Cinderella 2015

Cinderella is a 2015 romantic fantasy film directed by Kenneth Branagh, with a screenplay written by Chris Weitz, and co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Kinberg Genre, Allison Shearmur Productions, and Beagle Pug Films. The film is based on the eponymous folk tale and is a live action adaptation of Walt Disney's 1950 animated film of the same name.[1] It features Lily James as the eponymous character, with Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, and Helena Bonham Carter.

Development for a live-action reimagining of the original animated film began in May 2010, with producer Simon Kinberg attached to the project. In late January 2013, Branagh signed on to direct, with Weitz hired to revise a script from Aline Brosh McKenna. In November 2012, casting began with Blanchett being the first to sign on; James was eventually cast in the titular role in April 2013. Principal photography began at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England on September 23, 2013, and ended on December 14.

Cinderella had its world premiere on February 13, 2015, at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival and was released theatrically in the United States on March 13, 2015, and in the United Kingdom on March 27 in standard and IMAX formats by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It grossed over $543 million worldwide, becoming Branagh's highest-grossing film to date as a director. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising the performances (particularly James, Blanchett, and Bonham Carter), Branagh's direction, musical score, costume design, production values, and faithfulness to the original animated film. It received a nomination at the 88th Academy Awards, 21st Critics' Choice Awards and 69th British Academy Film Awards, all for costume design.

## Plot

Ella and her parents live a humble but happy life until her mother falls ill. Ella promises to follow her mother's dying wish: to have courage and be kind. Years later, Ella's father marries Lady Tremaine, who has two unpleasant daughters, Drisella and Anastasia. Ella's father leaves on business, and Lady Tremaine reveals her cruel and jealous nature, pushing Ella to give up her bedroom to the stepsisters and move to the attic. When Ella's father unexpectedly dies, Lady Tremaine dismisses the household staff to save money and forces all their chores on Ella. Seeing Ella's face covered in cinders after sleeping by the fireplace, her step-family mockingly dubs her "Cinderella".

Ella rides off into the woods where she meets Kit, the crown prince posing as a palace apprentice. Ella and Kit take a liking to each other, but they part without him learning her name. The King discovers he has little time left to live, and urges Kit to take a princess as his bride at the upcoming royal ball. Kit persuades his father to also invite every eligible maiden in the kingdom to the ball, hoping to see Ella again.

Learning of the ball, Ella finds and refashions one of her mother's old gowns. On the night of the ball, Ella tries to join her step-family, but Lady Tremaine and Drisella tear her gown to shreds and leave without her. Ella runs into the garden in tears and meets an old beggar woman, who reveals herself to be Ella's Fairy Godmother. She magically transforms a pumpkin into a carriage, mice into horses, lizards into footmen, and a goose into the coachman. She then transforms Ella's ripped gown into a beautiful blue ballgown, complete with a pair of glass slippers. As Ella departs, the Fairy Godmother warns her the spell will end at the last stroke of midnight, and casts a final spell to prevent Ella's stepfamily from recognizing her.

At the ball, the entire court is entranced by Ella. She dances with Kit, much to the chagrin of the Grand Duke who has already promised Kit to Princess Chelina of Zaragoza, which Lady Tremaine overhears. Though surprised at Kit's true identity, Ella and the prince bond. Before Ella can tell Kit her name, the clock chimes midnight and she flees the palace, losing one of her slippers. Pursued by the Grand Duke and his men, Ella manages to escape home before the final stroke of midnight. The spell dissipates, and Ella hides the remaining glass slipper under her bedroom floorboards.

The King dies, but not before giving his son permission to marry Ella. Now King, Kit issues a royal proclamation ordering every maiden in the kingdom to try on the slipper in a search for the mystery princess. Ella hurries to retrieve the glass slipper to prove her identity, only to find her stepmother holding it. Having deduced that Ella is the mystery princess, Lady Tremaine reveals her own tragic past and her attempt to blackmail Ella to make her head of the royal household and find respectable husbands for the stepsisters, in exchange for giving Ella's hand in marriage to Kit. Ella refuses, and Lady Tremaine smashes the slipper and locks Ella in the attic. She brings the shattered remains of the slipper to the Grand Duke, who agrees to make her a countess and secure marriages for her daughters in exchange for keeping Ella hidden.

The Grand Duke and the captain of the palace guards lead the search for the mystery princess, but the slipper refuses to fit anyone. At the Tremaine estate, the shoe fits neither stepsister; the members of the court prepare to leave, but hear Ella singing Lavender's Blue. The Grand Duke tries to ignore the song, but Kit, disguised as a guard, commands the captain to investigate. Ella is reunited with Kit, and he places her lost slipper on her foot; they leave as Ella offers forgiveness to her stepmother. The Fairy Godmother reveals that Lady Tremaine and her daughters left the kingdom with the Grand Duke, never to return.

Ella and Kit marry and become the kingdom's most beloved monarchs, ruling with the same courage and kindness that Ella had promised her mother, and living happily ever after.

## Development

May 2010, following the box office success of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which was the second-highest-grossing film of 2010 and earned over $1 billion at the box office worldwide,[7] Walt Disney Pictures began developing a new film adaptation of Cinderella, commissioning a live-action reimagining based on a script by Aline Brosh McKenna and produced by Simon Kinberg.[8] In August 2011, Mark Romanek was brought on to direct.[9] On February 29, 2012, it was announced that Chris Weitz would revise McKenna's script.[10][11] In January 2013, Romanek left the project due to creative differences, as he was developing a version that was darker than Disney wanted.[12] Later that month, Disney negotiated with Kenneth Branagh to take over as director.[13][14]

Cate Blanchett was the first actor to sign on, when it was announced in November 2012 that she would be playing Lady Tremaine, Cinderella's evil stepmother.[15] In March 2013, Emma Watson was in talks to play Cinderella, but a deal could not be worked out.[16][17] Watson went on to play Belle in Disney's 2017 film Beauty and the Beast.[18] Gabriella Wilde, Saoirse Ronan, Alicia Vikander, Bella Heathcote and Margot Robbie were also considered for the part, but deals could not be worked out due to scheduling and other conflicts.[17][19]

On April 30, 2013, Lily James was cast as the titular character.[20][21] A week later, Richard Madden was cast as Prince Charming, who was named Kit in the film.[22] In June 2013, it was reported that Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera joined the film as Cinderella's two evil stepsisters, Anastasia and Drisella.[23][24] Later that month, Helena Bonham Carter was cast as the Fairy Godmother.[25] In August 2013, Hayley Atwell and Ben Chaplin joined the cast to play Cinderella's mother and Cinderella's father.[26] In September 2013, Stellan Skarsgård's role as the Grand Duke was confirmed.[27] On September 23, 2013, it was announced that Derek Jacobi was cast as the King, Prince Kit's father, and Nonso Anozie as the Captain, a loyal friend to the Prince.[27]

According to Walt Disney Pictures president of production Sean Bailey, studio chairman Alan F. Horn wished to make the film the "definitive Cinderella for generations to come," and told him that "if you need to spend a little more, spend it, to make sure it's one for the time capsule."[28]

## Release

The film had its world premiere on February 13, 2015, at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival,[41][42] and was released on March 13, 2015.[43] Theatrically, it was accompanied by Walt Disney Animation Studios' short film Frozen Fever, featuring the characters from Frozen.[44] On February 10, 2015, IMAX Corporation and Disney announced plans to digitally re-master the film into the IMAX format and release it in IMAX theaters globally on the scheduled release date.[45]

The first official presentation of the film occurred at Disney's three-day D23 Expo in August 2013.[46][47] The film was previewed at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Nevada, in March 2014, with a teaser showing Cinderella hearing about her father's death, meeting the prince while riding through the forest, her mother's ball gown being torn apart by her step-family, and a comedic bit where the Fairy Godmother transforms a pumpkin into a carriage.[48][49]

The first official trailer debuted on May 15, 2014. In the minute-long teaser, which doesn't include any footage from the film, a sparkling glass slipper is slowly revealed over a black background.[50][51] The second official trailer, two-and-a-half minutes long and containing footage from the film, debuted on Good Morning America on November 19, 2014, with a 15-second trailer preview released two days prior.[52][53] In its first 24 hours of release, the trailer was viewed 4.2 million times on YouTube and 33 million times on Facebook, the highest views among all Disney films in history, except for Marvel Studios releases.[54] The movie's official poster was also released on November 19, featuring James as Cinderella and photographed by Annie Leibovitz.[55] Disney released an international trailer on December 16, 2014.[56] A new trailer was released on January 1, 2015.[57] On February 11, 2015, Disney released a final trailer for the film.[58]

In October 2014, a licensing agreement between Disney and Turner Broadcasting was announced, in which Cinderella would premiere across Turner's cable network portfolio (including TBS and TNT) in the Spring of 2017.[59]