I get it Disney, you think it’s cute to drop a new trailer for your upcoming live action Cinderella movie at midnight, but here’s the question, “Is your target demographic people that are up late watching QVC at midnight?” I don’t know, just seems an odd time to premiere a trailer for a fantasy princess feature I presume is aimed largely at little girls and their mothers when they are fast asleep. Either way, here it is, coming March 13 and directed by Kenneth Branagh, the story of Cinderella is told once again. Lily James stars in the title role and Cate Blanchett will get wicked. Watch the trailer below.
The story of Cinderella follows the fortunes of young Ella (James) whose merchant father remarries following the tragic death of her mother. Keen to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother Lady Tremaine and her daughters Anastasia and Drisella into the family home. But, when Ella’s father suddenly and unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself at the mercy of a jealous and cruel new family.
Finally relegated to nothing more than a servant girl covered in ashes, and spitefully renamed Cinderella, Ella could easily begin to lose hope. Yet, despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, Ella is determined to honor her mother’s dying words and to “have courage and be kind”. She will not give in to despair nor despise those who abuse her. And then there is the dashing stranger she meets in the woods. Unaware that he is really a prince, not merely an employee at the Palace, Ella finally feels she has met a kindred soul. It appears as if her fortunes may be about to change when the Palace sends out an open invitation for all maidens to attend a ball, raising Ella’s hopes of once again encountering the charming Kit. Alas, her stepmother forbids her to attend and callously rips apart her dress. But, as in all good fairy tales, help is at hand as a kindly beggar woman steps forward and, armed with a pumpkin and a few mice, changes Cinderella’s life forever.
