If you’ve been on the internet lately, you’ve probably heard about the 2021 Amazon remake of Cinderella featuring pop singer Camilla Cabello, Frozen’s Idina Menzel, and special side characters such as America’s favorite British talk show host, James Corden. My initial reaction to this news was likely similar to that of the majority of the audience: they’re still making these? After countless modern retellings of the same story, one would have assumed that the industry would have moved on to new ways to entertain the public. The film’s producers even decided to make it a jukebox musical, or a musical consisting mostly of already well-known songs. Whether or not the new modern take of this mid-1900s movie was worth the watch or not, we’ll soon find out.

First, let’s start with the bad. If you’ve read or watched any reviews regarding this movie, you’ll likely come across the terms “girlboss” and “commercialized feminism,” with the vast majority of critics claiming that it is a wannabe feminist movie that fails to satisfy its supposed target audience of Gen Z and under girls as it misunderstands the outlook young audiences have on gender equality. The inclusion of outdated and downright cringey slang randomly sprinkled throughout the movie doesn’t help. However, one of the more substantial critiques of the film is its false assertions that women during medieval times could not be dressmakers and were simply confined to their homes. In reality, many women during those times, particularly women of the middle and lower classes, spent time laboring outside of their homes and yes, even becoming a dressmaker was an acceptable job. One commenter explains it best by stating, “The funny thing is that their whole ‘girls should have careers’ message is portrayed with two characters wanting to be a seamstress and a queen, two careers that women have historically had access to. If you wanted a girlboss message…make Cinderella a blacksmith.” 

Although the movie was advertised as a new modern feminist film, it did little to expand on characters like Princess Gwen and the Queen, and treated them as afterthoughts. Rather than showing how Gwen earned her role as Queen in the end, the King simply stated that she was the ruler due to the fact that she was the only other eligible heir as her brother forfeited his chance at the throne. The film’s skewed definition of feminism is also portrayed through the role of the Prince. Rather than creating two leading characters with individual goals and values who fall in love and seek to be together while also pursuing their passions, the directors chose to brand the Prince as a bland, immature, and undeserving character without any outstanding qualities and personality. The problem with this is the fact that his only purpose as a character was to fall in love with Cinderella and give up his entire life for her, the exact conflict that Cinderella herself ultimately rejected in order to pursue her dreams. The directors failed to understand that a movie can still empower women without making the men immature and insignificant attributes of the story. 

Finally, let’s talk about the good. While there were many critiques of the film, my favorite aspect of the movie, and arguably the best aspect of the movie, is the soundtrack. As someone who wasn’t particularly a fan of musicals, I wasn’t too excited when I learned that this movie was going to be one. However, upon watching the movie I can honestly say that I was pleasantly surprised. While others may have found it unsettling, the fresh takes of iconic throwback songs such as Queen’s “Somebody to Love” and Nico and Vinz’s “Am I Wrong” among others was refreshing to hear, and I thoroughly enjoyed these segments. Not only did Cabello and Menzel’s vocals shine through as expected, but Galitzine’s vocals stood out to me in particular. My personal favorite cover has to be “Perfect,” alongside the original song “Million to One.” The expansive soundtrack, while it would’ve been nice to have included more original tracks, was precisely the part that saved the movie for me and made it enjoyable to watch. 

Overall, the 2021 Cinderella movie was mediocre at best in terms of the storyline and was pleasantly surprising in regards to the soundtrack. Did we need this movie after the countless other renditions of Cinderella? No. Would I watch the movie again? Probably not. Is the movie memorable? Not really. But have I listened to the songs repeatedly since finishing the film? Yes. Therefore, I would give the movie a solid 2.5/5 stars: 2 stars for the wonderful soundtrack and an additional 0.5 star for the entertainment value. Despite the fact that I likely won’t be watching the movie again, I did find myself laughing at some of the jokes and the quirkiness of it all, so I would therefore call it an enjoyable experience. If you made it this far, I would encourage you to check the film out for yourself. One thing’s for sure: you’re in for a ride.

Sources:

Why Does CINDERELLA (2021) Exist | Explained

‘Cinderella’ Review: A Girlboss in Glass Slippers