The Amazon Prime musical adaptation of Cinderella that begins streaming September 3 has received mixed reviews from critics. A modern take on the traditional fairy tale by Charles Perrault, the film is written and directed by Kay Cannon, based on an idea from James Corden, who produced the film through Fulwell 73 with Leo Pearlman, Jonathan Kadin, and Shannon McIntosh. Other creative team members include Jessica Weiss (music), Stacey Schroeder (editing), Paul Kirby (production design), Kathryn Pyle (art direction), Ellen Mirojnick (costumes), and Keith Harrison (music direction).
The cast includes Camila Cabello (in her acting debut as Ella), Billy Porter (godparent Fab G), Idina Menzel (stepmother Vivian), Maddie Baillio and Charlotte Spencer (Stepsisters), Nicholas Galitzine (Prince Robert), Minnie Driver (Queen Beatrice), Pierce Brosnan (King Rowan), and James Corden, John Mulaney, and Romesh Ranganathan (Footmen).
Associated Press (Jocelyn Noveck): There’s nothing so drastic here that people won’t end up Happily Ever After. Yet if there’s a catchphrase here, it is not that: it is “I Choose Me.” If only this admirable message weren’t reinforced so strenuously. … However it measures up to its predecessors (and inevitable future iterations), you can’t argue … that your destiny belongs in your own hands, not in those of someone who chooses to pluck you magnanimously from your own story and place you in theirs. 2 stars out of 4
The Atlantic (David Sims): It’s a loud, brassy update that mixes in pop songs, self-referential jokes, and a thuddingly obvious message of empowerment. … Like the worst modernizations, Cinderella feels like the result of out-of-touch executives trying to identify the hip new thing. A town crier raps the news with all the bravado but none of the skill of a Hamilton song. … Everything in Cinderella, admirable as its message may be, is soulless—and that robs it of any joy.
AV Club (Caroline Siede): There’s plenty of fun to be had in its goofily self-aware retelling of the age-old fairy tale. … While this version of Cinderella likely won’t top anyone’s list of all-time best adaptations, it’s a winking, glittering family comedy that’s cohesive in tone and confident in what it wants to be. And mostly it just wants to be flashy, toe-tapping karaoke. … This frothy Cinderella may have all the heft of a helium balloon, but that’s as much a feature as it is a bibbidi bobbidi bug.
Chicago Sun-Times (Richard Roeper): The Cinderella fairy tale has been adapted time and time and time again … and now we’ve got a new jukebox musical update with some modern and progressive themes about gender roles, and it’s a most welcome addition to the library. … Cinderella is filled with positive messages for princes and princesses of all ages, the soundtrack is irresistible and Camila Cabello can now add “movie star” to her resume. 3 out of 4 stars
The Guardian (Peter Bradshaw): Cinderella isn’t bad, and Camila Cabello makes a rather personable lead, carrying off some of the movie’s generous helping of funny lines. … But satirizing a fairytale’s heteronormative patriarchal mythology is going to be tricky if that mythology is needed to sell the movie globally, and you wind up making some sort of accommodation. … This movie rather fudges that climactic moment, but has charm in its goofy way: a good-natured and easygoing revival. 3 out of 5 stars
The Hollywood Reporter (Lovia Gyarkye): Cinderella suffers from a host of problems, but its real curse is terrible timing. If this most recent reboot, with its heavy-handed feminist messaging, had been released decades ago, it might have stood a chance at being subversive. … Powerful lessons in self-confidence, perseverance and the power of imagination provide an alluring foundation for ambitious and visually stunning storytelling. It’s sad that, watching this version, you wouldn’t be able to tell.
IndieWire (Kristen Lopez): With the deck quite literally stacked against the film, it’s remarkable just how effervescent and charming Kay Cannon’s Cinderella actually is. … [Cannon] understands that there’s little that can actually be done to set the story apart from its predecessors, and thus decides to intensify the fun of it all. … The flaws in the narrative are nothing in comparison to the vibrancy and energy on display with each and every musical number, worth dancing for, maybe even in a pair of glass slippers. Grade: B-
Variety (Courtney Howard): While Cannon’s inspired creative approach and jukebox musical style all point to an elegant and empowering redesign of this most familiar of garments, her execution puts quite a few tears in the fabric. … Even though prior iterations of this tale … offered similarly enlightened, forward-thinking commentary, Cannon’s, for better and worse, is far more obtuse about its machinations. And while it’s a noble effort from a capable director, this glass slipper proves frustratingly ill-fitting.
Vulture (Jackson McHenry): The overarching tone of this new version of Cinderella is self-congratulation. The movie … takes it upon itself to reinvent the classic not-so-feminist tale of wish fulfillment for 2021 with grating results. … On top of all this, Cinderella is a musical, primarily a jukebox of the Moulin Rouge! variety, though the song choices are less than inspired. … A musical will make no sense if there’s no reason for these characters to sing at all. … There’s nothing under the surface here, just a girl trying to sell you a dress.
The Wrap (Yolanda Machado): This is a film for teenage girls, offering them a message of girl-boss feminism, and it makes no excuses about it. Structurally, Cannon composes the film almost like a lovingly curated stream of similarly styled TikToks. Bouncing from musical number to musical number, each scene showcases the incredible costume work but provides little substance or depth. … Cinderella has far less substance than [Cannon’s] other features, ultimately making this a one-time, forgettable watch.