An old fairy tale with a new, humorous twist
Everybody gets their happily-ever-after in Cinderella, says director Kay Cannon
In the modern reimagining of Cinderella, the director, who has also adapted the Charles Perrault story for screen, presents a more inclusive, feminist and humorous version of the fairy tale that has seen multiple adaptations on screen and stage. And she has promised that every character — not only the titular protagonist — gets a chance to follow their dreams and get their own ‘happily ever after’.
The 47-year-old writer-filmmaker Kay Cannon, who made her directorial debut with the 2018 comedy film Blockers, says her ‘north star’ was that the motivations of Cinderella, who aspires to be a dressmaker, don’t change right from the beginning to the end of the movie. Instead, it’s the people around Cinderella, played finely by singer Camilla Cabello in her feature film debut, including her stepmother Vivian (Idina Menzel), who start seeing things in a new perspective.
THE GROWING VIBE
“The big theme of the movie is to have dreams and go after them. Not just for Cinderella, but for everybody. That’s what I was trying to show. So, there are just different happy ever afters for all those characters,” says Kay. “The big difference in the storytelling, for me, was to give all the other characters a more three-dimensional vibe so they are not so arched. We are not into giving some form of punishment (as a moral of the story).” While there are villains in real life too, people could ‘grow’ if they make an effort to empathise with each other, Kay added.
ON THE SHOULDERS OF INCLUSIVITY
When Kay boarded the project as the writer–director, she knew right away that she wanted the film to be set in “an inclusive and multicultural kingdom, which was also steeped in tradition”. In Cinderella, the royal family is headed by former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan, who plays King Rowan, and Good Will Hunting-star Minnie Driver featuring as Queen Beatrice. The specific detail about a white family being the royal family stemmed from the idea of an extremely multicultural kingdom, which is on the precipice of change, the director said. “It is where the people of the kingdom are ahead of the royal family. Like big things are going to happen, we are at the tipping point. I wanted
an equal amount of all the different races and genders.
Breaking out into songs and dance makes it feel fantastical and fairy-tale-like. And yet the songs are very modern, to which we all know the words to. So (we needed a soundtrack) to bridge that grounded, realistic feeling with a more fantastical fairy-tale vibe. I just sort of vacillated between those two things — Kay Cannon, director
THE MUSICAL BLEND
The blend of contemporary songs, ranging from the covers of the greatest hits by Freddy Mercury, Madonna, Janet Jackson and Jennifer Lopez to the original tracks of cast members and dance sequences tie up the two worlds of real and magical neatly, Kay adds. Cinderella is set to premiere on Amazon Prime on September 3.