The New Disney Renaissance.
When I was a very young Disney (the studio) was on top. They were just beginning what is now known as the 'Disney Renaissance'. The early and mid eighties were not kind to Disney. Releases included The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, and Oliver & Company. While to an extent they were critically successful and reasonably financially successful all were dwarfed by the success of Universal's An American Tail, and The Land Before Time both done by longtime Disney animator Don Bluth.
In 1989 the Walt Disney Company released The Little Mermaid and everything changed. Disney would rediscover the type of success and notoriety they experienced while Walt Disney was still alive and the studio was releasing films like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Disney had been developing The Little Mermaid since the '30s but in 1989 the time was right and the decision was made to make the film not just animated but in the style of a Broadway musical. This would prove to be the secret of Disney's success for the next decade. The music of The Little Mermaid would resonate with audiences both young and old and lead to future success' like Beauty and the Beast (the last animated movie to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture), Aladdin, The Lion King, and Pocahontas.
This past week I saw Disney's new live action Cinderella starting Downton Abbey's Lily James in the title role. This film was fantastic and I now contend that Disney is in the midst of a new renaissance. This renaissance however also includes live action films. Yes, in the last few years Disney has put out films like The Princess and the Frog, Tangled and the super hit Frozen but they've also produced films like Tim Burton's Alice and Wonderland, the fantastic Saving Mr.Banks, Malificent, Into the Woods, and now Cinderella. The future looks bright as well with live action films like Tommorowland, the new Star Wars, and a live action remake of The Jungle Book in the pipes.
All of this is meant to say that Disney is on the right track and you should all go see Cinderella. The film opens with a young family living happily in their home in the woods. There's the father; a merchant who often travels, the stay at home mom, and their young daughter; Ella. They are a loving family who use their imaginations and value kindness and family above all. Everything is going there way until Ella's mother is taken ill and dies. Some years later Ella's father who is seeking some semblance of the happiness he had years before asks the permission of Ella to take a new wife; a widow with two daughters Ella's age. Ella of course agrees and Lady Tremaine moves in with her two daughters. The change seems to try the patience of both Ella and her father. The two now live a separate life together in their own home. The story really begins however when Ella's father is forced to leave on business and taken ill on the road. Ella's father dies and she is now left to live with her wicked stepmother and two wicked step sisters.
The wicked stepmother as brilliantly portrayed by Cate Blanchett forces Ella to move out of her bedroom and into the attic, and after she let's go of all the families help she then forces Ella to do all the house hold chores including the cooking, and the cleaning. Ella's only friends are the animals on the grounds and the mice she shares the attic with. At night the attic was so cold when she was going to sleep she was forced to sleep on the floor by the burning embers of the fire. One morning her stepsisters notice some soot on her face while she's preparing their breakfast and dub her 'Cinderella'.
From there the story pretty much goes how you might expect. We all by now know the story of Cinderella. There is however just a quick few things I would like to mention about this film. The movie is brilliantly shot by director Kenneth Branagh, the art direction is also spot on. The film is funny, at times, touching at others and suitable for the whole family. The performances are fantastic. Most notably in my opinion are that of Lily James and Helena Bonham-Carter in the role of the fairy godmother. This films best decision however in my opinion was the choice not to make it a musical. It could have been easy enough to do. Lily James seems to have a good enough voice (she does sing a little in the movie). Had the film been a Broadway style musical however I feel it would have taken us all out of the story and I applaud the producers for resisting any urge to do so. Go see it now in a theater near you!
That concludes this mini opinion/review. As usual I hope you find your time on this site to be time (and bandwidth) well wasted.
All of this is meant to say that Disney is on the right track and you should all go see Cinderella. The film opens with a young family living happily in their home in the woods. There's the father; a merchant who often travels, the stay at home mom, and their young daughter; Ella. They are a loving family who use their imaginations and value kindness and family above all. Everything is going there way until Ella's mother is taken ill and dies. Some years later Ella's father who is seeking some semblance of the happiness he had years before asks the permission of Ella to take a new wife; a widow with two daughters Ella's age. Ella of course agrees and Lady Tremaine moves in with her two daughters. The change seems to try the patience of both Ella and her father. The two now live a separate life together in their own home. The story really begins however when Ella's father is forced to leave on business and taken ill on the road. Ella's father dies and she is now left to live with her wicked stepmother and two wicked step sisters.
The wicked stepmother as brilliantly portrayed by Cate Blanchett forces Ella to move out of her bedroom and into the attic, and after she let's go of all the families help she then forces Ella to do all the house hold chores including the cooking, and the cleaning. Ella's only friends are the animals on the grounds and the mice she shares the attic with. At night the attic was so cold when she was going to sleep she was forced to sleep on the floor by the burning embers of the fire. One morning her stepsisters notice some soot on her face while she's preparing their breakfast and dub her 'Cinderella'.
From there the story pretty much goes how you might expect. We all by now know the story of Cinderella. There is however just a quick few things I would like to mention about this film. The movie is brilliantly shot by director Kenneth Branagh, the art direction is also spot on. The film is funny, at times, touching at others and suitable for the whole family. The performances are fantastic. Most notably in my opinion are that of Lily James and Helena Bonham-Carter in the role of the fairy godmother. This films best decision however in my opinion was the choice not to make it a musical. It could have been easy enough to do. Lily James seems to have a good enough voice (she does sing a little in the movie). Had the film been a Broadway style musical however I feel it would have taken us all out of the story and I applaud the producers for resisting any urge to do so. Go see it now in a theater near you!
That concludes this mini opinion/review. As usual I hope you find your time on this site to be time (and bandwidth) well wasted.
