Ranking All Of The Live-Action Disney Remakes

While other Disney films of the time, such as Maleficent or Frozen, were busy trying to subvert traditionally classic Disney stories, Kenneth Branagh made a film that was essentially a love letter to them.

And if one is going to remake a classic Disney animated film into a wholesome ode to these kinds of stories, one would be hard-pressed to find a better fit than Cinderella. Branagh applies his Shakespearian credentials to the tale of abused-girl-turned-princess, which lends it some gravitas and emotional weight.

Cate Blanchett is great as the evil Stepmother, very much following in the scenery-chewing footsteps of Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil, but the real coupe of the film is Branagh's casting of Lily James as Cinderella. Ms. James is postively stunning in the role, bringing nuance and subtlety to a role that could have easily been a playing-to-the-cheap-seats performance.

She knocks it out of the park and keeps the film anchored in pathos that just works. The film doesn't re-invent the wheel, or even the story it's telling, but it tells it very well. And it introduced the world at large to Lily James, who just gave one of the best performances of the year in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, so its a win/win.

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