Cinderella (2015)

If only fairy tales were real life. But they aren't.
Still, if you are nice and have courage and believe in just a little bit of magic, one just may come true for you.
The beginning is lengthy and for once, we actually see Ella's mother, portrayed by a blond Hayley Atwell. She dies from an unknown illness and Ella's father, Ben Chaplin, never fully recovers though he eventually decides that it is time to move on and marries a widow with two daughters, Cate Blanchett.
Ella (Lily James) is alright with that at first, and takes her mother's advice to heart but things just don't go her way. Stepmother (although Ella calls her Madame throughout) takes severe advantage of Ella's kindness and when Father dies, decides to stretch out his money by firing all the servants, which means that Cinderella is left with all the work. She has few friends, they include her mice and the old servants at her house.
Things change, though only slightly at first, when she accidentally runs into the Prince (Richard Madden) who doesn't let her know that he is the Prince and introduces himself as Kit. He is delighted with her.
We all know how the story goes, Ella's fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) saves the day. Ella steals away the Prince's breath at the ball, leaving everyone else speechless and leaves behind her glass slipper. The Prince sets out to find who left behind the slipper.
Only this time, there is a twist. The Stepmother finds the slipper, hidden with Ella's precious things and decides that she can marry the now King, but she will have the real power. Ella decides to sacrifice her personal happiness so Evil Stepmother will not ruin the King or the Kingdom. Yes, its sort of like Casablanca. But Evil Stepmother has her own scheme. She tells the Grand Duke (Stellan Skarsgard) of Ella's true nature. She will keep her true identity a secret so the King can marry a Princess for political gain and in return she will have a position and her beautiful but stupid daughters (Holliday Granger and Sophie McShera) will marry well. All she has to do is hide Ella away.
Ella believes that her lovely memory of the ball will become just that, a memory she will treasure forever. Fortunately, fate has other plans and she is discovered and everything works out. The Grand Duke, Evil Stepmother and Stepsisters are banished and Ella marries the King in another beautiful gown, this time without magic.
Sure, the plot is nothing new but at least it is enjoyable though the role of Ella requires far too much crying of James though she does it well. Blanchett's role is great though she tries for sympathy but fails to get it. Carter is good in her small role and it's nice to see her pretty for a change. Madden will probably get offered more roles after this one and he isn't bad and fortunately, handsome just as a Prince should be. Also, he is quite talented as he doesn't step on her enormously large dress as he leads her in the first dance at the ball.
I liked the film and will certainly watch it again, but it is only a fairy tale though the message is good: Have Courage and Be Kind, certainly simple words to live by. Grade: B
Side Note:
-The Frozen Fever short aired before the film is utterly delightful with Elsa determined to throw Anna a perfect Birthday only to get sick throughout the day. That little short gets an A-.