Cinderella (1997) on Netflix
Cinderella endures her wicked stepmother and stepsisters, meets a stranger unaware he is Prince Christopher. His parents plan a ball to find him a bride, and her Fairy Godmother helps her attend.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb6.8/1011,041 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Cinderella, an orphan, tends to her stepmother and stepsisters at the market and encounters a charming young man. They connect over their sheltered lives, but she is scolded for speaking with him and does not learn that he is Prince Christopher. At the palace, he resists his parents' plan for a ball to select his bride; they promise that if he chooses no one, he may find a wife himself. At home Cinderella hopes to go, but her stepmother mocks her and departs with her daughters. The Fairy Godmother arrives, changes a pumpkin into a carriage and Cinderella's old clothes into a ballgown, and cautions that the spell ends at midnight. Cinderella sets off for the ball.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Cinderella (1997)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- One Disney executive wanted a white Cinderella opposite a Black Fairy Godmother and suggested singer-songwriter Jewel for the title role, but the producers refused, insisting the whole point was to have a Black Cinderella.
- Brandy became the first person of color to portray Cinderella on screen, and she and Whitney Houston became the first African-American actresses to play their respective roles in any screen adaptation of the fairy tale.
- Whoopi Goldberg insisted her queen wear real jewelry, so she personally called jeweler Harry Winston, who lent a 70-carat diamond ring and a $2.5 million necklace; Winston sent three armed guards to watch the jewels, and Goldberg wore an estimated $60 million worth.
- Near the end of filming, the producers ran out of money for extras and Disney refused further loans, so they financed the rest themselves and Whoopi Goldberg donated the remainder of her daily salary to finish the production.
- Cinderella's glass slippers were shatterproof acrylic rather than glass, and only one pair was made to fit Brandy's feet; close-ups of her feet in the slippers were shot with a foot model whose feet were smaller than Brandy's size 9.
- Prince Christopher's palace was built on the same spot that had been the yellow brick road in The Wizard of Oz (1939), so its courtyard bricks were painted yellow as an homage.
- According to producer Craig Zadan, the film's success helped secure a future for musicals in the Wonderful World of Disney slot, and his company Storyline Entertainment began developing new musicals for the series, including Annie (1999).
