All dressed up for nothing

Lily James in a scene from "Cinderella." Photo by Jonathan Olley, ©Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Disney's newest adaptation of “Cinderella” faced a tough hill to climb just during production based solely on the need to find a new way to present a rather well-told story, one the studio tackled quite successfully 65 years ago. The filmmakers had to find either an inventive way of retelling an old fable, or at least present the original in a captivating manner.

The 2015 “Cinderella” does neither, and aside from a few aesthetic delights and a chilling performance by Cate Blanchett, this film actually diminishes the impact of an already dry, bothersome story.

I'd do the plot recap here but, really, the story is so well trodden I'll just list the actors and the roles and let you put the plot together. Blanchett is Lady Tremaine, the evil stepmother; Lily James is Cinderella; Helena Bonham Carter pulls double duty as the narrator and Fairy Godmother; Richard Madden is Prince Charming (and is not Chris Pine); and the stepsisters are played by Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera. James also has parents who die early on (Hayley Atwell and Ben Chaplin), and Madden has a loyal captain (Nonso Anozie), dying father/king (Derek Jacobi) and scheming uncle (Stellan Skarsgard) on his side.

Shenanigans occur and yadda yadda yadda there's a happily ever after to bookend the opening once upon a time, because a good fairytale can't end on a downer. Technically, they can and have done so in the past, including portions of “Into the Woods.” That film did the “Cinderella” story far more effectively, efficiently and with deeper roles for the titular girl (Anna Kendrick) and the dashing prince (who is indeed Chris Pine).

                                                                Well played, Kirk.

Not that this version of “Cinderella” lacks redeeming qualities;  after all, any film with Cate Blanchett has some value built into it. In this case, she adds some serious chills and iciness just through discomfiting glares and withering insults that cut deep into the soul. It's not quite the part she was born to play — “Blue Jasmine,” for my money, is Blanchett at her best — but she adds an honest bitterness to a film that's otherwise artificially sweetened.

A spoonful of that sugar belongs to Carter, who gets a rare moment to play a woman who isn't conniving, evil, haggard or a combination of all three. She's pretty fun as the Godmother, creating a modicum of chaos in her rather abbreviated bit of screen time while inserting a dab of liveliness to the proceedings. Carter does get to open up her pipes a bit with a performance of “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” during the end credits, and while she doesn't have the strongest voice, it’s another indicator that she’s actually having some fun.

Like this, but the complete opposite.

“Cinderella,” at the least, is a rather fetching film thanks to some terrific costuming. Stunning dresses during the ballroom scenes that dazzle the eye during every spin and bow, and it's easy to see the young girls in the audience marveling at what they see on screen and envisioning themselves in one of those gowns.

Everything else about “Cinderella” is a little underwhelming. Director Kenneth Branagh pushes the plot along sans excitement, thrills or enthusiasm, going through the motions to wrap up a film that’s already overly padded. He’s clearly wishing he could go back to his Shakespearean roots instead of directing lesser fluff, an idea I’m on board with too: With the exception of maybe “Thor,” Branagh has a habit of orchestrating blandness where liveliness should be.

Layers of sympathy go to Lily James, who suffers the most from a nondescript role that has her bow, clean, receive barbs from Blanchett, cry, sing, talk to animals (does that make her vegetarian?), look gorgeous in her gown, and tell herself to “have courage and be kind.” Not the most interesting to-do list, and very little of it involves any actual emoting, character development, or anything new to say about the character.

Filmmaking is a team sport with many influences, but I'll still call out credited screenwriter Chris Weitz for writing a barely one-note lead role for the actress. It's a rather strange script though, as “Cinderella” tries instead to add a hint of depth to the stepmother role to create something resembling motivation for her wickedness. Weitz never commits to it though, instead reverting back to the she's evil because she's a stepmother logic employed by the origin story, and he’s quite lucky Blanchett was there to make it work.

Where “Cinderella” truly suffers is the seven minutes before it starts, which features a new short featuring the “Frozen” characters. “Frozen Fever” is a funny and sweet continuation of the excellent animated film, as well as a reminder filmmakers can take a much-told fairytale and make it fresh and fun.

Plus, more Olaf! (©2015 Disney)

Review: Two out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG

Run time: 112 minutes

Genre: Fantasy

Ask Away

Target audience: Going to go with Disney fans searching for another Cinderella kick. Not like it's been less than three months since the character last appeared on screen in a Disney product or anything.

Take the whole family?: “Cinderella” is perfectly fine for children ages 6 and up; it'll be a little dull for kiddos any younger though.

Theater or Netflix?: Theater if only to watch that delightful “Frozen” short. Otherwise, stay at home and wait to rent it.

How does the 'Frozen' short stack up? “Frozen Fever” doesn't reach the same heights as other shorts like the studio's nearly perfect “Paperman,” but it is a delightful romp with a rather infectious song. Then again, I'll never complain about spending a few more minutes with Anna, Elsa, Sven, Kristoff and especially Olaf, who is really wonderful in his few minutes on screen.

Watch this instead?: Disney's animated “Cinderella” is just fine, and I'm on board with a “Frozen” screening any day of the week. You could also rent “Into the Woods” for a superior retelling of Cinderella that adds some of the more brutal parts of the original fairy tale.