Cinderella is the latest Disney movie to be given a live action remake, and is one of the March movies that I really cannot wait to see.
Cinderella
Not only is Cinderella great story, but the film will see Kenneth Branagh back in the director's chair, and boasts and all-star and super talented cast list.
Lily James is best known for her role as Lady Rose MacClare in Downton Abbey, and she will take on the title character in what will be the biggest role of her film career to date.
We have seen James in the likes of Fast Girls and Wrath of the Titans, but Cinderella looks set to send her star rocketing even further.
And you can see James in this brand new TV spot for the film:
James leads a terrific cast as Richard Madden, Cate Blanchett, and Helen Bonham Carter are on board as Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, and Fairy Godmother. While Hayley Atwell, Holliday Graigner, Stellan Skarsgård, Nonso Anozie, and Derek Jacobi are all also on board.
Cinderella follows the fortunes of young Ella whose merchant father remarries following the tragic death of her mother. Keen to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother Lady Tremaine and her daughters Anastasia and Drisella into the family home. But, when Ella's father suddenly and 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 honour her mother's dying words and to "have courage and be kind." She will not give in to despair nor despise those who abuse her.
And then there is the dashing stranger she meets in the woods. Unaware that he is really a prince, not merely an employee at the Palace, Ella finally feels she has met a kindred soul. It appears as if 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 as a kindly beggar woman steps forward and, armed with a pumpkin and a few mice, changes Cinderella's life forever.