First Full-Length Trailer for Disney’s Live Action ‘Cinderella’ is What You’d Expect (131 Screenshots)

Way back in May, we were teased with a pair of glass slippers for Walt Disney‘s upcoming live action Cinderella. Starring Lily James as Ella, the first full-length trailer will be a delight for Mouse fans everywhere. So much in fact that they won’t have to see the movie because the entire story is laid out in the trailer. Check it out after the jump.

These days, live action Disney movies love two things: Helena Bonham Carter and girls frolicking through fields. The Kenneth Branagh (Thor; Hamlet) adaptation of the classic Disney animated film, adapted from a Brothers Grimm tale, looks pretty solid. From the production design to the costumes to the casting choices, everything looks to be in order. For once, though, I wish the marketing team would hold something back.

One thing to note is that they have renamed the character Ella and is given the nickname Cinderella by her stepsisters Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera). There is also some back story with Ella’s mom that is not from the original animated film. From this it would seem that they are trying to give the character purpose, and I can get behind that.

Cate Blanchett as the Stepmother is a perfect choice. I haven’t seen Lily James in anything other than Wrath of the Titans, and her role was so forgettable I can’t remember how she did. But she seems well fit in the title role. Good thing Anna Kendrick will be portraying the role first in Into the Woods, although I think James resembles the character a little more.

I can’t really dig on it for knowing the story, but it seems to have nailed down all the basic plot. Maybe it seems too safe because we’ve been inundated with so many superhero movies that it just feels so low key. And maybe that’s a good thing. Perhaps an old fashioned romantic fantasy film is what we need.

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Although I’m sure most know the story of Cinderella, Disney has provided one helluva long plot synopsis:

The story of “Cinderella” follows the fortunes of young Ella whose merchant father remarries following the death of her mother. Eager to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother and her daughters Anastasia and Drisella into the family home. But, when Ella’s father unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself at the mercy of a jealous and cruel new family. Finally relegated to nothing more than a servant girl covered in ashes, and spitefully renamed Cinderella, Ella could easily begin to lose hope. Yet, despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, Ella is determined to honor her mother’s dying words and to “have courage and be kind.” She will not give in to despair nor despise those who mistreat her. And then there is the dashing stranger she meets in the woods. Unaware that he is really a prince, not merely an apprentice at the Palace, Ella finally feels she has met a kindred soul. It appears her fortunes may be about to change when the Palace sends out an open invitation for all maidens to attend a ball, raising Ella’s hopes of once again encountering the charming Kit. Alas, her stepmother forbids her to attend and callously rips apart her dress. But, as in all good fairy tales, help is at hand, and a kindly beggar woman steps forward and, armed with a pumpkin and a few mice, changes Cinderella’s life forever.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, Cinderella stars Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, and Helena Bonham Carter.