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Our Fairy Godmother finally came through. The 1997 made-for-television version of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella dazzled audiences with Brandy and Whitney Houston’s soaring vocals and delightful performances, and now the musical will officially find a home over on Disney+ after over a year of fan disappointment about the streaming site leaving the movie off its comprehensive library. At least, that was the case until now.
Disney+ surprised fans on Thursday morning with an out of blue announcement that the Cinderella adaptation would be hitting the service on February 12 and the internet is having a ball! Time to call up all all our friends, because ‘we did it!’:
The release was officially announced by Disney+ to add to its “Celebrate Black Stories” collection (already including Soul, Black Panther and Hidden Figures) and right in the middle of Black History Month. The movie originally premiered as part of ABC’s Wonderful World of Disney telecast, but has since become a fan-favorite version of Cinderella that the studio has not made available enough until now. Here’s another Twitter reaction:
The movie traded the tracks from the Disney animated classic with Rodgers & Hammerstein's iconic songs originally written for a TV movie starring Julie Andrews and later taken to the stage. Rodgers & Hammerstein are the defining composer duo behind The Sound of Music, The King and I, South Pacific and Oklahoma! and the 1997 version really allows it to sing with its incredibly diverse cast including Whoopi Goldberg, Victor Garber, Paolo Montalbán Jason Alexander and Bernadette Peters. Bridgerton is shook.
Fans are already reminiscing about the musical ahead of the Disney+ premiere, by showing love for The View’s Whoopi, who played the Prince’s mother Queen Constantina. Check out another response below:
And not to mention the movie’s A+ pick for Prince Charming in Paolo Montalbán. He and Brandy were truly royalty. And his casting, along with Brandy's was an important moment for representation back in the '90s.
All in all, we’re simply ecstatic about the news. 1997’s Cinderella has never been available on a streaming platform before, despite it being such a childhood staple in many of our lives. I always gravitated toward this version over the animated one as a kid. The internet very well may have made it happen considering just the other day this post circled around a little before the announcement was made.
Thanks to Disney for working their magic. If you’re not a Disney+ subscriber, you can sign up using this link. Check out what else is coming to the service in February alongside Cinderella's Disney+ premiere on February 12.
