The film begins when Cinderella, or Ella, her real name, was just a baby. Her parents adore her. As she got older, she developed a bond for her animals, too.

She remains close to her parents. Unfortunately, her mom collapses and dies. Yet she stays close to her father and has a very sweet relationship with him.

Eventually, he marries a cruel woman, Lady Tremaine, who joins Ella’s home with her nasty daughters, Drizella and Anastasia. He has to leave for a while, leaving Ella broken-hearted. But he promises to return soon.

Sadly, he never comes back, which means that Ella is forced serve her stepmother and stepsisters. If that’s not bad enough, Lady Tremaine fires all the other staff.

From that point on, Ella’s only friends are some mice that accompany her in the attic, where her stepmother forced her to take and give up her room to her stepsisters. 

Ella is serving her stepfamily breakfast and wants to eat, but her stepmother puts her down for it, saying that she shouldn’t have time for that. Her stepsisters also make fun of her with her work and give her the cruel name, Cinderella. 

That leaves the poor girl in tears. She escapes on her horse and runs into the prince, whose name is Kit. He develops interest in her, but she won’t reveal her name due to her self-consciousness over her “new name.” 

Later, Kit’s father and subjects are planning a ball, where he will choose a bride. At some point, one of the castle staff visits a village and announces the event. He also invites all the females to attend it.

Cinderella yearns to go, except that her stepfamily won’t let her. During the night of the ball, Cinderella puts on her mother’s dress. Her stepsisters tear it apart, which devastates her… until the fairy godmother arrives and uses her magic to transform a pumpkin into a carriage, mice into horses, and geese and lizards into a driver and assistant.

And of course, she conjures a new dress for Cinderella and tells her that the magic will end by the last stroke of midnight. 

At the ball, the subjects introduce different princesses… until Kit sees Cinderella. He dances with her and walks with her in the moonlight. But the clock strikes, revealing that it’s midnight. So, Cinderella rushes back to her carriage and returns home.

Kit longs to find her but doesn’t know her name. He finds her glass slipper and asks that it gets tried out on every girl and woman in the kingdom.

This film kept my interest all the way, despite how it was almost two hours long. The beauty and emotional sensations are what I admire most about this movie.

I especially love Ella’s relationship with her parents, particularly her father, both before and after her mother’s death. The way they bonded was so heartwarming that I almost cried tears of joy.

Ella, herself, has cried several times throughout this movie, making me feel sorry for her. Oftentimes, she wept because of her stepfamily’s mistreatment toward her. I often thought, Aw, poor girl, every time she cried. In fact, this is something I relate to since I also cry easily.

Not only did Ella lose her parents, but so did Kit. His father even hugged him while he was dying. Kit also cried into him.

Regardless of her maltreatment, Cinderella eventually stood up for herself to her stepmother about how horribly she’s treated her. It shows her strength and that she can defend herself.

She also accepted the fairy godmother’s notice on how all the magic would end at midnight. She even said that she would probably be done before then.

But on her way home, the carriage turns back into a pumpkin, the horses into mice, and the men into lizards and geese. Although this stressed Cinderella out, I actually found it funny.

One thing I found odd, though, was when Cinderella almost revealed her name until midnight and hurried out, she still had time to talk to the king and subjects. If she needed to return to her carriage pronto, she would have dashed her way straight to it. She was even able to say last minute sentences to Kit.

Another part that I found strange was when the fairy godmother approached Cinderella. Rather than comfort her as she cried, she disguised herself as a homeless person who wanted help. This was something that I considered unbelievable, especially if she wanted to aid Cinderella.

As with every film, twists and turns happen. Even with everyone knowing the story, unexpected events occur.

I give Cinderella 5 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to people of all ages.