Cinderella

Again with the Cinderella?

Only three months after she played a part in Into the Woods, Cinderella finds herself on the big screen again. This latest incarnation takes after Disney's 1950 animated film. It's the same old story done differently. How it's done differently gets my recommendation.

The familiar outline is the same. Cinderella (Lily James) is left alone with her evil stepmother Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) and her evil stepsisters. The King holds a ball to find his son a bride. The Step-Family blocks Cinderella's path. Her Fairy Godmother (Helena Bonham-Carter) helps her get going. Cinderella catches the Prince's eye but she leaves at midnight. The Royals find her with her lost glass slipper.

The big difference in this version is story development. We see Cinderella's parents alive. We learn the origin of the name Cinderella. We see Cinderella meet the Prince before the ball. We see the Prince get an actual character. And we really see Lady Tremaine scheme to deny her stepdaughter a future.

Director Kenneth Branagh's Disney fairy tale cost $95 million. It's in many ways more subdued than the CGI-extravaganzas of Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent. But with sets by Dante Ferretti and costumes by Sandy Powell, it's still a colorful experience. Branagh's constant composer Patrick Doyle provides a suitable score for the emotional scenes. Stay to the end credits to hear renditions of two of the older film's standards.

This is a really great cast. Blanchett, as Lady Tremaine, is an over-the-top villainous who soon becomes vicious and bitter. Bonham-Carter's scene as the Fairy Godmother was welcome comic relief. And Lily James, as Cinderella, is a great ingenue who at times struggles to remain upbeat.

I say that this Cinderella is in the same league as the previous Disney film. It's a compelling story you've heard before. But it's still compelling. That's what a good redo ought to do.

A new musical animated short staring the cast of Frozen, Frozen Fever, precedes the picture. It should keep fans of that film happy before the actual feature-length sequel comes out.