So its been 65 years since the original film came out and to commemorate this milestone of an anniversary, Disney decided that for their next live action remake of one of their animated classics, they would do Cinderella. Now keep in mind that unlike Maleficent both films have the same story with some noticeable differences and this is just me comparing both films as I review them and see which one is the best. Also interesting fact, that castle you see in the Disney logos in trailers, films and whatever else, that is the Cinderella castle which makes the original film an iconic film because of that (and the live action remake takes note of this which is nice). So let's talk about them and before you ask, no I'm not doing reviews of the animated one's sequels as I'm not really into doing reviews of direct to DVD and therefore lesser known films unless I feel the need to or choose to:
1950 version
So we have Cinderella (voiced by the late Ilene Woods) who like other Disney Princesses, has lost her parents and now lives with her stepmother Lady Tremaine (voiced by the also late Eleanor Audley who also provided the original voice of Maleficent) and her step sisters Anastasia and Drizella (voiced respectively by the late Lucille Bliss and Rhoda Williams). All 3 of them treat her cruelly and have her do housework and serve as their servant which Cinderella herself doesn't mind doing in the long run, but hopes for a better life one day. Her only friends are the animals that are around her including some mice, a dog and some other animals. As such, the king of the land and the grand duke (both voiced by the late Luis van Rooten) decide to host a ball for all the maidens of the land in the hopes of getting Prince Charming (voiced by the not so late William Phipps with his singing voice provided by the later Mike Douglas) a bride to marry. Of course this in turn has Cinderella and her step sisters all excited and her step mother agrees to take all 3 of them, but under the condition that Cinderella finishes her chores, unbeknownst to Cinderella that they secretly want her to not go to the ball. Will she go to the ball and will she marry? watch the film to find out. I think its a good film that's easy to follow and very simple Disney magic ensures it. It is a musical and the music is nice and for what the film is, I enjoyed it and thought it was a good film. The art style as always is great as is the animation and I can see why people consider it an iconic Disney film. Its that good. 9/10
2015 version
So the live action remake is pretty much the same story, just with some parts expanded and more characters are in it. We get to see Ella's (played by Lily James) mother (played by Agent Carter herself, Hayley Atwell) and father (played by Ben Chaplin) before their death, the step mother (played by one of the most powerful of Elves in Middle-Earth, Cate Blanchett) and sisters (Sophie McShera being Drizella and Holliday Grainger being Anastasia) taking residence at Ella's house and taking charge of the estate, making changes as they go along. And some other stuff too. But much like with Maleficent, its not a perfect remake as I feel its too happy and kind of annoying at times (especially when Ella talks to animals and going about saying about love and courage every few minutes) and its quite cringe worthy and cheesy for most of it and has some surprisingly heart pounding moments, but it stays faithful and true to the original and is well acted all round. So yeah, its not perfect, but it is somewhat better than Maleficent in my eyes and I think this film will do well for kids, but may make parents and grown ups ever so annoyed and confused in my eyes. 7/10
So based on that, I think the clear winner here is the original animated film as its simple to follow and is a great film all around. The live action one is good as well, but way too happy, cringe worthy, cheesy and annoying despite the good acting and the story being true to the original. And the Frozen short that is attached to the live action film is a good one and has a great song in it so that gets a 9/10.
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