We’ve seen a lot of Cinderella movies over the years, but never have we seen the rags-to-riches princess belt out J. Lo’s “Let’s Get Loud” in a fairytale finale. Amidst a world of many adaptations of the classic story, Amazon Prime’s take on the story sees Camila Cabello taking on the character alongside Idina Menzel’s evil stepmother and Pierce Brosnan as the king. Now that the movie has been streaming for a week, let’s get to what fans are talking about the movie.
As far as critics go, the reviews for Cinderella were mixed, including CinemaBlend’s review, which gave the movie a similarly mixed three out of five stars. Reviews might have been indifferent about Cinderella, but audiences overall really enjoyed this jukebox musical and had a number of reactions they shared online as to why they enjoyed tuning into the movie written and directed by Pitch Perfect’s Kay Cannon.
Camila Cabello As Cinderella Is Getting A Lot Of Love
First of all, there was a lot of love for Cinderella’s lead, Camila Cabello, who never starred in a movie before this one. Some fans felt like they had to defend their love for the movie online with big claps going her way for her performance:
Camila plays Ella, the stepdaughter of Idina Menzel’s Vivian, who spends her days in their basement doing housework, designing dresses and dreaming of a better life for herself. Another fan pointed out their love for Cabello as Cinderella, while also giving a shout out to the rest of the cast:
I mean, Cinderella has Billy Porter, Minnie Driver and James Corden too! That’s pretty fabulous. Camila Cabello also sings famous songs throughout the film, as well as one she wrote for the movie called “Million To One.” Cabello is also the first Latina Cinderella ever to be spotlighted in a major Cinderella film.
The singer was born in Havana, Cuba and grew up primarily in Miami, Florida before auditioning for The X Factor, becoming a member of Fifth Harmony and later stepping out with a solo career. Cabello was not the only highlight of Cinderella though, as Idina Menzel seriously stole the show too:
Idina Menzel’s stepmother really changes things up from the classic storyline as well and belts out some powerhouse moments, including a fun cover of “Material Girl.”
The Twist On The Cinderella Story Played Really Well
This Cinderella is completely different from your usual take on the story, because it has Ella as an aspiring fashion designer who wants to go to the ball to sell other royalty on her skills. The prince is someone who helps her follow these dreams and comes second to her personal goals. Fans, like the one below, loved this twist for Cinderella:
Lots of parents took to Twitter too to share how impressed they were with Kay Cannon having adapted the story to reflect a more modern and progressive stance on how a young girl might think. It’s true that previous generations have idolized stories like Cinderella and may take in those messages as happily ever after being about leaving one’s life for a man, rather than one’s own passions and desires.
The above dad was really happy to see Cinderella change up the story into something more empowering. And a mother approved the movie after watching many different Cinderella movies with her daughter prior. She loved that Camila Cabello’s character had “choice” in her decisions this time around:
Aside from the story element of Cinderella, the movie also of course had its musical element that mixed old-timey sets with modern music and appeal. One fan really summed it best:
A mix between Legally Blonde and Hamilton is a great way to describe this Cinderella.
Fans Can’t Get Over The Cinderella Ball Scene
The most iconic element of Cinderella will always be the ball Ella gets to go to thanks to her Fairy Godmother’s magic and this version was no exception. What’s cool about this version is how audiences are rooting for Ella to see her fashion design dreams come true just as much as falling in love with the prince. And audiences definitely fell for Camila Cabello’s prince:
While no, it’s not the singer’s IRL man Shawn Mendes, Nicholas Galitzine played the part well as a prince who does not really want to marry, but gets heart-eyes for Ella. During the movie, the pair sing a famous wedding song, Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect,” and audiences loved it:
The best kind of Cinderella movie will get you all in the feels over the magic of Ella’s big night out, and this one definitely did this with the time Ella and the Prince get together during the ball sequences before midnight.
Oh, and during the ball, Cinderella includes a cover of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.” Yes, exactly. It can be random, but fans really loved seeing all the diversity in the sequence along with the song itself.
Other songs that were part of Cinderella were Queen’s “Somebody To Love,” Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” and Salt-N-Pepa’s “Whatta Man.” It’s not everyday a classic story is told through these songs, but it has been done before with musicals such as Moulin Rouge.
It was a really fun way to see Cinderella play out. Overall, the Amazon Prime musical was a good time for a lot of people this past week. It’s a great time for musicals, and there’s more to come this year with Dear Evan Hansen, Everyone’s Talking About Jamie and West Side Story, among others. Check out what other movies are coming up next with CinemaBlend’s 2021 release schedule, and voice your thoughts on Cinderella in the poll below!
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