Cinderella (2021)

Starring: Camilla Cabello, Minnie Driver, Idina Menzel, James Corden

Director: Kay Cannon

Rating: PG for suggestive material and language

 

Have We Been Here Before?

I haven’t worked on my Cinderella reviews in awhile.  In fact, I set them aside long enough for someone (specifically Amazon) to make another movie.  Oh joy.

I debated for several days before watching this movie.  I had seen the previews and was neither impressed nor terribly excited.  However, I smelled a good review and I was right (as always.)  🙂

Let Me Sum Up

Same old story is happening here . . . for the most part, kind of.  The prince is different, Cinderella is different, the fairy godmother is different, the king and queen are different . . . in fact, we could just say every character has a different feel about them than in past movies.

However, the plot follows the basic line of the original, with only a few tweaks.  These tweaks appear minor, but they speak volumes about where our culture is right now.

Girl-Power is the Word

Let’s just jump right into troublesome content.  There is some kissing (nothing heinous), a few suggestive comments (specifically about the job a woman is to do in bearing children), and one very gay fairy godfather.  Yes, I say fairy godfather because that is who he is!  While this character goes by the title of “Fabulous Fairy Godmother”, it is obvious that “she” is a male.  Big deal?  Actually yes, it is.

While the fairy godfather has a relatively minor part and is not seen much on screen, the fact that they pulled in a male actor serves as a reminder that we live in a sinful, worldly, selfish, politically-correct culture.  As Believers, we can’t support this kind of material.

On top of this, the movie has a feminist undertone.  I will admit, it was not as bad as I originally assumed it would be.  However, SPOILER ALERT: the fact that Cinderella actually runs away from the prince to be her own person and pursue her own dreams speaks volumes.  Do I believe that women shouldn’t be able to run their own businesses and live life in the way they believe God has called them to?  No, not at all.  I’m a single woman in the working field who lives alone.  I make all my own decisions and do my best to follow the Lord’s path for me.

What is Camila Cabello’s Cinderella doing wrong then?  Following the usual plot line, Cinderella quickly wins the prince’s heart.  He genuinely loves her, and asks her to marry him.  She refuses.  Sounds simple, right?  You don’t have to marry every prince who proposes to you.  But Cinderella tells him she cannot be with him because she must choose her heart, and her heart wants to have a fashion business.  And the prince responds with a gem of a question that makes us really think about the truth in this situation, “What about my heart?”

Disney has entertained us for years with the phrase “Follow your heart!”  But what do you do when your heart is leading you in a direction that’s going to hurt the heart of another?  If we follow Cinderella’s lead here, we leave the prince to his broken heart and go buy some more fabric.  However, as Believers, we are called not to take on the heart of another person in the first place without having specific intentions toward that person.  Playing with another man’s heart is a dangerous game.  Unfortunately, this Cinderella gets exactly what she wants without any apparent consequences.

One other problem I had was the femininity displayed in a few of the male characters.  Sure, this is the social norm now, but that doesn’t mean it is right or acceptable.  The key to remember here with all these “issues” is that what we see and watch ALWAYS affects us, whether visible or not.

To Watch or Not to Watch

I can tell you that this was not quite as bad of a movie as I thought it would be.  However, it was not good enough to be re-watchable.  Which means . . . I don’t think you need to watch it! 🙂

As I watched this movie, I considered all the little girls who will be watching this is the future, excited for yet another princess story.  But if they grow up considering this Cinderella as a role model, we will have a generation of girls who keep a guy around – not to marry, mind you – but to keep them emotionally happy and excited.  Prince charming in this tale merely existed to make Cinderella feel good, pretty, and noticed.  He served no other purpose to her.  How can we put this before our little girls, and expect them to still become kind, generous, caring, thoughtful, Christian women one day?

While this princess tale was a flop, there are many other out there that are actually worth the time to watch!  Check out Cinderella (2015) or Shirley Temple’s The Little Princess.

Until the next fairytale! 🙂