Yet another adaptation of the classic fairy tale Cinderella by Charles Perrault, Kay Cannon’s jukebox musical arrives on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
The Production: 2/5
There have been many, many adaptations of Charles Perrault’s classic fairy tale Cinderella (aka Cendrillon in its native French), starting with Georges Méliès in 1899, followed by the first American adaptation in 1914 with Mary Pickford, Walt Disney’s animated classic in 1950, a Rodgers & Hammerstein musical (brought to TV three times, first with Julie Andrews in 1957, Lesley Ann Warren in 1965, Whiney Houston and Brandy in 1997), Drew Barrymore’s Ever After in 1998, and more recently in 2015 with Lily James and Cate Blanchett under the direction of Kenneth Branagh.
Which now brings us to the 2021 jukebox musical adaptation from writer-director Kay Cannon (Pitch Perfect franchise). Originally slated for a theatrical release in early 2021 by Columbia Pictures, parent company Sony Pictures sold the film to Amazon Prime Video in May of that year, debuting on the service on September 3, 2021. After seeing the film, I can understand why the studio sold the picture off to a streaming service. Starring music sensation Camila Cabello in the title role, the movie tries too hard to be a self-aware musical, with Cinderella now a wanna-be fashion designer under the thumb of her “wicked” stepmother Vivian (Idina Menzel) in a small village ruled by King Rowan (Pierce Brosnan, often falling into a bad Sean Connery impression). The king has ordered that Prince Robert (Nicholas Galitzine) find a worthy woman to marry at the upcoming ball, with all of the eligible and unbetrothed women invited. But Vivian has made Cinderella ineligible by promising her to the repulsive Thomas Cecil (Rob Beckett). In steps her “Fabulous” Godmother (Billy Porter), who transforms her dress into a gown, a box into a carriage, and three mice into her escorts played by James Acaster, Romesh Ranganathan, and James Corden (who seems to be in nearly everything these days).
Cinderella in this movie adaptation has a lot of problems. First of all, it tries way too hard to be self-aware, often winking too hard at the camera and even makes Prince Robert’s sister Gwen (Tallulah Greive) a climate activist by suggesting to her father that the kingdom should consider switching from coal to wind (long before electricity existed). The movie also tries way too hard to be all-inclusive in its casting and characters, particularly in the casting of Billy Porter as the “Fabulous” Godmother, who’s performance is too over the top and even more cringe-inducing than the poorly staged musical numbers. And speaking of musical numbers, many of the songs rely heavily on auto-tune, especially those sung by the movie’s star, Camila Cabello. The CG mice in the film appear as if they were created and animated twenty years ago, often appearing flat with dropped frames. Lastly, the cinematography frequently seems to have a focus issue, as if the focus-puller hired for the film is often a few seconds behind his cues to change from one subject to another – many closeups even start out slightly out of focus and sharpen as the shot ends. If you really want to watch this adaptation and have Prime Video, save yourself some money and watch it there.
Video: 4/5
3D Rating: NA
Cinderella was captured in 8K, 4K, and 3.4K resolutions on Arri Alexa SXT and Red Monstro 8K cameras and completed as a 4K digital intermediate in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Sony has chosen to release the film on physical media on 1080p Blu-ray, although it can be viewed on Prime Video or purchased digitally on various retailers in 4K HDR. Detail is quite good on this AVC-encoded 1080p transfer (despite the film’s occasional focus issues), with noticeable facial features such as wrinkles and freckles as well as fabric textures. Colors are often vivid without appearing over-saturated. Contrast is very good, too, with deep blacks and strong shadow details, although some of the daytime exteriors appear washed out.
Audio: 3.5/5
The default DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is mostly front-heavy, with surrounds and LFE kicking in during the musical numbers, never really becoming an entirely immersive experience. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout.
Special Features: 1.5/5
Gag Reel (1080p; 2:46)
Digital Copy: An insert contains a code to redeem a digital copy in HD on Movies Anywhere.
Overall: 2.5/5
Kay Cannon’s Cinderella is a cringe-inducing experience, one that this reviewer does not wish to revisit. YMMV.
Cinderella
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Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.
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