When her father unexpectedly dies, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her scheming stepsisters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger.
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Stars: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter.
Terry King ... sword choreographer
Rob Ashford ... choreographer
disc arrived today; KB breathes so much life into Shakespeare, I thought I'd see what this was like.
We get a lot of time on the backstory: C as child with both parents, C grown and blessing father's remarriage, C gradually relegated to servant role by stepmother CB.
Apparently they trained animals to do the extensive work with C before any preparations for the ball.
HBC as fairy godmother is delightful, but only onscreen briefly.
Otherwise routine.
Rated 6.9 (139,764)
Disney & more, dir. Branagh; 6
