Created by Natalie Nigg
This piece was originally written in October 2021.
Cinderella (2021) was ridiculous in so many ways and that’s what made it great.
I’ve grown increasingly disheartened by the world around me lately and, just as I began to slip into a bout of depression, my partner makes me watch the new Cinderella movie and it would be an understatement to say I was impressed. Even in the midst of slightly over-produced music and random at times song selections, this movie is full of feel-good, feminist fun due in large part to the ways the female characters take center stage.
Hear me out.
Writer and director Kay Cannon set out to reimagine the Cinderella story and, in this movie, she uses this classic fairytale to call out the systems of oppression that keep women from true equality, even today. This movie is not about Cinderella. It was never meant to be a remake of the Cinderella story we all know. Rather, Cannon creates the Cinderella character that girls for decades have only imagined. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think past Cinderella characters were weak. The original Disney Cinderella, for instance, is a great example of how to not let your difficult circumstances make you cold and hard, and to trust that you can get yourself out of a terrible situation. But what Cannon brings to the table is a tale of a young girl with true vision and agency.
Cannon’s purposefully on-the-nose adaptation challenges the main themes of the Cinerella story, much like Ever After did in 1998, but with catchy pop songs and theatrical dance numbers. This is a movie about women taking up space, owning a seat at the table, making their voices heard and, more importantly, lifting each other up. No way is this more clear than how Ella empowers her stepmother to chase her dreams, despite having been treated poorly by her.
You’re Gonna Know Her Name
Before I get to that, I want to point out some notable differences in Cannon’s version of Cinderella. First, her name is Ella, not Cinderella, which Billy Porter’s Fab G character calls out as an unimaginative nickname. I believe this is an attempt to call attention to the fact that Cinderella is not really a name, nor is it a noble name worthy of the strong character we are supposed to believe she is. The name Cinderella, derived from the French name Cendrillon, means “little ashes.” In this sense, it’s not really a name so much as it is a description of the poor girl’s circumstance, being young or “little” and relegated to a dirty basement.
It’s not unusual for adaptations of Cinderella to change the name of our lead heroine. We have Ella from Ella Enchanted, Danielle from Ever After, and Sam from A Cinderella Story to name a few. There are many reasons creators might change the name of a popular character, either to modernize it to the time period of the film or to simply differentiate from the Cinderella story entirely. I think Cannon’s choice to emphasize this name change is a profoundly feminist decision. Remember, she set out to reimagine the Cinderella story we grew up with. She does this in how she changed the circumstances of Ella’s story, which I’ll get to in a moment, and by using the name Ella, which serves as a direct relation to the Cinderella character she represents. The reason this is a feminist choice is because for so long women in film have been used as objects for the male gaze so, by giving her a real name--a name that means something outside of the description of her circumstance--Cannon makes Ella a person, not an object. Billy’s cry at the end for the audience to “get it right” with respect to her name is really a cry to the audience that women are, you know, people--not objects.
Another deviation from the original story is Ella’s relationship with her stepmother and stepsisters. Cannon’s Cinderella removes abuse from the story entirely and, instead, sets us up a modern blended family situation, with Ella being more of a misunderstood stepsibling, rather than the family pariah or a degraded housemaid. In this version, Ella (sorta) gets along with her stepfamily. She not relegated to the basement, a plot point that is made clear when the stepsisters point out that Ella spends all her time in the basement and Malovia’s “starting to wonder if she doesn’t like [them].” Thus implying that Ella is in the basement by choice.
In Cannon’s Cinderella, Ella and her stepfamily just have different goals in life. The stepsisters follow their mother’s lead, preparing to be dutiful housewives which is basically the only respectable option for women at the time. In contrast, Ella embodies the modern #GirlBoss through her dreams of owning her own dressmaking business.
Now, I know some folx are arguing whether Ella is actually the strong feminist icon the creator intended because she wants to “make dresses” which is supposed to be a skill women of the time had and were expected to do already. First, a female character does not need to take part in something overtly masculine for her actions or choices to be considered feminist. She doesn’t need to become a blacksmith to prove her feminism. Second, the choice to make her a dressmaker is most likely a nod to the Disney original wherein Cinderella actually makes her own dress to wear at the ball. And finally, she doesn’t just want to make dresses. She wants to own her own shop for the purpose of making her own money and, thus, elevating herself and her family out of poverty. Women in this time period did not own businesses. Her goal is to own her own business. The fact that she wants to own a dressmaking business is irrelevant outside of the fact that it likely acknowledges the Disney character many of us are familiar with.
This brings me to another big deviation from the classic Cinderella story that Cannon makes. The Cinderella we all know is about a girl who marries a prince because it’s the only way to get herself out of an abusive household.
Cannon challenges this by giving Ella the dream of becoming self-sufficient and self-reliant by owning her own business. Again, the storyline of the abusive stepmother has been removed. So Ella doesn’t necessarily want to leave her house because she’s abused or mistreated, though her stepmother does get a little aggressive at times and her stepsisters clearly think they are better than her. Rather Ella dreams of simply making her own way and supporting herself and her family. In this way, Cannon follows in the footsteps of Ever After, which paints Cinderella (Danielle) as a woman who can save herself and doesn’t need a man to rescue her. Cannon’s adaptation takes this idea one step further and, in doing so, calls out the harsh reality that is marriage for many women, even today. We’ll get to that in a moment. The point I’m making here is that Cannon makes the true villain of the story the sexist system ruling their society, not Ella’s stepmother.
There are several more deviations from the classic story, but I want to end with Princess Gwen. This character is sorely underdeveloped, and I think that’s kind of the point. Princess Gwen embodies all the smart, talented women out there who continue to be silenced and shut down, despite having great ideas and being obviously better suited for leadership than their male counterparts. I found Cannon’s on-the-nose writing here perfect in the way that it highlights the struggles women face in being seen and heard in major conversations. Nowhere is this more blatant than in the scene where Princess Gwen knocks down the swords in a not-so-subtle attempt to remind the men in the room that she exists and, you know, is capable of running shit.
In this scene, King Rowan is arguing with his son Prince Robert and cries something about not having anyone to give the kingdom to if Prince Robert doesn’t get married and take the crown. This is when Princess Gwen, with a perfectly deadpan face, lifts a sword from the holder next to her and lets it just fall to the ground, resulting in a loud thud. She then asks the room of men now staring at her if her action was too subtle or not subtle enough. This is a direct call out to the ways in which women are challenged not on their ideas, but on the ways in which they bring about those ideas. If we’re too quiet, we're weak. If we’re too loud, we’re obnoxious and annoying. If we’re assertive, we’re bossy or bitchy. If we’re emotional, we must be PMSing. In this case, Princess Gwen is quite literally being both subtle, in that she didn’t directly say “Hello, I’m right here and I can run the kingdom” and not subtle enough because she drew attention to herself by making a terribly loud noise.
What really makes this moment poignant is that Princess Gwen calls out the ridiculous ways in which men question women for speaking up or taking up space before the men have the satisfaction of doing that for her. In this way, she’s saying I don’t care if I was subtle or not subtle enough. I’m still here and I’m still able to run shit.
Trying To Reach The Things We Can’t See
This movie is an homage to women everywhere who desire to define who they are and control their own lives. This is evident in every female character, from our lead heroine to the young drummer girl who just wants to express herself with music but keeps being shut down by the adults around her. Ella wants to support herself rather than marry to avoid poverty. Princess Gwen has ambitions to become leader of their kingdom. Queen Beatrice simply wants to be heard and seen as an equal partner in her marriage to the king. Evelyn wants her family to thrive and not be subjected to the same experiences she faced. Even the stepsisters, who seem to be fine with the idea of being married off to a man, still desire to find someone they are attracted to, not someone their mother chooses for them. Each of these women are facing the same internal struggle--they want to control their own lives. Side note: Women still face this struggle. Every day. It’s exhausting.
The song “Am I Wrong?” perfectly illustrates this struggle and I thought it was an excellent song choice. Not only does it provide visual representation of the ambitions of each character, it also helps us understand the importance of community support and recognition. Every one singing desires to do or be something that the societal system does not allow. All of them are reaching for things they can’t see. Even Prince Robert desires to marry for love and abandon the crown. So noble.
In a larger context, this moment in the movie also illustrates why this movie exists in the first place. This is a movie about women taking up space and becoming the things they can’t see without compromising themselves or their dreams. This is represented within every female character in this movie, and is meant to serve as a collective call out to the women watching who feel the same way.
Now let me stop you before you go on a rant about how women can be anything they want and whatever nonsense argument you want to make about equality in the 21st century. It’s bullshit. Sure women do have more autonomy and agency today compared to what they had back in the Cinderella Years. But it’s still not much and, more importantly, it is constantly and consistently challenged. Just take a look at what’s going on with abortion and women’s right to choose.
Women today are still undervalued, underrepresented, objectified and silenced. We still make less than men performing the same job (and women of color make even less than that). We don’t have the same access to healthcare as men. We make up about 51% of the population yet we get about 30% of lead roles in major films and those numbers are even lower for jobs behind the scenes. Only 40% of US businesses are owned by women. The list goes on.
My point is that this song is an acknowledgement to every woman and girl out there who is looking to be someone or do something they haven’t seen someone like them do before. Through this song, Cannon is literally saying to all the women watching that she sees you and your dreams and they are beautiful and valid. Keep going. (To Cannon: I will Kay. I will.)
The Wings Are Ornamental
By far the best song throughout the entire movie is Idina Menzel’s “Dream Girl.” This song makes a powerful statement about the realities women face and how limited our options can be. I see this song having multiple meanings both within the context of the film and as commentary about our societal norms.
On the one hand this song is a beautiful composition that illustrates the pain and rage these women hold about the limited options available to them and how they are forced to deal with the struggles they expressed in “Am I Wrong?”. The reality is that becoming wives and mothers are the only roles they are allowed to take in society. With the line “the world doesn’t need another Dream Girl,” Menzel is saying the world they live in doesn’t need another girl getting lost in frivolous dreams. She is attempting to protect her stepdaughter from her own heartache by telling her to bury her dreams, marry her way out of poverty, and carry that pain with her the rest of her life because that’s all you can do in this life.
On the other hand, this song in the movie is also call out to those who think the original Cinderella and subsequent adaptations met the mark with regard to presenting a strong feminist character. In my opinion, the line “the world doesn’t need another Dream Girl” is a nod to the original Disney character who dreamt of a better life. In this sense, Cannon reminds us that this is not our typical Cinderella story. The world doesn’t need another half-realized feminist character.
Which brings me to Ever After--arguably one of the most feminist adaptations of Cinderella. In case you aren’t familiar with Ever After, Drew Barrymore plays our heroine Danielle, who suffers horrendous abuse at the hands of her stepmother and one stepsister. She ends up saving herself from a predatory businessman who buys Danielle from her stepmother and marries Prince Henry, whom she fell in love with. What made this a feminist story is the fact that she didn’t need a prince to save her; she was perfectly capable of and succeeded in saving herself. She just happened to fall in love and married the prince anyway. Which is fine.
For the record, I love Ever After. I do, however, think it falls short when it comes to presenting a truly feminist character or storyline. The main reason being that Danielle marries the prince. I’m not saying she can’t marry for love. The problem I have with this tale is that we, the audience, are supposed to assume that when Danielle becomes princess, she suddenly has power she didn’t otherwise have. Which is just not true, despite this being a union of love, because she is working within the patriarchal structure of marriage.
Marriage has a long history in our society and marrying for love has only been normalized in recent decades. Before marrying for love became a thing, people married as a means of acquiring power. In this way, marriage was more of a business arrangement than a symbol of love. Also, marriage is a system that has, historically, benefited men more than women and, even today, men are more likely to want to get married than women.
Cannon brings attention to this several times throughout the movie. There’s the obvious call out to why Prince Robert should marry the Princess of Northphalia as a means of controlling multiple territories “all the way to the sea monster.” Then there is Queen Beatrice who, despite having married King Rowan for love initially, is clearly not seen as an equal in their marriage, often relegated to the background and left with nothing to do besides “brushing [her] hair until it all falls out.” Prince Robert also notes in the beginning of the movie that his mom (Queen Beatrice) came with horses and castles, thus illustrating how Rowan benefited from their marriage (as if being married to the amazingly talented Minnie Driver wasn’t enough. Come on, dude!) And finally, Ella says it perfectly when she denies Robert’s marriage proposal, if you can call it that, by stating “I don't want a life stuck waving from a royal box any more than a life confined to a basement.” Here, Ella is drawing attention to the fact that life in a royal box is not different from life in a basement. In other words, being married to Prince Robert does not offer her any more freedom or power than she already has.
This brings us back to Ever After. Right from the start, Danielle is rebellious, socially conscious, and just an all around great person. She stands up for others. She’s kind. She’s all the things you’d want in a heroine and what you’d expect in a character based on Cinderella. Very similar to our 2021 Ella. The difference here being that Ella refuses to be confined by the system that oppresses her in the first place.
When Danielle in Ever After marries Prince Henry, we are to assume that she now has power. Afterall, she became a princess and defeated her evil stepmother and stepsister. But let’s take a look at that, shall we? During the scene where Danielle confronts her stepmother and stepsister, she gives a great speech about how they will never forget her because she’s ascended to the places they had only dreamed of. Then, Danielle asks the King to show her stepfamily the same kindness they showed to her. Danielle doesn’t actually do anything here. She doesn’t hold any real power. So while she didn’t need a prince to save her, Danielle is still working within the systems that keep her down. She still relies on a man (the king) to bring about justice (punishment to her stepfamily) for her. She simply moved from a basement to a royal box.
Further, by becoming princess, are we meant to assume that Danielle was going to quiet down and become the obedient wife of a prince or are we to assume that the prince (as well as the king) we’re going to allow her to continue to be the vocal, socially conscious woman she is? The latter is highly unlikely because Danielle is still working within the sexist system that made it acceptable for her to be cast into the role of servant following her father’s death. The system didn’t change, only her status did.
I mentioned earlier that, in Cinderella 2021, Cannon illustrates the villain in this story is not any one person, but instead are the systems that keep our characters locked in the boxes that society deems appropriate for them. By refusing to marry Prince Robert, Ella is refusing to accept and participate within the systems that keep her from achieving her goals. In this way, Cannon is bringing attention to the fact that marrying for love is no longer good enough. It’s time women be allowed to go after their dreams without compromising, without needing to stroke the male ego by marrying the guy at the end. Doing so only shifts this movie away from a feminist storyline and into a typical Hollywood storyline where the guy gets the girl in the end. Nah, we’re over that one.
Cannon calls this out in the song Dream Girl, as well as directly within the character dialogue as I illustrated earlier. In the song, the line “the wings are ornamental, they have no intention of letting you fly” could be seen as a direct shout out to Danielle’s ball gown in Ever After. In that movie, wearing wings was supposed to symbolize transformation, from a degraded house servant living in a basement to someone of nobility and stature. In this sense, the wings are purely decorative. They won’t actually let you fly just as they, the system, won’t give you, a woman, any real power, even from a royal box. Thinking about the ways in which Danielle marries into the royal family, this lyric takes that argument one step further by implying that they (the royal family Danielle is now part of) have no intention of letting her fly, meaning she has no real freedom.
There’s a theory about this in media studies called “embedded feminism, enlightened sexism.” This theory argues that media narratives that show women in empowered roles traditionally taken up by men, for example a police officer or politician, are presenting a kind of embedded feminism into the story. As we see more and more female characters in traditionally male dominated roles, there’s a generalized sense of equality. Seeing this over and over again implies that we, as a society, have achieved gender equality.
The reality is that this embedded feminism is often a cover for what’s called “enlightened sexism.” In other words, the women we see in these roles often don’t hold the same power as men do in similar roles. A great example of this can be seen in the 2015 movie, Jurassic World. When the movie first came out, many were excited that the park director character was a woman. On the surface, this looks like a great feminist choice--a woman leading the entire park. How many women lead large organizations? Not many, so this is, you know, a big deal.
However, this feminist narrative takes a nosedive into enlightened sexism right from the start. Despite trying to make running through a jungle in heels in any way feminist, the character of Clarie Dearing is undermined at every turn. Every time Dearing gives an order, that order is challenged. This is done both directly by other characters deliberately disobeying her and figuratively in how, when actually followed, her orders cause more damage that our male lead then has to undo. This leads audiences to wonder how this woman would’ve been elevated to park director in the first place. The reality being that she wouldn’t have, the producers just wanted to imply that this was a feminist movie by putting a woman in that role.
That’s just one, fairly basic, example of embedded feminism, enlightened sexism. And that’s what I think Cannon was fighting against in Cinderella. Rather than have Ella compromise her dreams to participate in a flawed, sexist system for the sake of marrying for love and becoming royalty, Cannon gives Ella true agency by letting her stay true to her dreams and refuse the prince’s proposal.
The song continues with “don’t be sentimental, some legends were born in the wrong time.” This feels to me, again, like a direct call out to the Danielle character. While Drew Barrymore’s performance of Danielle is feminist in some ways that are unique to the movie Ever After, Barrymore is still working within the oppressive structure of the time period the movie was made in. With this line, Menzel reminds us that we can still love Ever After and the character of Danielle for what they did for us back in 1998. Drew Barrymore is still an icon and, in her own right, a legend. But we are in a different time now and that storyline just wouldn’t cut it.
It’s Time to Get Loud
I’ve seen quite a few reviews asking why this movie exists. Some reviewers add that this movie does nothing to advance the Cinderella story and is forgettable. These reviews, I feel, miss the point entirely. This story was never meant to add to the Cinderella story. This movie was meant to flip that story on its head and give women a real feminist Cinderella character. This movie was created to give a voice to those who feel voiceless and to simply let women be seen in new ways on the screen.
When watching a movie like this, it’s easy to go in with certain expectations. I was not excited when I first sat down to watch this movie. The trailer did not grab me. It looked like an over-the-top theoretical remake of the traditional Cinderella. And I was half expecting them to rely on Billy Porter’s Fab G character to make the movie seem more progressive. I was glad to see he was not used in this way. Instead, Cannon presents a fairly simple story--girl has dreams, society doesn’t want her to realize those dreams, girl overcomes a sexist system and realizes her dreams anyway. And that was the point. The on-the-nose jokes and over-the-top theatrics were intentionally used to remind us that this was not our normal Cinderella story.
This was a story for and about women and should serve as a reminder that we are powerful and strong in our own right. What I appreciated so much about this movie is that it didn’t pit Ella and her stepfamily against each other. It would’ve been so easy to do--to place the stepmother in the role of villain from the start and allow Ella to punish her in the end. Instead, this story gave Evelyn a well deserved backstory, something akin to the way movies like Maleficent allow us to see how that character became so evil, and allows Ella to empower rather than punish her. I don’t see this as “forgiving the abuser” because abuse wasn’t part of this retelling of Cinderella. Ella simply gave Evelyn permission to be herself, something that her stepmother should have given her but was unable to because she was still working within the oppressive system. This was a strategic choice made by Cannon. Just as Ella refuses to give in to the sexist system she was fighting throughout the film, Cannon refuses to give into that system as well by not allowing the lead women in this film to tear each other down.
Overall, this movie was ridiculous and refreshing. It was an opportunity for women and girls to finally see a heroine’s journey that didn’t end in the death of a loved one or marriage. Ella didn’t have to compromise her dreams for the sake of a man. Cannon’s work elevated the classic story in a way that honors it as much as it challenges it. This movie is an excellent example of how we can reframe the narratives we grew up with and rewrite them in a way that empowers audiences by giving agency to the characters. Finally, in a time where women are still fighting to be seen and heard, this movie is a cheesy reminder that we are allowed to be unapologetically loud about how we live our lives.