‘Cinderella’ Gets a Modernized Make-Over

Once upon a time, Walt Disney figured the classic fairy tale of “Cinderella” would be just the ticket to rescue his namesake Hollywood studio from its post-World War II, debt-ridden doldrums. His full-length musical cartoon was the belle of the 1950 box-office ball, enchanting audiences around the globe, in countries and kingdoms hither and yon.

Despite a few bumpy reigns, the Disney studio has lived happily ever after, adding theme parks, TV, and cable stations, Broadway plays and a king’s ransom of merchandise licensing to its globalized realm. In this not-so-evil empire, it’s not surprising then that the Mouse House would dig in its gilded basement and dust off the Cinderella story, brought up to date (sort of) with widescreen live action, 3-D, digital effects and so many glamorously retro fashions that would bust even Imelda Marcos’ closets.

Sandy Powell’s gaudy, frou-frou costumes aren’t the only retro accessories uncloseted in this sumptuous hand-me-down fairy tale. Were King Walter alive today, he doubtlessly would be enchanted by the musty, circa-1950s sentiments, starting with a micro-midriff heroine who easily fits any decade’s bill as a blonde Barbie doll.

For this rebooted “Cinderella,” the Disney suits surprisingly passed the reins over to Kenneth Branagh, once a prince among screen Shakespeareans adapters, notably for 1989’s regally auspicious “Henry V.” However, Branagh is no more of a leading player than the mice-morphed carriage horses, for the real story here is spectacle, cartoonish characters and a royal, multi-platform merchandising treatment befitting the modern throne of consumerism.

Amid the splendor, screenwriter Chris Weitz (“About a Boy”) hardly stops to re-tool the chassis drawn from Charles Perrault’s classic 17th-century French tale. Kids, you know it by heart: Orphaned by her beloved mom and dad, Cinderella (Lily James) grows up as the poor, sooty, but sweet relation to her nasty stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and harpy stepsisters (Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera). However, hold those tears and hisses—Cinderella has a fairy godmother (Helena Bonham-Carter) up her charred sleeve, and a charming, hunky prince (Richard Madden) in her pocket. With little magic dust, Cinderella gets a 60-second makeover into the belle of the ball, squarely designed to find a bride for the heir to the throne.

This glossy version has a sprinkling of Oscar-nominated songs. Branagh’s retread principally offers the custom-made, eye-popping 3-D sights of the actresses parading and preening in an array of outfits that, however splendidly florid, do not seem to fit the patchwork settings that careen between Victorian England and pre-Revolutionary France.

A fairy tale in all its well-worn, chintzy connotations, Weitz’s script regales us with dialogue stitched up with romantic clichés, from Cinderella’s queenly entrance at the ball to that prophetic stroke of midnight, when she accidentally drops her glass slipper behind for the prince to find.

Cinderella opens in theaters nationally March 13