Cinderella (2021 American film)

Cinderella is a 2021 romantic musical film based on the fairy tale of the same name by Charles Perrault. Written and directed by Kay Cannon, it stars singer Camila Cabello as the title character in her acting debut, alongside Nicholas Galitzine, Idina Menzel, Minnie Driver, Billy Porter and Pierce Brosnan. It is a jukebox musical, featuring pop and rock hits, in addition to several original songs.

Development began in April 2019, when Sony Pictures announced a musical-style film of Cinderella, with Cannon writing and directing. The film was produced by James Corden, through Fulwell 73 with Leo Pearlman, Jonathan Kadin and Shannon McIntosh. Principal photography began in February 2020 at Pinewood Studios, and was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed in August 2020 and concluded in September.

Cinderella was released in select theaters and digitally on Amazon Prime Video on September 3, 2021 to mixed reviews from critics. Commercially, according to Samba TV, it was watched in 1.1 million U.S. households over its four-day Labor Day weekend debut and in 2.2 million households by the end of its first 30 days. According to the analytics company Screen Engine, Cinderella was the most-watched streaming film during its opening weekend, as well as the most-watched musical film of 2021.

Plot
Cinderella is an ambitious young woman who dreams of establishing her shop, Dresses by Ella. After she catches the eye of Prince Robert in passing, he disguises himself as a commoner and sets out in hopes of meeting her.

Robert finds Ella among the local market vendors, trying to sell one of her creations. After some playful banter, he buys her dress for triple the original price. Robert invites Ella to an upcoming ball, where he promises she can mingle with people from around the world who will want to buy her designs.

On the day of the ball, Ella's stepmother Vivian forbids her to attend, as Ella has already been promised in marriage to Thomas the vegetable merchant. Vivian throws ink on Ella's dress, ensuring that only her own daughters Malvolia and Narissa can attend.

Though Ella's hopes are dashed, her fairy godparent Fab G comes to her aid. He uses magic to outfit her in a gown of her own design and a pair of glass shoes. Mice become footmen for a crate transformed into a carriage that takes Ella to the ball. There she meets visiting queen Tatiana, who offers to take Ella around the world as her personal dressmaker. She also meets Robert's sister Princess Gwen, who is wearing the dress Ella sold him in the market.

When Robert proposes to Ella, she demurs, explaining that marriage will put an end to her dressmaking dreams, which are finally within reach. Robert, whose own lifelong ambition has been to assume the throne, struggles with this answer. At the stroke of midnight, Ella leaves the ball after throwing her shoe at one of the royal attendants, who tries to catch her.

The next day, Vivian reveals her own bitter story, trying to make Ella understand that going off to pursue one's personal dreams is incompatible with love and marriage. Seeing the remaining glass slipper in Ella's room, she realizes she is the mystery girl the prince has been seeking, so tries to convince her to marry Robert. When Ella refuses, Vivian gives her to Thomas.

With the help of Queen Beatrice, King Rowan accepts that Robert wishes to marry a commoner, giving him the glass slipper as he searches for Ella. She, having run away from Thomas, is reunited with Robert in a forest, where they profess their love for each other and share a kiss. The pair reach the market in time to show her designs to her benefactor, Tatiana, who accepts them and invites Ella to travel with her.

Robert introduces Ella to the king and queen, and informs them of their shared decision to travel the world. Though this nullifies his future ascension to the throne, Beatrice smiles as Rowan proudly names Gwen (who has repeatedly shown an interest and ability in affairs of state) first in line to the throne. Citizens of the kingdom gather to witness and celebrate as the royal family officially announce these developments.

Production
In April 2019, Columbia Pictures announced a musical retelling of "Cinderella", with Kay Cannon writing and directing. The idea to reinterpret "Cinderella" came from James Corden, who produced the film through Fulwell 73 with Leo Pearlman, Jonathan Kadin, and Shannon McIntosh.

In April 2019, Camila Cabello was attached in the role of Cinderella. In October 2019, it was announced that talks were underway with Idina Menzel as Cinderella's stepmother, and Billy Porter for the role of fairy godparent. In December 2019, Nicholas Galitzine was added to the cast as Prince Robert.

Principal photography began in February 2020 at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom. Filming was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed in August 2020 and concluded in September.

Cinderella's carriage was designed to promote Mercedes-Benz.

Soundtrack
In April 2019, it was announced that Camila Cabello was working on the soundtrack for the film. In October, 2020, Idina Menzel confirmed that "[she and Camila] both have original songs as well." On August 2, 2021, it was announced by the director that the soundtrack would be released on September 3, 2021.

Film score
In February 2021, Jessica Rose Weiss confirmed that she and Mychael Danna were working on the film score, and recording the score with orchestra led by Johannes Vogel at Synchron Stage Vienna. The film score was released digitally by Sony Classical on September 3.

Marketing
As part of the film's marketing, Amazon Prime Video partnered with Mercedes-Benz in August 2021. On August 9, Japanese shoes brand Onitsuka Tiger announced the release of a limited edition sneakers created in collaboration with Cinderella. On August 11, hair brand John Frieda announced a collaboration with Cinderella.

Release
Cinderella was released in select theaters and digitally in 240 territories via Amazon Prime Video on September 3, 2021. It had a premiere event on August 30, 2021, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Samba TV reported that 1.1 million American households streamed the film over its first four days of release, while Amazon claimed it was the most-watched VOD title over the same frame.

In June 2019, Sony scheduled the film for release February 5, 2021. In January 2021, the release date was pushed back to July 16, 2021. In May 2021, Sony cancelled the film's theatrical debut and announced that the film had been bought by Amazon Studios except China, Sony would also retain home entertainment and linear television rights to the film.

Home media
Cinderella was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on June 21, 2022 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Audience viewership
According to Samba TV, the film was watched in 1.1 million U.S. households over its four-day Labor Day weekend debut and in 2.2 million households by the end of its first 30 days. According to the analytics company Screen Engine, Cinderella was the most-watched streaming film during its opening weekend, as well as the most-watched musical film yet in 2021.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 41% based on 135 reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "This singalong-worthy Cinderella sprinkles some modern fairy dust on the oft-told tale, but flat performances and clunky dialogue make watching often feel like a chore." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100 based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and praised Cabello for her performance, saying "she has a real knack for comedy" and described the film as having an "upbeat, breezy and sentimental style, laced with some sharp humor and filled with familiar and catchy pop tunes refashioned to fit the storyline." Jonathan Sim of ComingSoon.net wrote, "It's a progressively charming take on a romantic tale, and there are sweet, romantic moments throughout the film, even if there isn't much you haven't seen before."

Courtney Howard of Variety was critical of many of the creative choices, the inconsistent pacing, and the character development. She called the film a "mediocre musical" and felt it was both "underdeveloped and overstuffed" at the same time.