The cinema world has been off to a terrific start this year with major hits like Bradley Cooper’s fan favorite, “American Sniper” and E.L James’ controversial and highly talked about New York Times Bestseller adaptation, “50 Shades of Grey.” After a total grossing $655 million February, according to boxofficemojo.com, the box office has appeared to go stagnant. Weeks into March, the box office is still struggling to reach the $100 million mark. Released March 13, Walt Disney’s “Cinderella” is estimated to have already grossed a total of $97 million, giving the much-needed spark to the box office.
Most Disney remakes, especially the non-musical ones struggle with an authentic fairy-tale atmosphere, but director Kenneth Branagh (Director) was able to fill the void.
The average acting core amply outperformed their expectations. Because of its popularity, “Cinderella” is a difficult movie to cast, and there are multiple adaptations of the film which leave multiple actors playing the same characters. This makes a stressful endeavor for the actors who are trying to make audiences recognize them as the characters in the film, and not the predecessors from previous films.
Cate Blanchett (stepmother) performed the most impressively in the film, bringing in the most experience, which was displayed vibrantly on screen. Many movie lovers might recognize her from the “Lord of the Rings Trilogy” as Lady Galadriel. There were some similarities between the two roles. She has a wonderful and deliberate sardonic smile that fits perfectly for both roles, and she used it to perfection in “Cinderella.” The feelings of intimidation and power she was able to use toward Lily James (Cinderella) helped tremendously in bringing the story to life.
The one problem that diluted “Cinderella” and kept it from soaring above other Disney movies was the predictability because it is such a well-known story. With that being said, “Cinderella” was good and well worth the money and one for the whole family to enjoy or for anyone looking to relive one of the most popular fairy-tales of their childhood.
The success of the film may fuel the fire to more remakes of even more popular Disney classics.
