When we think of Cinderella, so many think of a big pale blue ball gown and a group of mice ready to defend their human. While there’s always going to be a sense of magic surrounding Disney’s 1950 adaptation of Cinderella, it’s important to look at how different modern adaptations have become. How liberated are the female protagonists? Do they find their equal in Prince Charming or does he end up being unfit to rule alongside her? How does her fairy godmother (or godfather) advise her? Is there even a fairy godparent?

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While Disney’s 1950 Cinderella portrays a version of Charles Perrault’s classic tale, just looking at the trailer, we can see that we know very little about what Cinderella wants. We lack understanding of her psychological motivations in comparison to the 2021 Cinderella in which we are introduced immediately to Ella’s desire to own her own dressmaking business. 

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Cinderella (2021) is the perfect example of how far we’ve come from the classic Disney version. In addition to featuring a Cinderella with dreams of her own, we see a diverse cast of characters and a personified Prince Charming. Rather than leaving everything to her mice friends, Ella is her own hero and even when reconciling with her Prince Charming, she puts her dreams of working as a designer first. Furthermore, Prince Robert helps her in this, even though it goes against everything he’s ever known and undermines traditional gender normatives. Where we used to find a passive woman, we find a strong and driven one in so many new adaptations.