as fairy tales go , cinderella has to be one of the most famous .
almost everyone knows it , well at least in north america .
so it is natural that someone will try to make a movie out of it .
it has been done before with varying results .
this version of the story is both similar to the original and different at the same time .
the basic story remains unchanged but , one thing that seems to vanish with this version , and that is all the fantastical elements of the story .
there is no fairy god mother or anything even remotely of that nature .
after the fantastical elements are stripped away what is left is a realistic believable rendition of the cinderella story and an interesting love story at the least . .
unlike in the fairy tale , the prince plays a much larger part than just that of the masked ball at the end .
the ? prince ' , who happens to be the crown prince to the throne of france , meets ' cinderella ' , known as danielle , on a few occasions , most coincidentally
and he becomes smitten with her .
although this seems to be a far cry from the traditional story it allows for the main plot to proceed with enough room for some imaginative story telling . .
the story takes place in a renaissance setting ; in france , with leonardo da vinci providing some comic relief on more than one occasion .
this addition of leonardo da vinci , was quite successful in that it added some color to the movie , since some of the roles are a bit stereotypical .
for example the role that was scripted for the prince leaves a few things to be desired .
for instance the character seems to be a bit too unstable and fickle , a crown prince should not be anything remotely like that . especially since he is portrayed to be in his mid twenties at the least and almost ready to take the throne .
the characters of danielle ( cinderella ) played by drew barrymore , and that of the evil step mother , played by anjelica huston , are well developed and well played by the two women .
although the part of danielle is a bit stretched it is not too unlikely and not totally unbelievable .
the nuances of the character are brought out well by drew barrymore and from watching the movie it seems like she had fun making the movie .
as a contrast the part of the evil step mother is clearly seen from the very beginning and is almost clique .
but , anjelica huston seems to add a certain flair to the role that makes it suit the movie nearly perfectly .
the actual story is fairly predictable since it is after all the basic story of cinderella , but there are more than enough twists in how the story is told to make it interesting and enjoyable .
the acting is of high caliber and seems deserved of praise .
all in all this movie takes you back into history , into a seemingly magical fairy land .
but , do n't get me wrong
there is nothing but reality , it is just refreshing to watch a movie that is not based in a familiar setting with everyday familiar things happening .
so although the story is basically familiar the world it is set in is not , and that adds a dimension to the film which in this humble reviewers opinion makes it worth seeing
the acting is of high caliber well developed and well played deserved of praise make it interesting and enjoyable suit the movie nearly perfectly makes it worth seeing brought out well