Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo! An exclusive interview with writer/director KAY CANNON who waves her own magic wand to bring us the newest, and one of the best, iterations of CINDERELLA on the big or small screen.
Ever since Charles Perrault penned Cendrillon in 1697, generations have fallen in love with what began as the true story of Cinderella; a story – her story – as told by Cendrillon to her firstborn son, Prince William, of how she was able to go to a ball, meet the Prince, fall in love, and live happily ever after. Perrault’s retelling was the first European printing of the tale originally written by Giambattista Basile and while Perrault added the fairy godmother, the pumpkin carriage, and the infamous glass slippers, what was never changed was that Cinderella’s mother died when Cinderella was very young, leaving her father to remarry a woman with two daughters. On the passing of Cinderella’s father, Cinderella was tormented by her stepmother and stepsisters. And yes, Cendrillon allegedly got her name from the fact she slept by the hearth and was always covered in cinders from the fire.
Since that time, there have been approximately 500 incarnations of CINDERELLA, be it on the big screen, small screen, with original stories, sequels, and in books with one of the most famous versions being that by the Brothers Grimm. The first time we met Cinderella on film was in an 1899 French short film by Georges Meiles. The first feature-length cinematic telling of the tale was in a 1911 silent film starring Florence La Badie. But then, Walt Disney stepped in and introduced an animated Cinderella by way of a 7-minute Laugh-O-Gram in 1922. He followed that up with what has become the iconic and most famous telling of the classic tale in Disney’s 1950 animated Cinderella.
Since that time, the hallmark of Cinderella has been the dream for generations of little girls to find a prince, marry, and live happily ever after. One of the first versions to truly step away from that “dream”, however, was Andy Tenant’s “Ever After: A Cinderella Story” which found a very independent Ella able to capably defend herself in a swordfight, befriend Leonardo Da Vinci, and use ingenuity to get through her difficult days with a grueling stepmother deliciously played by Anjelica Huston. But even Rodgers & Hammerstein gave us a glimpse of a dream far greater than marriage for the young maiden in their 1965 made-for-television adaptation starring Lesley Ann Warren and Stuart Damon courtesy of one of the showpiece musical numbers, “In My Own Little Corner” which found Cinderella dreaming and knowing that she could “be whatever I want to be”, be it a huntress on an African safari, a thief in Calcutta, or even a Queen in Peru. It was a dream of determining her own destiny.
And now KAY CANNON delivers a musical CINDERELLA for the 21st Century; a Cinderella who not only dreams of determining her own destiny but is working towards it, fighting for it, and standing her own ground; and if a charming prince happens to come along with true love, that’s a bonus, as long as he doesn’t get in the way of Cinderella’s goals. This is “Girl Power” at its best! In that way, Camila Cabello’s character here is very similar to that of Drew Barrymore in “Ever After”.
In KAY CANNON’s version of CINDERELLA, gone is the pumpkin carriage, but we do have Billy Porter as Fairy G, looking resplendent in pumpkin orange spandex, satin, and Swarovski. Porter is di-vine! Our beloved little mice are still here (one cheekily played by James Corden), as is the still-wicked stepmother thanks to Idina Menzel and two somewhat clueless stepsisters. And of course, there’s the requisite ball and those glass slippers. (Unfortunately, the slippers here don’t appear to be as comfy as those whipped up by Helena Bonham Carter’s Fairy Godmother in Disney’s live-action 2015 version.) Joining Cabello as Cinderella is a perfect casting of Nicholas Galitzine as the Prince. Probably best known for his role in Michael Damian’s singing and dancing “High Strung”, Galitzine brings a wonderful balance of a spoiled yet disgruntled teen/20-something wanting to do what he wants and not what his father the King wants. Of course, with Cannon’s vision, Prince Robert finds his own voice through Cinderella’s strength and determination. Speaking of the King, who better than Pierce Brosnan with Minnie Driver by his side as a Queen who gives the best snarky side-eye on the planet. There has been no more royal a couple in the history of the Cinderella fable than Brosnan and Driver, save for Walter Pigeon and Ginger Rogers in 1965.
We know KAY CANNON excels at blending storytelling with music and does so again here with pitch perfect Top 40 needledrops which are arranged as full-blown musical numbers within the film, e.g. “Material Girl”, “Whatta Man”, “Somebody to Love”, “Rhythm Nation”, “Shining Star”, “Dreamgirl”, “Let’s Get Loud”. Jessica Weiss and Mychael Danna then tie it all together musically with excellent scoring. Leaving no stone unturned, look for costume designer Ellen Mirojnick’s name to be called out often during awards season with production designer Paul Kirby hot on her heels. Visual metaphor abounds and Cannon makes sure to pepper lots of visual nods to other fairy tale classics throughout the film as wonderful little Easter Eggs. The entire package is beautifully lensed by Henry Braham who knows how to not only convey emotion through light and lens, but lens musical numbers and choreography. Make sure to watch out for some beautiful montages as well as a stunning 360-degree ballroom number between Cinderella and Prince Robert.
I spoke with KAY CANNON at length about CINDERELLA and what she whipped up with her magic wand. And there’s no denying the enthusiasm and exuberance in her voice is exactly what she brought to and captured in CINDERELLA. Some of the topics we discussed include:
- creating a Cinderella for today’s girls and how the project made its way to Cannon
- casting
- vocal considerations with actors and musical numbers
- music licensing, song selections suited to story
- Henry Braham’s cinematography and use of natural light
- importance and use of color and saturation
- lessons learned as a director and storyteller in tackling this musical
- Covid considerations and how she almost didn’t finish the film
- and more. . .
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview August 29, 2021
CINDERELLA is available now in select theatres and on Amazon Prime!
