Cinderella is a remembrance of childhood fairy-tale and fantasy universe and the mere mentioning of the name carried us to a long-lost and forgotten land. Or it used to, until director Kenneth Branagh decided to retell the story of the servant-princess and turn it into a live-action ride for admirers of any age to enjoy. The release date of the motion picture fairy-tale has been set for 13 March 2015 and two distinct, yet adorable trailers were shared to the wide public so far, Variety remembers.
The New Year’s Day brought Disney enthusiasts another filmed gift, a Cinderella featurette along with confessions of director Branagh and actors involved in the unforgettable tale. The first seconds of the freshly uploaded clip welcomes viewers into a fairy-tale context, with birds chirping and a rustic yet small palace-like home into the woods. Sleeping in dirt and cold, there she is! Our Cinderella and soon to be queen Lily James. The two step-sisters of the modest and kind heroine welcome her with mockery words and menace and their cruel mother, Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett), applauds their only apparent wit.
Director Kenneth Branagh shared to the public the reason behind his choice of a fairy-tale film and pointed at ‘’how loved the original animated film was’’ and at how intriguing it was for him to understand what twenty-first century people expected from such a tale. As for the actors directly involved in the story, they all seemed to be somehow burdened by the responsibility carried by their roles in the revival of the legend. ‘’There’s such an expectation with the legacy of Cinderella’’, Cate Blanchett aka Wicked Stepmother confessed and Lily James continued: ‘’It’s terrifying ‘cause it’s such a big act to follow.’’ The only major male part in the movie, Prince Charming, is interpreted by Richard Madden, who deeply loves the relationship between the Prince and Cinderella created in the film and considers it to be a modern retell of the traditional story.
As any fairy-tale is filled with magical elements and characters, the Fairy Godmother bears an important role in the tale of Cinderella and in Kenneth Branagh’s movie, altogether, as she symbolizes the portal to expectation, opportunity and magic. Helena Bonham Carter is a connoisseur of magical roles and the part in Cinderella befits her portfolio. She believes that people watching the film will be surprised, dazzled and somehow confused by the modern adaptation the 2015 movie proposes: ‘’even that they know the story, they will feel they’re watching it for the first time.’’