Viewers of all ages can now sit in their private entertainment room and appreciate the charming live-action version of Cinderella (Walt Disney Home Entertainment, rated PG, $36.99), now available in the Blu-ray format.
Adapting Disney’s animated classic, director Kenneth Branagh offers an uplifting movie about courage, kindness and never losing hope.
Ella (Cinder-Ella, played by Lily James), a girl who loses both parents but gains a wicked stepmother and two obnoxious stepsisters, is in desperate need of a fairy godmother to reconnect with her mysterious Kit Charming.
Actress Cate Blanchett chews up the scenery as the sadistic but impeccably dressed oppressor of Cinderella while Helena Bonham Carter makes the most of limited screen time as Ella’s flighty protector, co-starring with a color-changing, high-tech gown no less.
The high-definition transfer delivers some stunning detail focused on Academy Award-winning Sandy Powell’s costume designs as well as the fairytale landscapes captured by cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos.
The transformation of a pumpkin, mice, goose and a few lizards into a carriage and team of helpers to get Cinderella to the ball is bippity boppity boo beautiful.
Extras are light compared to this formidable adaptation, which offers about 25 minutes on the production’s ballroom sequence, Cinderella’s origins, working with animals and an alternate opening offering more background on Ella as a child.
Also, families can start the evening watching the 7-minute, cartoon short “Frozen Fever,” starring the voices and characters from the 2013 Disney computer-animated blockbuster. “Frozen Fever” accompanied the theatrical release of the movie.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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