Film

Cinderella

Name: Cinderella
Genre: TV Movie, Family, Fantasy
Released: 1997
Cast: Brandy Norwood, Whitney Houston, Victor Garber, Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters

Other titles called Cinderella: the 1950 film, the 1965 film, the 2015 film.

Fairy tale
Romance
Light-hearted

A 1997 television adaptation of Cinderella that dares to cast beyond the usual pale. Brandy's Cinderella is spirited and real; Whitney Houston's Fairy Godmother is radiant and commanding. The film embraces colour, joy, and a vision of magic that feels lived-in rather than sterile. It's for anyone who wants their fairy tales warm, inclusive, and genuinely fun to watch.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you grew up on musical television events and want a bright, brisk retelling where big voices and cheerful staging carry the whole thing, with Whitney Houston's Fairy Godmother a highlight.

Skip it if you want a faithful, moody or lavish period piece; this one is tidy, stagey and fairly modest in look, and its songs and comic beats may feel thin to adult viewers.

What it asks of you: Little beyond an evening: it runs about an hour and a half, moves at a steady, unhurried clip, and stays light in tone with few stakes to weigh.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

EverAfter1998

A grounded, witty take on Cinderella that treats the story as a real historical world. Danielle de Barbarac is clever and brave; the romance earns its weight. It shares Cinderella's desire to make the fairy tale feel human and present.

But It's significantly darker and more melancholic than Cinderella, with less magic and more genuine danger. The pacing in the middle sags noticeably.

The Princess and the Frog2009

Disney animation that centres a Black princess with agency and talent. The music is joyful, the animation is lush, and it has Cinderella's commitment to making magic feel earned rather than hollow. Genuinely funny too.

But Some find the tonal shifts jarring; it's darker than classic Disney in places. The ending divides people on what it says about ambition and happiness.

Ella Enchanted2004

A fairy tale adaptation that refuses to take itself seriously, finding real heart under the comedy. Anne Hathaway is radiant and comic; the film has Cinderella's warmth and a similar colour palette of joy. It's genuinely clever about its own genre.

But The CGI is dated. Some of the comedy lands harder than others, and the pacing occasionally trips over itself trying to be both funny and romantic.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Cinderella

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Wiz1978

Both films center the magic and musicality of their casts rather than treating them as decorative. Both insist their protagonists are worthy of love not despite their circumstances but as whole people. Both are unabashedly about Black excellence and joy in family entertainment.

An all-Black musical reimagining of The Wizard of Oz that does what the 1997 Cinderella does—takes a fairy tale and lets Black joy and artistry be the centre of it. Diana Ross is mesmerizing; the energy is infectious and the film looks unlike anything else. It's about finding power you didn't know you had.

But The 1978 film is sometimes reviled as camp or dated, and some find the pacing slow. It's a very different tone than the source material, which bothers purists. The special effects look of-the-moment rather than timeless.

Enchanted2007

A fairy tale character enters the real world and has to figure out what love and happiness actually mean. It's genuinely charming, smartly written, and committed to celebrating fairy tales while gently mocking them. Amy Adams is incandescent.

But If you're allergic to earnestness about love and magic, this will test you. Some find it cloying; others find it perfect. There's little middle ground.

Into the Woods2014

Sondheim's musical deconstruction of fairy tales, including Cinderella. It's witty, surprising, and genuinely dark about what we want from these stories. The songs are complex and the cast commits fully to the material.

But It's far more cynical than Cinderella, and the second half pivots away from the magic entirely. Stephen Sondheim's lyrics demand active listening; you have to work a little.

A Cinderella Story2004

A teen Cinderella retelling set in high school with contemporary music and real charm. Hilary Duff is likeable; it has genuine chemistry and humour. It understands why Cinderella endures: it's about being seen.

But It's very much a 2004 Disney Channel film, with all the sweetness and none of the visual invention. The stepfamily is less interesting than they could be.

Cinderella1965

The television musical that helped define how the story could be told on screen. Julie Andrews is luminous; the Rogers and Hammerstein songs are immediate and beautiful. It's the spiritual ancestor of the 1997 film.

But The pacing is leisurely by modern standards. The colour saturation looks artificial now, and the stepsisters are played broadly comic rather than genuinely mean.

Grimm2011

A dark procedural that mines European fairy tales for horror and intrigue. It proves that fairy tale logic can generate genuine tension. If you love the structure of Cinderella but want it dangerous, this scratches that itch across seasons.

But It's genuinely bleak and violent—nothing like Cinderella's warmth. The mythology gets bloated and inconsistent as the show progresses, and later seasons lose their way.

Once Upon a Time2011

An entire ensemble of fairy tale characters living in the modern world. Cinderella appears as a complex, conflicted woman. It's playful about genre and generous with its world-building. There's a reason it ran for seven seasons.

But The show is uneven; some seasons are far better than others. If you need things to make logical sense, you'll be frustrated. The mythology sometimes contradicts itself egregiously.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend2015

Both are musicals with extraordinary vocal performances that use song to express interior truth. Both are interested in what happens when you get what you think you want. Both have Brandy Norwood's presence as a moral and emotional anchor.

A musical comedy series about a woman who moves across the country for a man, then slowly realizes she doesn't actually know what she wants. Brandy Norwood appears in a crucial episode. The songs are genuinely brilliant—funny, heartbreaking, genre-spanning. It's warm but complicated.

But The protagonist is deeply flawed in ways that can be uncomfortable to watch. The show's tone shifts between comedy and real mental health crises, and some find that tonal whiplash exhausting. It requires investment in a character who often makes bad choices.

Ladyhawke1985

Both are about transformation, magic as a force that changes lives, and the possibility of love across impossible barriers. Both believe in the logic of fairy tales—that curses and magic are real within their worlds, and operate by rules that characters must navigate. Both are fundamentally optimistic about what love can solve, even when circumstances seem impossible.

A medieval fantasy romance about a knight and lady cursed to never be seen together in the same form. It's gorgeously shot, genuinely romantic, and deeply strange—a fairy tale logic filtered through a grimmer, older world. Matthew Broderick is unexpectedly funny. The synth score shouldn't work but does.

But It's slow and contemplative where Cinderella is brisk. The 1985 aesthetic is pronounced and won't appeal to everyone. Some find the romance overwrought; others find it earned. The film is oddly paced and occasionally seems to be from a different movie.