[ID: a chest up drawing of princess haley from the moonrockers smiling. the background is a purple gradient with a shooting star. text above her head says "i love you to the moonrocks and back!" text beside her head says "too:" and "from:" /end ID]
I genuinely believe the live action Cinderella is not only the best live action Disney has made but also it's one of the best films of the last 20 years period!
Gif credit: @omniavincitamor
Now there's many reasons for this but on my latest rewatch I was struck by how perfectly it balances between being a children's movie for little girls to watch at their pajama parties with friends and being the kind of movie like Pride and Prejudice that grown women sit together and drink wine while they watch and swoon over the hero and the dresses and cry at the emotional parts.
It is simultaneously a film any adult can appreciate while still capturing all of that wholesome childhood joy and Innocence. And Ella perfectly captured those two things too. She keeps her child's heart that believes in goodness and magic but also she's growing up. Lily played the part perfectly, all those little moments where she's kinda astonished by her proximity to the prince and what that's making her feel. She calls herself "just a girl" but she's also feeling woman feelings and her portrayal of growing up is really beautiful because it doesn't make it seem like a bad thing. So much media makes the end of childhood seem sad but Ella brings the best of childhood with her into her unfolding adulthood as we watch her grow up.
Also the foley artists/sound editing also did a MAGNIFICENT job with the sound effects. Because while they could have just had the sweeping score for the waltz with none of the ambient sound, instead you get all those swishes of the skirt and caught breaths which adds so much texture and intimacy to the dance. Like the sexual tension between Ella and Kit is at 11 in all the scenes at the ball and afterwards (Richard's blue eyes doing 80% of the work there) but it's still innocent. This isn't a children's film trying to "get away" with mature themes. It's the kind of film you could use to explain adult feelings to children coming up on puberty in a way that wouldn't make them feel shameful or dirty. It's Wholesome Sexual Tension. Which is something there is far too little of in modern cinema.
It's both a film for grown ups and a film for children and it didn't cut corners to accomplish both. It's equally both and they didn't kiddie-ify the adult parts like the abuse or the grown-up feelings Ella and Kit have for each other but nor did they try to make it an adult themed film. It is still a princess movie but it's one for grown ups as much or more than it is for little girls and that's beautiful. I for one find it deeply healing for my inner child and my adult self and I feel I'm not the only one.
Also the costuming is immaculate even on background characters with no speaking roles. Literally could not get better costumes. I could talk about this movie forever but I'll stop now and probably make more posts about it in future
i’m making a list of women in fictional media that are hated by a significant portion of their fan bases because they’re complicated, or deeply flawed, or morally grey, or angry when that is inherently connected to the thematic integrity of the story
so far i have:
Diane from Bojack Horseman
Princess Carolyn from Bojack Horseman
JJ from Criminal Minds
Elle from Criminal Minds
Jordan from Criminal Minds
Ashley from Criminal Minds
Haley from Criminal Minds*
Martha from Dr. Who*
Gwen from Torchwood*
Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time
Lapis from Steven Universe
Jessica from Jessica Jones
Mary from Sherlock*
Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender
Allison (Cameron) from House*
*shout out if they're also hated because they "got in the way" of a fan-favorite (usually mlm) ship and/or had feelings for the leading man that were not reciprocated
anyways lmk if you have others. idk i wanna collect them all and take care of them or something