces her terminal illness with courage and determination to invest as much as she can in Ella before she goes. And what she passes on is the mantra of the film: "Be brave and be kind."
Ella's determination to continue to be brave and kind, even when she is trampled on for it, shows incredible strength as well. She is not going to let others change who she is in her heart.
One criticism I have seen for this movie and for the Cinderella myth in general is that she just sits around and aspires to nothing more than to be rescued by a prince and to be a wife and mother. That's just not true for this version of the character. She has no "career aspirations," per se, but does strive to preserve her parents' legacy both by her character and by continuing to care for their family estate, regardless of personal cost to her. She is very strong indeed.
(3) The Film Illustrates the Strength in the Biblical Idea of Meekness
When Jesus taught his disciples to "turn the other cheek," He wasn't teaching them weakness but strength. When someone forces you to carry something for them a mile, you can choose to be oppressed or you can choose to serve out of kindness, even taking the burden an extra mile. You are choosing a loving response to your enemy's actions. This is what the Bible calls meekness--not demanding your rights but rather choosing to love and serve.
Ella exemplifies this attitude vividly in the movie, and she never comes across as weak at all. You feel the cost and pain of her choice, but she remains true to her mother's ideals of courage and kindness.
The Bible story that came to mind many times as I watched this movie was the Old Testament story of Joseph. He was a good and righteous man who was subjected to cruelty out of jealousy and enslaved and eventually imprisoned, just as Ella was. But he did not grow bitter or change his character, despite this unfair treatment, and in due time God lifted him up, just as Ella was lifted up. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
Even the prince shows meekness in his relationship with his father. Even though they disagree sharply on some points, he never disrespects him, and only pursues his "mystery princess" with his father's blessing. This tender father-son relationship is another highlight of the movie.
(4) There Is No Vengeful Payoff
You keep waiting for the moment when Ella will stand up to her stepmother and tell her just how petty, jealous, and rotten she is. You keep waiting for the moment when the movie will embarrass her and make her look as foolish as she is, but it never comes. The film itself is nearly as persistent as Ella is in not treating the villains as they might deserve.
<spoiler alert>
There comes a point at the end of the movie, when Ella has been identified and is being carried back to the palace, where she looks back into the house and into her stepmother's eyes. Lady Tremaine has been defeated, and the look in her eyes is one of anticipating all of the wrath she has coming to her. But Ella looks her in her face and says simply, "I forgive you."
This is a great movie, because not only was it beautiful and entertaining and worth a couple of laughs, but because I will be able to let my daughters watch it again and again and be proud if they (and my son, too, for that matter) want to be like Cinderella.
She is brave. She is kind. She is strong. She is full of grace. Kind of like Jesus.
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