Now, the simple plot of an abused woman going to to a ball thanks to the help of a bit of magic & her Fairy Godmother, falling in love a handsome prince & losing her glass slipper has been told time & time again on the big screen. This section asks which one of the two movies I'm comparing did it better! This is Best Story!
Story
Ever After's take is much more progressive with its feminist historical take on the plot. However, the heart of the source material still remains while most fairy tale movies would just forget it to make it 'progressive'. And even then, the twists it adds are admittedly very fun & the roles the characters are pretty creative. It doesn't deviate from the story too much that it's unrecognisable, yet still manages to be original in its own right. The balance of comedy, drama & romance is very well executed thanks to the acting & especially the pacing & set-ups for scenes, none of which make the mood changes feel jarring or sudden. The romance is what keeps the heart of the story intact & I do love how the movie acknowledges other adaptations of the fairy tale at the beginning with the Brothers Grimm appearing, making the events of the movie feel more like an origin story.
Cinderella meanwhile, doesn't do ANYTHING new to the story other than expand Ella & Kit's romance (which I'll get to in a bit) along with changing a few of the characters' roles & scenarios behind their actions. It is definitely an adaptation like a puzzle where everything is as it should be & what it expands on is well done. The expansion of the relationships was a good choice , even if it can lead to some aspects being overshadowed by others, in particular Cinderella herself. Also, I'd be lying if I didn't say that the beginning was possibly one of the cheesiest & schmaltziest openings I had ever seen for a movie up to the point that it didn't feel like it was part of the actual film. It didn't ruin it for me, but that & the (while strong) 'have courage & be kind' message being hand fisted to the audience made me feel out of the moment at times.
The romance in both films also takes a similar approach as both sets of lovers meet before the ball. However, Ever After devotes much more time to it & it makes the chemistry & drama between them feel much more natural as they actually get to know each other & change for the better. And yes, this movie does have the whole liar revealed cliche & sad third act (with an admittedly pointless conflict involving Danielle being sold by the Baroness), but even then there's still more development thanks to Henry realizing the whole situation doesn't matter in the grand scale of things & Danielle actually saves herself after being sold. Cinderella's meanwhile attempts to do the same to some effect, yet it didn't truly feel like they knew each other properly before genuinely falling in love & getting married. Even then, it's never stated how long it took from Kit finding her to them getting married, so you could argue they had the proper time to get to know one another after she moved into the castle...Anyway, I don't think it helped that the characters themselves didn't have much chemistry, but we'll get into why in their separate character sections.
Ever After as an adaptation may have a lot of twists, but it still respects the characters roles, setting & heart of story while expanding upon it. Cinderella meanwhile, is so by the book that it doesn't really do much new & leaves it as predictable. It's definitely not bad because the good things in it are good, but I feel that Ever After's take is executed much better in its emotions & characters. It all really comes down to taste because for those who'd prefer a straight-u[ Cinderella tale will like the latter, but for me, I just prefer Ever After.
Point goes to Ever After!
Winner: Ever After
Well, the audience needs to be whisked away into the world of the characters! This is about which one did it better, this is Best Visuals!
Visuals
With stylistic choices, both films pull off the looks they're going for perfectly.
Ever After's take on 16th century France still manages to look spectacular even with the fantasy elements being completely stripped. The costume designs are all immaculate with great attention to detail, all of which managing to look beautiful & creative rather than boring & generic. The settings also manage to look pretty nice because of the accuracy of the time setting, like Danielle's farmhouse, Henry's castle & even all the forests Danielle & Henry go to looking romantic. However without a doubt, the ball scene is where it shines being very colourful & creative, both in costumes and setting. That's when the movie has that more fantastical element to it because compared to the admittedly more dull (while still pretty looking) scenes
Cinderella meanwhile goes all out with the visuals & they are undoubtedly some of the best I have ever seen for a Disney live action remake. With the grand sets & some of the most gorgeous costumes I've ever seen, they really help you feel like you're being transported into a fairytale world. Speaking of, The elaborate & colourful costumes all suit the character's personalities while still respecting the animated version, especially with the gaudy yet pretty stepsister's costumes & Cinderella's giant blue dress with a subtle butterfly motif. And like Ever After, the ball scene is really where the movie shines in its visuals for the same reasons. However, I wouldn't be lying if some moments with the CGI, while still put to good use, was really jarring & obvious. It's definitely not bad & the way it's used is absolutely gorgeous like when the Fairy Godmother turns the pumpkin into Ella's carriage & when the spell breaks during the carriage chase at midnight.
This is admittedly a difficult one for me because there isn't anything wrong with either of them. Although, I'd be lying if I didn't say I lean more towards Cinderella's visuals because the setting created a more fairytale-esque atmosphere in comparison to Ever After. So...point goes to Cinderella!
Winner: Cinderella (2015)
Well, which absuive stepmother is worse for our heroine in this fairytale? Morticia Adams vs Galadriel, this is Best Stepmother!
Stepmother
Baroness Rodmilla de Ghant is mostly there to torment Danielle & sneak and lie her way into the royal family's good books so Henry can marry Marguerite. However, while most of the abuse comes from Marguerite, she still really has a spiteful edge to her as she obviously forces Danielle into doing housework, steals the house's belongings & gleefully lets Marguerite burn the only possession Danielle had left of her father & wear the only dress (and reminder) she has left of her mother. And this is all before she publicly humiliates Danielle in front of the entire kingdom & continues to taunt her afterwards. (How could anyone love a pebble in their shoe?', anyone?') yet still gets worse up to the point that she sells Danielle! Seriously, despite her funny moments here & there thanks to Huston's perfectly over the top performance, I think it's safe to say that she rightfully gets her just desserts by the end!
Cate Blanchett's Lady Tremaine meanwhile, as mentioned, is given more sympathy as her hatred towards Ella is made clear when she overhears her new husband confess he prefers his first wife & daughter over her. What I liked about her was how slowly she led Ella into becoming the house's servant, showing a patient side to the character along with her true sociopathy when trying to take advantage of & manipulate Ella's connection to royalty. This however, could leave her feeling more like a character who wants to be in control rather than somebody who's actually in control. She's still complex & at times interesting don't get me wrong, but Blanchett's moments of being over the top felt out of place for the character she was trying to be compared to Huston. But even with that, she definitely did a good performance given how different of a role Lady Tremaine is compared to the more heroic roles she goes for.
So, while they're both good stepmothers in their own rights, I think I lean towards Ever After's version because she truly revels in her cruelty towards Danielle while Cinderella's never truly feels like. Point goes to Ever After!
Winner: Ever After
There always has to be 2 ugly stepsisters to add insult to injury to Cinderella's abuse. This is Best Stepsisters!
Stepsisters
Cinderella's version with Drizella & Anastasia on the other hand is very different. Unlike Ever After, they're more there to be comic reliefs with their more dim-witted & bratty personalities, but they never really do anything that cruel or malicious other than be snarky towards Ella & make her do chores. Sophie McShera & Holliday Granger do a good job with their performances don't get me wrong, but I feel like they're just really by the book with their roles & even when they apologise to Ella at the very end, it feels like it came out of nowhere because they barely spend any time with her or truly realize the consequences of their actions. They are definitely not the worst versions of the characters at all, but they feel...cliched.
So, yes, there is a clear winner with the better stepsisters for me this time round! While Cinderella's stepsisters just play the roles while Ever After does the same, but with much more depth & development. Point goes to Ever After!
Winner: Ever After
On top of the Stepmother & Stepsisters, there has to be more characters to support Cinderella along the way! This is Best Side Characters!
Side Characters
The side characters on Cinderella, meanwhile, are more by the book. The mice, Lucifer & other animal friends to Cinderella in this don't even talk & are much scaled down in comparison to the animated film while still keeping their quirky personalities. The King himself plays a very similar role to Ever After's King through pressuring their son into marriage, but I wouldn't be lying if I said I thought the emotions came through better in Cinderella's version because of the better established relationship. The Grand Duke is changed from the King's bumbling assistant to a villain wanting to prevent Kit from marrying Ella & being in cahoots with Lady Tremaine. Stellan Skarsgard's performance was good & I surprisingly liked this change as it made the whole 'find the girl who fits the slipper' scenario make more sense when Kit would have easily recognized Ella. Another character I very much enjoyed was The Captain of the Guard (Nonso Anozie) thanks to his friendship with Kit & funny one liners ('Has your cat learned to sing?', anyone?). Cinderella's parents are given screen time, but I wouldn't be lying if I said Hayley Atwell's mother came across as WAY too perfect (with her illness coming out of nowhere), even if her father is given more of a personality & actually tries to make all of his new family happy despite inadvertently causing the turn of events of the film during his conversation with Ella about his beloved first wife. But obviously, I cannot forget the Fairy Godmother, and I have to say that Helena Bonham Carter's performance is simply perfect! She really makes the most of her 5 minutes of screentime as a more eccentric & scatterbrained version of the character, leading to some of the biggest laughs in the film.
There's no doubt that the side characters all have their strengths in both versions, although I think I prefer Cinderella's because while Ever After's are creative & likeable, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I liked the more straight up versions of them this time round. Point goes to Cinderella!
Winner: Cinderella
Well, there always needs to be a Prince Charming to find the girl who fits the glass slipper! This is the best prince!
Prince
Prince Kit is definitely better than his animated counterpart as he has much more of a personality and development both in his chemistry with Ella & relationship with his father. The scenes with the latter are genuine & emotional to watch even if they have lack of screen time & his acceptance of Ella despite her status was very heartwarming. However, besides that, I felt there wasn't that much to him & to be honest, I didn't find him that interesting because he can easily be qualified as the Prince Charming stereotype & his development felt cliched. But I guess a good one because Richard Madden is undoubtedly a talented & very handsome actor!
Prince Henry meanwhile, starts off as more rebellious as he doesn't want to go through with an arranged marriage, yearns for freedom & adventure and greatly dislikes his position as prince because of his beliefs that everyone conspires against him & takes advantage of it. But when he meets Danielle, his whole outlook on life & being king changes & it makes him much more interesting as a result. He does have much more of a personality & I very much liked his growth as a character, especially when he realizes the absurdity of the whole situation with the arranged marriage during his wedding (in probably the funniest scene in the movie) even after he shames Danielle for lying to him. His enthusiasm really does shine in his scenes with Danielle & I love that he appreciates how much she's changed his life for the better.
While Richard Madden does his very best as Kit, I can't help but prefer Henry because his arc feels much more human & relateable. Point goes to Ever After!
Winner: Ever After
And to top it all off, we need to discuss the most important aspect of this post: which maiden that fits the glass slipper better! This is Best Cinderella!
Cinderella
Now, I'm going to go over these two in reverse. Before I start with Ella, I have one thing to ask about her...how is she independent? While the movie attempts to make her more 'feminist', all it really does is make her more flawed and...bland. All the movie really does is negate the reasons behind her staying & putting up with the abuse she has to endure because of her informed 'independence' throughout. I can understand the reason behind why, but the fact we see her outside of her house nearly only negates all of that which leaves the magic of the ball scene less powerful. And let's just quickly compare her to her animated counterpart. The abuse in the animated version started when she was a child which gave Lady Tremaine all the time she needed to brainwash her into feeling guilty if she ever left, while in this, it's as an adult. This means that she doesn't feel like there's a sense of guilt because she leaves nearly all the time & even has friends to gossip with. And to top it all off, she actually does nothing to save herself from being locked in the attic & accepts instead of actually giving a crap & doing something about it. All of this also supports the fact that while they attempt to expand her gradual downward spiral into servitude by her family, it leaves her 'huge breakdown' when she's not allowed to go to the ball to be less emotionally investing. I mean, sure, Lily James really does try her best in Ella's huge breakdown, but I felt no real connection because she had that breakdown earlier when she realizes she's not part of the family after not being allowed to have breakfast with them. And even at that, all she really does is smile while staring into space. I'm not gonna lie, I first thought she was a thousand times better than the original when I first watched this movie, but after a few more watches, all I found were more flaws because it almost felt manipulative because the movie never truly portrays the character it wants her to be.
Danielle meanwhile, does have to face the consequences of what she does because she lies to Henry throughout almost the entire length of the movie. It doesn't make her unlikeable in the slightest though because her intentions from the start are good (heck, the reason she lies in the first place is to free another maid's husband from being taken into slavery), she met Henry through chance & it's clear she feels extremely guilty for lying while still sharing the same interests & a true connection with him. And while she is for the most part badass & independent, she still has times where she's vulnerable when she realizes her lie has gone too far, further showing that she still has flaws & is not perfect. Unlike Ella, she did have her limits with the abuse when it came to her deceased parents, making it all the more heartbreaking when she gives in to Marguerite's demands & is yet cruelly tormented when she burns the only reminder she has of her father. And even after she's publicly humiliated in front of the entire kingdom at her lowest point, she never loses her guard up to the point that she saves herself from & refuses to be treated like crap. And come on, how can't you like a badass sword wielding woman who befriends gypsies, punches her bitch of a stepsister in the face & is played by Drew Barrymore?
So, yes, there is a clear winner for me. While Ella is presented as 'flawless' while ironically being very flawed, I felt a much deeper connection with Danielle because she felt much more human. Point goes to Ever After!
Winner: Ever After
And the overall winner is Ever After with 5 to 2!
I'm not gonna lie, I thought Ever After was always the clear winner, but after watching the two back to back, I saw that both movies had their own strengths & weaknesses. And despite my problems with the 2015 Cinderella, in particular with its main character, I still enjoy watching it when I'm in the mood for a straight-up fairytale film. It's not bad at all & I still recommend people watch it because it was a very positive turn for Disney live action remakes as it was the first movie to actually respect the source material compared to the past ones like Maleficent & Alice in Wonderland. And with Ever After, I feel it's very underrated & I definitely recommend people go and watch it because it's smart, fun & romantic with charming characters & performances!
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