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Cinderella (1997)

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Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (also known as simply Cinderella)[1] is a 1997 American musical fantasy television film produced by Walt Disney Television, directed by Robert Iscove, and written by Robert L. Freedman. Based on the French fairy tale of the same name by Charles Perrault, the film is the second remake and third version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, which originally aired on television in 1957. Adapted from Oscar Hammerstein II's book, Freedman modernized the script to appeal to more contemporary audiences by updating its themes, particularly re-writing its main character into a stronger heroine. Co-produced by Whitney Houston, who also appears as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, the film stars Brandy in the title role and features a racially diverse ensemble cast consisting of Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters, Veanne Cox, Natalie Desselle, Victor Garber, and Paolo Montalban.

Following the success of the 1993 television adaptation of the stage musical Gypsy (1959), Houston approached Gypsy's producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron about starring in a remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella for CBS. However, development was delayed for several years, during which time the network grew disinterested in the project. By the time the film was greenlit by Disney for ABC, Houston felt that she had outgrown the title role, which she offered to Brandy instead. The decision to use a color-blind casting approach originated among the producers to reflect how society had evolved by the 1990s, with Brandy becoming the first black actress to portray Cinderella on screen. Among the most significant changes made to the musical, several songs from other Rodgers and Hammerstein productions were interpolated into the film to augment its score. With a production budget of $12 million, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella ranks among the most expensive television films ever made.

Heavily promoted to re-launch the anthology series The Wonderful World of Disney, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella premiered on ABC on November 2, 1997, to mixed reviews from critics. While most reviewers praised the film's costumes, sets and supporting cast, particularly Peters, Alexander and Goldberg, television critics were divided over Brandy and Houston's performances, as well as Disney's more feminist approach to Brandy's character. Despite this, Cinderella proved a major ratings success, originally airing to 60 million viewers and establishing itself as the most-watched television musical in decades, earning ABC its highest Sunday-night ratings in 10 years. Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was nominated for several industry awards, including seven Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program. The program's success inspired Disney and ABC to produce several similar musical projects.

Critical reception towards the film has improved over time, with several media publications ranking it among the best film adaptations of the fairy tale. Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella is regarded by contemporary critics as a groundbreaking film due to the unprecedented diversity of its cast and Brandy's role.

Plot[]

Cinderella grows distracted while waiting upon her stepmother and her two stepsisters in the marketplace, where she meets a charming young man. Despite being apprehensive about introducing herself to him, the pair bond upon realizing that both are dissatisfied with their sheltered home lives. After being scolded for speaking to a stranger, Cinderella returns to her stepfamily's aid before she was able to realize the young man is Prince Christopher. The Prince returns to the palace, where he is apprehended by his valet Lionel for once again visiting the kingdom disguised as a commoner, and learns that his parents, Queen Constantina and King Maximillian, plan to host a ball in order to find their son a suitable bride, an idea he strongly protests because he would rather marry for love. At Lionel's suggestion, Constantina and Maximillian compromise that should Christopher not be successful in choosing a bride at the ball, he be allowed to find one on his own terms.

Back at their own home, Cinderella wishes to attend the ball herself, but her stepmother ridicules the idea, advising her that a prince would never be interested in her and to remain grateful for her current life. Solely determined to bolster their own wealth and social status by marrying the prince, Cinderella's stepfamily leaves for the ball, leaving Cinderella home alone. Cinderella is soon visited by her Fairy Godmother for the first time, who encourages her to go to the ball; she magically transforms a pumpkin into a carriage, rats into footmen and a coachman, mice into horses, and her rags into a beautiful ballgown, complete with a pair of glass slippers. With her Fairy Godmother's warning that the spell will only last until midnight, Cinderella leaves for the ball.

Yet to be impressed with any of the young women he meets, including Cinderella's Two Stepsisters, Christopher is growing weary until Cinderella arrives, and the pair instantly start dancing much to the annoyance of Cinderella's stepfamily, who can't help but feel that the unidentified princess is familiar. Cinderella grows dismayed and wishes to leave when the King and Queen ask her about her background, but her Fairy Godmother encourages her to stay. The clock strikes midnight as Cinderella and the Prince share their first kiss, but Cinderella flees on foot while the spell is reverted, leaving behind a single glass slipper. With his parents' blessing, Christopher declares that he will marry whoever fits the slipper, even if it means trying it on every maiden in the kingdom.

When Cinderella's stepfamily return home, they begin sharing embellished recounts of their evening. Cinderella explains that she can only imagine what it must have been like, and they briefly bond over the memory, only for the Stepmother to soon recognize Cinderella as the mysterious princess with whom the Prince danced and insisting that she will never be more than a common girl. With final encouragement from her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella finally decides she will run away from home.

When the Prince and Lionel arrive at Cinderella's home, the Stepmother locks Cinderella in the kitchen hoping to keep her hidden. Cinderella's stepfamily – including the Stepmother and the Two Stepsisters– tries on the slipper with little success. Lionel demands that the kitchen be unlocked and searched, and the Prince discovers Cinderella in the courtyard about to run away. When Christopher recognizes Cinderella from the marketplace, he tries the slipper on her foot, and it fits perfectly. In the end, Cinderella and the Prince marry in a grand ceremony, while the palace gates close on her stepfamily, forcing them to watch from outside.

Cast[]

  • Brandy Norwood as Cinderella
  • Whitney Houston as Fairy Godmother[2][3]
  • Paolo Montalban as Prince Christopher
  • Jason Alexander as Lionel
  • Victor Garber as King Maximillian[4]
  • Whoopi Goldberg as Queen Constantina[4]
  • Bernadette Peters as Wicked stepmother
  • Veanne Cox as Calliope
  • Natalie Desselle as Minerva

Musical numbers[]

  • "The Sweetest Sounds" (from No Strings, lyrics by Richard Rodgers)
  • "The Prince Is Giving A Ball"
  • "In My Own Little Corner"
  • "Falling In Love With Love" (from The Boys from Syracuse, lyrics by Lorenz Hart)
  • "Impossible - It's Possible"
  • "Ten Minutes Ago"
  • "Stepsister's Lament"
  • "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful"
  • "A Lovely Night"
  • "There Is Music In You" (from Main Street to Broadway)

Release[]

Marketing and premiere[]

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was heavily promoted as the centerpiece of the newly revived Wonderful World of Disney;[5][6][7] Disney themselves have referred to Cinderella as the "grande dame" of the anthology,[8] while Jefferson Graham of the Chicago Sun-Times touted the film the "crown jewel" of the revival.[9] The same newspaper reported that Cinderella was one of 16 upcoming television films commissioned for the series.[9] One of ABC's promotional advertisements for Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella featured a black-and-white scene from the original 1957 broadcast in which Andrews sings "In My Own Little Corner", which transitions into Brandy singing her more contemporary rendition of the same song, its "funkier orchestration" sounding particularly noticeable opposite Andrews' original.[5] Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella premiered on October 13, 1997, at Mann's Chinese Theatre,[10] which Houston attended with her husband and daughter.[11] The film's impending premiere coincided with the launch of the official Rodgers and Hammerstein website, which streamed segments from the upcoming broadcast via RealVideo from October 27 to November 3, 1997.[12] These segments were again interpolated with excerpts from the 1957 version.[12] A public screening of the film was hosted at the Sony Lincoln Square Theatre in New York on October 27, 1997.[13] Most of the film's cast – Brandy, Houston, Cox, Garber, Desselle and Montalban – was present; Goldberg and Alexander were unable to attend.[13]

Broadcast and viewership[]

Houston originally hoped that the film would earn a theatrical release.[14] Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella premiered on November 2, 1997, during The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC, 40 years after the original broadcast.[15] Disney CEO Michael Eisner introduced the program.[16][7] Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was a major ratings success, breaking several television records much like the original did.[17] The telecast aired to over 60 million viewers who watched at least a portion of the film,[18] becoming the most-watched television musical in several years and earning more viewership than 1993's Gypsy.[19] According to the Nielsen ratings, Cinderella averaged a 22.3 rating and 31 share (although it was originally estimated that the program had earned only an 18.8 rating),[18][20] which is believed to have been bolstered by the film's strong appeal towards women and adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[18] Translated, this means that 31 percent of televisions in the United States aired the premiere,[19] while 23 million different households tuned in to the broadcast.[18][21] Surprisingly, 70 percent of Cinderella's total viewership that evening consisted of females under the age of 18,[19][22] specifically ages two to 11.[23] The broadcast attracted a particularly high number of younger audience members, including children, teenagers and young adults, in turn making Cinderella the television season's most popular family show.[20]

In addition to being the most-watched program of the evening, Cinderella remained the most-watched program of the entire week, scoring higher ratings than the consistently popular shows ER and Seinfeld.[19] The film became ABC's most-watched Sunday night program in more than 10 years,[24][25] as well as the most-watched program during the network's two-hour 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm time slot in 13–14 years,[18][19][20][26] a record it broke within its first hour of airing.[27] AllMusic biographer Steve Huey attributes the film's high ratings to its "star power and integrated cast".[28] Additionally, the popularity of Cinderella boosted the ratings of ABC's television film Before Women Had Wings, which premiered immediately following the program and consequently earned a rating of 19,[20] retaining much of its viewership from Cinderella's broadcast.[29] ABC's chief researcher Larry Hyams recalled that few "predicted the magnitude of Cinderella's numbers".[30] On February 14, 1999 (Valentine's Day), ABC re-aired the film,[31] which was watched by 15 million viewers.[32] According to Ashley Lee of the Los Angeles Times, Cinderella was the most profitable television film of its time.[33]

Fuse broadcast Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on November 2, 2017, in honor of the film's 20th anniversary,[34] naming the television special A Night Of Magic: 20th Anniversary of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella.[35] The network also aired "Cinderella"-themed episodes of Brandy's sitcom Moesha and the sitcom Sister, Sister in commemoration.[34]

ABC aired Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on August 23, 2022, for the film's 25th anniversary, following Cinderella: The Reunion, A Special Edition of 20/20.[36] 1.5 million viewers watched.[37]

Home media[]

Shortly after the film's premiere, audiences soon began demanding a swift home video release, which the studio soon began bringing to fruition.[22] Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella was released on VHS February 10, 1998, a mere 101 days after premiere. This became the highest-selling home video release of any made-for-television film at that time,[24][25] selling one million copies its first week.[38] By February 1999, the video had sold more than two million copies.[31] According to Zadan, musical films struggled to sell well on home video until Cinderella was released.[38] The film was released on DVD on February 4, 2003.[39] In July 2020, fans and Brandy herself began heavily petitioning on social media to have the film added to the streaming service Disney+,[40] which currently streams several other Disney-produced film versions of the fairy tale.[41] On February 4, 2021, Brandy announced on The View that the film would be released on Disney+ on February 12, 2021.[42][43]

Reception[]

Critical response[]

Playbill's Rebecca Paller reviewed the New York screening as "overflowing with star performances, lavish sets" and "lush rainbow-hued costumes", describing its score as "fresher than ever."[44] According to Paller, the screening resembled a Broadway tryout more than a film preview since the audience reportedly applauded at the end of every song.[44] Praising its sets, costumes, choreography and script, Paller concluded "everything about the TV play worked", predicting that both young and adult audiences will find the program memorable.[44] Although well received by audiences,[45] Cinderella premiered to generally mixed reviews from most critics,[46][47][48][49] who were critical of some of its songs, cast and feminist approach,[50][51] at times deeming it inferior to the 1957 and 1965 versions.[52] Some purist fans were less impressed with the contemporary arrangements of Rodgers and Hammerstein's original music.[53] Critics have softened towards the film over time,[54][55] which has earned 86% on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.[56]

Praising its score and faithfulness to the source material, Eileen Fitzpatrick of Billboard called the film a "sure to please" remake while lauding Brandy's performance, joking that the singer "slips into the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway-like score as easily as Cinderella fits into the glass slipper".[57] Fitzpatrick went on to write that the supporting cast lacks "a weak link" entirely, finding it obvious that Houston enjoyed her material and commending the contributions of Peters, Alexander, Goldberg, Garber, Cox and Deselle.[57] New York entertainment critic John Leonard praised the cast extensively, highlighting the performance of Brandy whom the writer said possesses "the grace to transfigure inchoate youth into adult agency" while complimenting the work of Houston, Montalban, Peters, Goldberg and Alexander, the latter of whom the critic identified as a reminder "that he belonged to musical theater before he ever shacked up with Seinfeld's slackers."[58] Leonard also praised the actors' musical performances, particularly Peters' "Falling in Love with Love", but admitted that he prefers the songs used in Disney's 1950 animated adaptation of the fairy tale.[58] In addition to receiving praise for its overall craftsmanship and musical format, critics appreciated the film's color-blind cast.[51][59] Describing the film as "Short, sweet and blindingly brightly colored", TV Guide film critic Maitland McDonagh wrote that Cinderella is "overall ... a pleasant introduction to a classic musical, tweaked to catch the attention of contemporary youngsters."[53] McDonagh observed that the color-blindness of the entire cast spares the film from potentially suffering "disturbing overtones" that otherwise could have resulted from images of an African-American Cinderella being mistreated by her Caucasian stepmother.[53] Despite calling the supporting cast "unusually strong", the critic felt Brandy and Houston acted too much like their own selves for their performances to be considered truly compelling.[53]

Teresa Talerico, writing for Common Sense Media, praised the film's costumes, sets and musical numbers while lauding Peters, Goldberg and Houston's performances, but found the choreography stiff.[60] In a mixed review, The New York Times journalist Caryn James found the film's multi-racial cast and incorporation of stronger Rodgers and Hammerstein material improve Cinderella overall, but admitted the production fails to "take that final leap into pure magic", dismissing it as "a cobbled-together 'Cinderella' for the moment, not the ages."[51] While lauding Brandy and Montalban's efforts, James described the film's feminist re-writes as "clumsy" and accused it of wasting Houston's talent.[51] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe complained that despite its "visual charm" and strong performances, the film lacks "romance, warmth, and a bit of snap in the dance department", failing to become "anything more than a slight TV outing that feels more Nickelodeon than Broadway."[61] Describing the film as "big, gaudy, miles over the top and loads of fun", Variety's Ray Richmond found some of its aspects distracting and opined that the entire project "could have been toned down a notch and still carried across plenty of the requisite spunk."[2] While praising Brandy's subtlety, Richmond found Houston's interpretation of the Fairy Godmother to be an overzealous, "frightening caricature, one certain to send the kids scurrying into Mom's lap for reassurance that the good woman will soon go away."[2] Similarly, television critic Ken Tucker, writing for Entertainment Weekly, praised Brandy and Alexander but found that Houston "strikes a wrong note as a sassy, vaguely hostile Fairy Godmother" while dismissing Montalban as "a drearily bland prince" and describing most of the musical numbers as "clunky", predicting that children "will sleep through" the film.[62]

Although Houston and Brandy's on-screen pairing was highly anticipated, the supporting cast of Peters, Goldberg and Alexander ultimately garnered most of the program's praise.[63] Television critic Howard Rosenberg, in a review for the Los Angeles Times, described Brandy's singing as superior to her acting, resulting in "a tender, fresh Cinderella".[64] Attributing most of the "magic" to Alexander, Peters and Goldberg, Rosenberg was unimpressed with Montalban and Houston, who he described as "pastel as a prince can get (although it's not his fault the character is written as a doofus)" and "not much of a fairy godmother", respectively.[64] For Entertainment Weekly, Denise Lanctot praised the musical numbers and choreography but found Brandy's performance underwhelming, describing it as "oddly vacuous" and "Barbie-doll blank" while criticizing her singing. However, she called Montalban "perfectly charming" and "The real fairy tale".[65] Despite praising Houston, Montalban, Alexander and Peters, People's Terry Kelleher found Brandy's vocals inferior to Houston's and "lack[ing] the vocal command and emotive power to" support the film's ballads.[66] Harlene Ellin of the Chicago Tribune wrote that, despite its aesthetics and color-blind casting, the film "lacks the requisite charm and spark", concluding that the production "doesn't capture the heart" despite its beauty.[67] While praising the performances of Houston, Peters and Montalban, Ellin joked that "Cinderella's glass slippers are far too big for Brandy", criticizing her acting while saying that the singer "delivers her lines so timidly and flatly that it's hard to stay focused on the story when Brandy is on the screen", concluding that her co-stars "only makes her weak acting all the more glaring", and causing her to wonder how the film would have turned out had Houston been cast as the lead instead.[67] The Oxford Handbook of The American Musical editor Raymond Knapp believes that Brandy's sitcom experience negatively affected her acting, writing that she often overreacts and delivers lines "as if they were punch lines rather than emotionally generated phrases."[68] Theater director Timothy Sheader found the production "harsh and unmagical".[69] In 2007, theatre historian John Kenrick dismissed the film as "a desecration of Rodgers & Hammerstein's only original TV musical" despite its popularity, advising audiences to only watch the previous versions of the musical.[70] In its year-end edition, TV Guide ranked the program the best television special of 1997.[51]

The diversity of the cast prompted some members of the media to dub the film "rainbow 'Cinderella'",[71][56][72] Laurie Winer of the Los Angeles Times summarized that the film's cast "is not just rainbow, it's over the rainbow", observing that "the black queen (Goldberg) and white king (Victor Garber), for instance, produce a prince played by Filipino Paolo Montalban" while "Cinderella withstands the company of a white stepsister (Veanne Cox) and a black one (Natalie Desselle), both, apparently, birth daughters of the mother played by Bernadette Peters."[73] A writer for Newsweek believed that Brandy's Cinderella falling in love with a non-black prince reflects "a growing loss of faith in black men by many black women", explaining, "Just as Brandy's Cinderella falls in love with a prince of another color, so have black women begun to date and marry interracially in record numbers."[50] The Sistahs' Rules author Denene Millner was less receptive towards the fact that Brandy's Cinderella falls in love with a non-black prince, arguing, "When my stepson who's 5 looks at that production, I want him to know he can be somebody's Prince Charming."[50]

Awards and nominations[]

The film received several accolades.[74] Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards,[75][76] including Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.[77] At the 50th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1998, the film was also nominated for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program, Outstanding Choreography, Outstanding Costume Design for a Variety or Music Program, Outstanding Directing for a Variety or Music Program, Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special, and Outstanding Music Direction, ultimately winning one for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program, which was awarded to Julie Kaye Fanton, Edward L. Rubin and Randy Ser.[78] Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was the 13th most nominated program at that year's ceremony.[79]

The film also won an Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design – Awards Show, Variety, Music, or Non-Fiction Program,[80] awarded to Ser.[81] Freedman's teleplay was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Children's Script.[82][83] Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was nominated for three NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special,(citation needed) while both Brandy and Goldberg were nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie or Mini-Series.(citation needed) Peters was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, while Alexander was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.[84]

20/20: Cinderella: The Reunion was nominated for an Emmy at the 44th News and Documentary Emmy Awards.[85]

Legacy[]

ABC began discussing the possibility of Disney producing more musical films for the network shortly after Cinderella's premiere,[86] originally commissioning its producers to develop similar musicals to broadcast every November.[87] Bill Carter of The New York Times predicted that the success of the broadcast "will mean more musicals for television, probably as early as" 1998.[88] Similarly, Bert Fink of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization said that the program's ratings will most likely "have a salubrious effect on" the future of television musicals.[89] Hirschhorn interpreted the film's success as an indication that "there is a huge family audience out there for quality programming," expressing interest in eventually "fill[ing] in the ground between feature animated musicals and Broadway".[88] Cinderella's producers immediately began researching other musical projects to adapt for the Wonderful World of Disney, with the network originally hoping to produce at least one similar television special per year,[88] announcing that songwriter Stephen Schwartz had already begun writing a musical adaptation of Pinocchio.[89]

In his book The Cambridge Companion to the Musical, author Nicholas Everett identified Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella among important television musicals that "renewed interest in the genre" during the 1990s,[90] with Playbill recognizing it as "the resurgence of televised movie musicals".[91] According to Zadan, Cinderella's success "helped secure a future for musicals in the 'Wonderful World of Disney' slot", whose film company Storyline Entertainment started developing new musicals for the series shortly afterward, including Annie (1999).[92] Although the stage musical Annie had already been adapted as a film in 1982, the film was considered to be a critical and commercial failure.[93] Inspired by the success of Cinderella, Zadan and Meron saw remaking the musical as an opportunity to rectify the previous adaptation's errors.[93] They enlisted Cinderella's choreographer Rob Marshall to direct and making the orphans ethnically diverse.[93] According to Vulture.com entertainment critic Matt Zoller Seitz, both productions "stood out for their lush production values, expert control of tone, and ahead-of-the-curve commitment to diverse casting."[94] However, the Los Angeles Times' Brian Lowry observed that few of the series' subsequent projects achieved the ratings that Cinderella had, with viewership for later programming being rather inconsistent.[95]

Following the success of the film, the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and Disney discussed possibly adapting the production into a touring stage musical by 2001, but the idea never materialized.[96] Various elements from Freedman's script were incorporated into the 2000 national tour of Cinderella,[97] which is considered to be the first time the musical was adapted into a legitimate Broadway-style production.[98] A Broadway adaptation of the musical premiered in 2013, in which several songs from the 1997 film are re-used, including "There's Music in You".[99][100] Additionally, Montalban has reprised his role as the prince in both regional and touring productions of Cinderella, some of which have been directly based on or inspired by the 1997 film.[101][102]

Despite its initial reception, Cinderella has become widely revered as one of the best film adaptations of the fairy tale.[103][104][105] The Daily Telegraph deemed the 1997 adaptation "The final of the trio of classic Cinderella remakes".[106] Both Polygon and Mashable named 1997's Cinderella the best version of the story,[107][108] while Entertainment Tonight ranked the film the third greatest adaptation of the fairy tale.[109] CinemaBlend ranked the film the fourth most charming film adaptation.[89] Highlighting the performances of Montalban, Peters and Houston, Entertainment Weekly ranked Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella the fourth greatest adaptation of the fairy tale, ahead of both the 1965 (10th) and 1957 (sixth) versions, with author Mary Sollosi calling it one of "the 11 best-known film adaptations of the tale".[110] In 2017, Shondaland.com crowned the film "one of the most inclusive, expensive ... and ultimately beloved TV movies of all time."[88] Kelsie Gibson of PopSugar wrote that the film is superior to Disney's other princess-themed offerings from the 1990s.[111] Den of Geek ranked the film the second best "Cinderella" adaptation, describing it as "the first time the story truly felt magical" and writing "Almost twenty-five years later, this adaptation still feels like the television event it was when it premiered."[112] On February 11, 2021, the day prior to the film's premiere on Disney+, Entertainment Weekly held a virtual reunion with the surviving principal cast members.[113] In August 2022, the cast once again reunited for a television special Cinderella: The Reunion, A Special Edition of 20/20, which was followed by an airing of the film, the first time it has aired on broadcast television in over two decades.[114]

Cultural significance[]

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is considered to be a "groundbreaking" film due to its diverse cast, particularly casting a black actress as Cinderella.[115] A BET biographer referred to the production as a "phenomenon" whose cast "broke new ground."[116] Following its success, Disney considered adapting the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty" into a musical set in Spain featuring Latin music, but the idea never materialized.[117] Brandy is considered to be the first African-American to play Cinderella on-screen.[118] Newsweek opined that Brandy's casting proved that "the idea of a black girl playing the classic Cinderella was [not] unthinkable", calling it "especially significant because" Disney's 1950 film "sent a painful message that only white women could be princesses."[119] Fans have affectionately nicknamed the film "the Brandy Cinderella".[104][108] Brandy's performance earned her the titles "the first Cinderella of color", "the first black Cinderella" and "the first African-American princess" by various media publications,[120][121][122][123] while Shondaland.com contributor Kendra James dubbed Brandy "Disney's first black princess", crediting her with proving that "Cinderella could have microbraids" and crowning her the Cinderella of the 1990s.[88] James concluded, "for a generation of young children of color, 'Cinderella' became an iconic memory of their childhoods, of seeing themselves in a black princess who could lock eyes and fall in love with a Filipino prince."[88] Similar to the film, the stage adaptation has consistently demonstrated color-blind casting. In 2014, actress Keke Palmer was cast as Cinderella on Broadway, becoming the first black actress to play the role on Broadway.[111] Identifying Brandy as one of her inspirations for the role,[124] Palmer explained, "I feel like the reason I'm able to do this is definitely because Brandy did it on TV".[125]

According to Ruthie Fierberg of Playbill, Brandy's performance "immortalized the role on screen",[126] while Hollywood.com's Jeremy Rodriguez ranked her seventh out of "10 Actresses Who Played Cinderella Like Royalty", praising her for introducing "a more independent version of the classic character."[127] Fuse TV dubbed Brandy's performance as Cinderella "iconic" and "arguably the most groundbreaking portrayal at time," inspiring the character to become more diverse in the following years.[128] Essence's Deena Campbell credited the singer with "inspiring other young girls to be black Cinderellas".[129] Media criticism professor Venise Berry found Brandy's casting and performance to be a "wonderful opportunity to reflect the true diversity in our society", writing, "I think that Brandy will help African-American females see there are other possibilities that their lives can blossom into something good, and you don't have to be white for that to happen," in turn making the classic story more accessible "to little black girls" who had believed that ascending into a life of privilege was only possible for white people.[130] Writing for Nylon, Taylor Bryant called the film both "An Underrated Classic" and "One of the most important moments in [film] history".[131] Applauding the film for providing minorities with "the chance to see themselves depicted as royalty for perhaps the first time", Bryant identified Brandy as a princess for black girls to "fawn" over, which Disney would not revisit until The Princess and the Frog (2009).[131] Similarly, Martha Tesema wrote in an article for Mashable that "seeing Brandy as Cinderella on screen was groundbreaking" having "grown up in a time where future Disney characters like Tiana did not exist and the reason why didn't cross my mind—until this Cinderella. Seeing a princess with box braids like mine and a fairy godmother like Whitney ... gave me and girls who looked like me a glimpse at an early age of why it is necessary to demand representation of all types of people playing all types of roles in films."[132] Ashley Rey, a writer for Bustle, opined that the film "helped show the world that black and brown faces should have just as much of a presence in fairytale land as white faces do."[133]

Martha Tesema, a writer for Mashable, called the film "the best live-action princess remake", writing that it "deserves just as much praise now as it did then."[132] Tesema credits its ethnic diversity with making the film as "enchanting" as it is, continuing that the production "invites you to accept these [characters' races] as just the way they are for a little over an hour and it's a beautiful phenomenon".[132] Furthermore, the writer opined that future live-action remakes should watch Cinderella for reference.[132] In an article for HuffPost, contributor Isabelle Khoo argued that despite the constant remakes that Hollywood produces "no fairy tale adaptation has been more important than Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Cinderella.'", citing its diverse cast, combating of sexist stereotypes often depicted in other Disney films, and empowering themes that encourage children to make their own dreams come true as opposed to simply "keep on believing" among "three important reasons the 1997 version has maintained relevance today."[134] Khoo observed that the film continues to be constantly praised in social media by fans who had grown up with the film for its diversity, concluding, "With so much talk about the lack of diversity in Hollywood these days, Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Cinderella' is a shining example of the diversity we need."[134] Similarly, Elle writer R. Eric Thomas crowned Cinderella "One of the Most Important Movies of the '90s". Describing it as "effortlessly, even unintentionally, progressive", Thomas wrote that the film "forecast a world with far more possibility; it's a film made for the future."[135] Crediting the film with establishing both Brandy and Houston as "icons", the writer concluded that Cinderella teaches "about the limitless nature of storytelling. That in stories, there are no constraints; the only limit is your imagination. And once you learn that, you don't unlearn it", representing its theme that nothing is impossible.[135] Mandy Len Catron, author of How to Fall in Love with Anyone: A Memoir in Essays, believes that the film remains "The only truly diverse version of the fairy tale" as of 2017.[136] Ashley Lee of the Los Angeles Times declared Cinderella "the best example of colorblind casting of a screen musical to date" which "offers a useful template for potential successors", concluding, "the creatives behind Hollywood's current movie-musical boom could learn a thing or two from its clever spin on a classic text."[137]

Brandy and Montalban reprise the roles as Cinderella and King Charming in the Disney+ film Descendants: The Rise of Red, part of the Descendants franchise, as versions of the characters based on the 1950 Cinderella film.[138][139]

External links[]

References[]

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  3. ↑ Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997).
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