Camila Cabello is set to make her acting debut playing everyone’s favorite princess this weekend. Released on September 3 on Amazon Video, the singer of Romance plays in the umpteenth version of Cinderella; yet another film aimed at giving the classic fairy tale an updated narrative. But how many times are we going to revisit Cinderella’s story before she gets old?
The fairy tale itself dates back to at least the 17th century, and it has come to life on film countless times over the years. Several silent films from the beginning of the 20th century are devoted to Cinderella. Some versions are even older.
Arguably the most renowned film version is Disney’s animated Cinderella, which cemented the princess’s status as a household name when it was released in 1950. This tale popularized several features such as Cinderella’s animated animal friends and the introduction of now classic songs.
These features have been revisited in more recent movies, of which there have been many. For example, R&B icon Brandy played Cinderella alongside Whitney Houston’s fairy godmother in Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Released in 1997, the film also gave the fairy tale a musical twist and was a certified success.
It wasn’t the end of Cinderella, however. Far from it, in fact. A year later, Drew Barrymore starred in Ever After. Entertainment Weekly rated this dramatic version, packed with richly decorated characters and costumes, as the best Cinderella story of all time.
The hardworking princess had a big year in 2004. Anne Hathaway and Hilary Duff both referenced the character in their films, Ella Enchanted and A Cinderella Story respectively. The first was a traditional fairy tale with Hathaway playing Ella de Frell, who repeatedly resembles Cinderella although they take slightly different paths. (Oh yeah, there were musical moments too.) The latter co-starred with Chad Michael Murray as the archetype of the totally dreamy teenage Prince Charming and got close to the classic fairy tale. Of course, there was one striking difference: it takes place in a modern high school.
There’s also another Selena Gomez Cinderella story, which came close to Duff’s take on the story, and spawned a franchise that saw Lucy Hale, Sofia Carson, and Bailee Madison play a version. modified and modernized princess.
Disney put their hand in the pot with a live-action version of Cinderella in 2015. This one took a step back from their animated classic in an attempt to bring the beloved princess to life, with Lily James in the main role. As for the live-action Disney remakes, this has been a general success and deserves a watch.
Cinderella even arrived on SNL: Kristin Wiig played a drunken version of the princess in one parody, and Nick Jonas faced Prince Charming in another.
So, what gives? Why have we seen so many stories from the classic fairy tale?
It’s hard to say exactly why Cinderella has become such a popular princess. It is possible that his story is one that simply speaks to the masses. Or maybe it’s just easier to bring it to life than other stories like Beauty and the Beast or The Princess and the Frog, both of which require more CGI or costume work in a live-action narrative. .
While Cabello’s version of Cinderella is hopefully better than the promotional flash mob that she and her co-stars James Corden, Billy Porter and Idina Menzel managed to promote earlier this week, that will hopefully mean too. – the end of the Cinderella stories. At least for a while …
Instead, we’re here for fun tales from other fairy tales. Is anyone up for a Shrek live action cutscene for example, or is it just us?
