Cinderella is the latest fairy story to get the live action treatment as Disney and director Kenneth Branagh team up to put their spin on this well known and much loved tale.
Lily James will take on the title role, while Richard Madden and Cate Blanchett are also on board as the prince and the wicked stepmother. The beginning of 2015 is packed with movies that boast terrific ensemble casts, and Cinderella is just one to watch out for.
James, Madden and Blanchett are not the only star names on board as Helena Bonham Carter, Hayley Atwell, Stellan Skarsgard, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, and Nonso Anozie are also on board.
Walt Disney Pictures has released the first full length trailer for Cinderella, and it really is promising to be a magical ride:
We haven't seen Branagh in the director's chair since the success of Jack Ryan at the beginning of the year, but this is the first time that he has tackled the fairy story, while Aline Brosh Mckenna and Chris Weitz have teamed up to pen the screenplay.
The story of "Cinderella" follows the fortunes of young Ella (James) whose merchant father remarries following the death of her mother. Eager to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother (Blanchett) and her daughters Anastasia (Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera) 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 (Madden).
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 (Carter) steps forward and - armed with a pumpkin and a few mice - changes Cinderella's life forever.
We have been treated to some fantastic live action versions of classic fairytales - Snow White and the Huntsman and Maleficent being two of the most successful in recent years - and Cinderella is promising to be one that is not to be missed at the beginning of next year if you are a fan of this genre.
Cinderella is released 27th March 2015.
Tagged in Cinderella