I’ve reviewed more Cinderella movies than any other archetype. This one managed to make it modern and Christmassy without losing the heart of the story.
The major deviations in this were mostly losing the whole secret identity and shoe thing. I like when the prince meets Cinderella before the ball.
Score: 0.5
Characters
I have never had so much cringe or secondhand embarrassment from the step sisters. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing though.
The protagonists were loveable and cute. There was some good flirting and the best friend was amazing.
My credulity was strained when the “king” character was a super nice billionaire.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
This had all the cheese needed and a lot of decent flirting. The wordplay was pretty good.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
The choreography was fun and the camera work was clean. Everything screamed Christmas.
The music was nice. I was impressed by the catchyness of the songs.
Score: 1
Fun
This was fun. The family seems to have a fondness for Cinderellas. We all enjoyed it and other than the sisters, it wasn’t awkward or angsty.
Score: 1
Overall
If you enjoy modern takes on Cinderella and like Christmas romances, this is a cheesy no brainer. Lots of fun and good music.
Today we’re talking about the 2022 film Sneakerella.
Story
This was a modern take on Cinderella and had a lot of throwbacks to the Disney Cinderella. The story was pretty standard, but included a nice, if awkward, Aladdin twist.
Score: 0.5
Characters
The two mains had a lot of chemistry and the rest of the cast was great. The acting was top notch, I particularly liked his best friend and fairy god-father.
I am a little peeved at the lack of development dedicated to the step-father. He didn’t earn his happy ending by being anything but obtuse. He was still a jerk, just not too big a jerk.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
The dialogue was excellent. It felt authentic to my ear and was quite witty. I liked the puns and plays on classic Disney.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The locations and cinematography were stunning. The dance numbers were cool and everything about it was beautifully colourful.
The music was solid. I won’t be humming the songs, but they were well done.
Score: 1
Fun
Maybe it was knowing how it ends or just not liking the angst, but the second half dragged a little for me. My 3yo was bored when there wasn’t any music and everyone else liked it okay.
Score: 0.5
Overall
A fun re-interpretation of Cinderella with great Disney Easter eggs and enjoyable songs. The movie doesn’t add much to the tried and true story, but doesn’t really need to.
Today we’re talking about the 2021 film Cinderella.
Story
The story is pretty standard. I liked the additional backstory on the evil step-mother and the addition of a dream for Ella.
That being said, it was very surface level and didn’t add much to the original.
Score: 0.5
Characters
The characters were fun, but not deep. It was a playful movie with witty banter. I liked that they joked about Pierce Brosnan’s singing.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
The best way to describe the dialogue is mildly witty. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. There’s no double meanings or witty back and forths.
Score: 0.5
Music and Visuals
Nearly everything in the movie was anachronistic and it works to bring a sense of whimsy to the film. From the Baritone Sax to the impressive range of styles. It’s all in fun.
I truly appreciated the use of colour after so many colourless period films of late.
The music wasn’t Moulin Rouge level, but was a lot of fun. The duet dance to Ed Sheeran’s Perfect lived up to its name.
Score: 1
Fun
It had a good beat in both the music and the pacing. Little to no awkward moments and the actors could sing. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. We had the main song stuck in our heads for the rest of the night.
Score: 1
Overall
Cinderella is a story that’s been told so often that it’s no longer a story as much as an archetype. This movie doesn’t add anything original to the story, but instead re-mixes it with fun music. It’s fun and will have you tapping your foot.
Interesting, if overdone, idea of using time travel and magic to alter what originally happened in the first movie. It’s endearing for nostalgia and because the prince, still unnamed, is the nicest person alive.
Score: 0
Characters
The characters are all played by different actors than the original and they do a wonderful job. The king gets a little more character development, as do the stepsisters.
The prince again is absolutely the nicest person and really rolls with the ridiculousness of the plot.
Score: 1
Dialogue
Some of the dialogue is quite clever and some was intentionally funny. Overall, it wasn’t great.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
The art was pretty, especially when it borrowed from the original, but not the best quality for Disney. They definitely took some shortcuts and it shows that this was straight to video release.
The music is pretty good and really takes inspiration from the original.
Score: 0.5
Fun
The first time I saw the movie I liked it, the second it was okay. It doesn’t have the narrative or humour levels that many Disney movies have that make it re-watchable. It’s better than the second one, but no where near the original.
All that said, it is watchable.
Score: 0.5
Overall
This is a cute straight to video Disney sequel that is fun to watch but utterly forgettable.
Today we’re talking about the 1998 film Ever After.
Story
An interesting twist on the Cinderella story that concentrates more on the meeting and courting before the ball of the lovers. It makes the love story feel slightly more real.
One of the few “realistic” takes on a classic fairy-tale that manages to work.
Score: 1
Characters
The evil stepmother was evil, the prince was handsome, and the Cinderella was spunky and kicked ass. I like that one of the stepsisters was nice.
I’m not super comfortable with the portrayal of the Romani in the movie. Showing them as brigands and thieves with a sense of honour and humour is very cliché and borders on racist.
I adore Da Vinci as an artist, inventor, and plot device but it made me sad that they had to remove a positive female role from the story to have him in there. Couldn’t they have made Gustave’s patron a famous female artist?
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
This is a movie with a lot of dialogue and a lot of subtext. It might be a Cinderella story but it takes a lot from modern romantic comedy banter and Much Ado About Nothing.
I’m not sure how quotable it is, but listening to the banter and dialogue is like listening to a good musical piece.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
This movie includes some beautiful locations and clothing. It was beautifully shot but everything was marred by a weird blue-green filter. It darkened the movie and made everything look wrong rather than stylish.
The music was lovely and unobtrusive but nothing special.
Score: 0.5
Fun
Watching a movie this long with a three year old and a fourteen month old isn’t very conducive to fun. The three year old liked the colours and movement but lost interest in the long conversations that were the heart of the movie.
Despite that, I enjoyed myself and look forward to watching it with them when they’re older.
Score: 1
Overall
The movie manages to strike the perfect balance between love story, fairy tale, and alternate history. It’s romantic and lovely without much to cringe at.
Week 2 was even better than the first. Dragon tried very hard in her virtual class through the school, and raised her hand several times to talk to the teachers – she even said some words in French. She worked hard on printing words with the letter ‘i’ (poussin, maison, voici, and poulailler (chicken coop – why she insisted on trying to spell that word rather than ‘ici’ is beyond me)) and on understanding how to break down numbers into their smallest components (4 into 1&3 and 2&2) and understanding the French names for the numbers. There were still technical problems, but not on our end, thankfully. I’m incredibly impressed by the patience and kindness of the teachers.
The part of the week taught by me went fairly well. There were a couple of hiccups with the paper doll project… well. You’ll see in the comments.
Dance
Ballet was fun and she got her first Martial Arts this week.
Good toes
Music
We listened to a bunch of French music. Coeur de Pirate was the favourite and I foresee using this CD often.
Crochet
We managed to get a few more stitches in.
Basic Information
I added a new category – basic information. In here, we talk about the days of the week and play games with the cutouts of the names. We will do the same thing with the names of the months of the year. You can find the print-outs here.
Days of the weekMonths of the year
Printing words
Worked really well. The blank sheet was used on the second day with the filled in sheet as a guide for spelling.
WordsWords!
Counting objects/math-type activities
The download sheet worked really well. She got to practice writing numbers and she counted well.
I feel like she’s understanding more, or perhaps we’re just reading books she’s more familiar with?
Activity
Sewing a button – This ended up being a huge success! I cut a scrap of fabric and let her pick whatever button she wanted. She had a bit of trouble threading the needle (very small eye) and tying the knot in the thread, but she grasped the concept of sewing the button on very quickly and is so very proud of herself!
My button!!
I ended up making a pillow for her little chair, so she got to see how a sewing machine worked (and how to ask Grannie for help!). We measured the chair and transferred the measurements onto the material. We talked about adding seam allowance, and what that means. We discovered that the ties need to be on the inside of the pillow before stitching if you want them to be on the outside of the pillow when you turn it right side out (again, thank you Grannie for catching that mistake!). And I showed her how I finished off the stitching with an invisible stitch after stuffing it.
Make paper dolls (web) – do not use this link. The clothes are missing flaps and do not stay on the dolls. Dragon was super patient about colouring each item (she outlined them and made colour-coordinating clothes for the dolls) and even did some cutting, but we both agreed that they were not worth keeping. This activity definitely need to be re-thought. Maybe a simpler, larger doll and fewer outfits? Or maybe buying a simple set from the store would be better than printing one out?
Excellent colouring skillsThe skirt doesn’t stay on…Wait…no flaps?Much better!Belle, Beast, and Prince (these were mine!)
Singing, listening to different pieces, learning piano
Crochet
The project she is working on (currently she is making herself a poncho)
Basic Information
We talk about the days of the week and play games with the cutouts of the names. We do the same thing with the names of the months of the year. You can find the print-outs here.
Printing words
Download materials
Counting objects/math-type activities
Practice counting objects and writing how many of each type –in download materials
Work on clocks – putting numbers on a clock and understanding hours (web link to blank clock faces)
Cinderella has how many stepsisters?
How many different types of animals help Cinderella? Mice, birds, dog, horse
Cinderella was so good with our daughter, crouching down to her level and talking with her. Her dress pouffed out beautifully as she knelt. I can’t resist sharing two pictures in a row of her.
She spent this year playing with her new (they were actually her mum’s) Fisher Price Little People, hanging out with Vic, Aunt Lindsay, Modryb Sonia, and all the other wonderful people who vend around us.
Madona Skaff was nice enough give Dragon some rides on her scooter.Learning to draw from Vic PutinskiPlaying with her toys in the wagonAunt Lindsay and VicWearing Aunt Lindsay’s hat
Her favourite thing to do was stand on the cooler and “help” me sell coffee. Other things she enjoyed include:
Playing in the wagon
Hanging out with Vic, Lindsay, S. M. Carrière, Madona Skaff, and Grannie.
