Cinderella (2015)

VIOLENCE The stepsisters, not the leading lady, compete/bicker with each other, sometimes in a joking way (not directed to the lead Cinderella, although they do think she’s “mad” and a “half-wit”) to the point where they are threatening to “scratch your eyes out”, push each other into dangerous places, dash brains out. This is as bad as it gets. Cinderella also gets trapped inside a pumpkin that dashes onto a rock (she’s fine), and her carriage almost goes over the edge of a cliff. Her step-family ripping her dress was mean too. A cat chases mice—but it does not dominate or steal from the storyline. All of this peril is in the cartoon version as well, so if they can handle that they can handle this. The stepmother also suddenly breaks an object in a moment of anger. But it’s questionable if any of this justifies a PG rating. SEX/NUDITY Cleavage but only during the ballroom scene which was pretty typical for the time, and the stepsisters at home as they are in their underclothes getting ready for the ball. The prince takes Cinderella into secluded places to be alone with her, not even palace guards can supervise—but you are there the whole time and nothing happens unless you count him putting her shoe back on as sexy; it’s more of would this be safe with how little she knows of him? The stepmother calls a mysterious princess a “vulgar young hussy”, and a stepsister calls Cinderella “Cinderwench”. A little shocking compared to the cartoon but not enough to be PG. LANGUAGE Other than what I just mentioned, I don’t recall any outside the stepsister’s rudeness to each other. CONSUMERISM—Not really other than the typical desire from the step-family (not the lead) to have more things than others, a sort of thing you’d expect if you watched other versions. Cinderella stands out from others in this. EXAMPLE IN THIS REGARD: Cinderella herself is satisfied with the simple things in life and is a great example, but her fairy godmother insists on making her fashionable and will not allow her to “ruin the whole look”. Cinderella says “nobody will be looking at my feet” and even she and the prince exchange looks over the glass slippers like they are kind of over-the-top, but oh well. DRINKING, DRUGS: There is a party and you might assume people are drinking, but it’s brief, you’ll probably notice the gambling more—but it's doubtful your child will take much notice. There’s far more substance use in older G movies. SO WHY IS IT RATED PG? Probably for the use of French and old language—you see this in Jane Austen movies and it works hard to have a historical feel. It’s not for the content, the stepmother isn’t physically abusive or as mentally tormenting as the stepmother in Ever After. Cinderella’s escape probably shocks adults more than kids. I didn’t like the burp by the godmother though. NOW FOR DEBUNKING MYTHS Cinderella waits around to be rescued? Not even close! She doesn’t realize she’s being abused for a long time. Every change is so gradual and Cinderella thinks it's for her benefit. When she finally realizes it, it’s a difficult decision because of her promises—this also happens in the Cinderella with Brandy and Ever After—but viewers are willing to overlook it because the movie breaks barriers. I’m thinking the complaining about this is for other reasons (maybe because fairytales are popular to bash because so many girls like them). She could have left and admits it. In the end she decides that she doesn’t have a good reason to stay, it’s never implied that she wants rescuing (she even forgives her), and stands up to her stepmother as not being a real mother in the end. She has shared values with the prince, it’s not about being rescued. Plus she doesn’t marry him right away, it’s a completely different season by then—so you know she had time to think about it, and if that’s not enough she did turn down a marriage offer earlier that her stepmother would have supervised because it would have been wrong for the kingdom. Another complaint I’ve seen is the small waist issue, this is historically accurate and was exciting to see because Victorian movies rarely show this. Actors have done way worse things for their image, just ask Christian Bale. For comparison the 1960s Rogers and Hammerstein girl had to have shots in her back during the shoots because of all of the damage done to her muscles with her dress, so I consider a brief liquid diet (done offscreen of course, not on) pretty tame and it's better than CGI. There’s no celebrating thinness her and unlike other versions the stepsisters are not ugly which I think is a positive image. The prince never implies he likes her for her looks, although there is a bit of a anti-hunting message, there’s also a pacifist one in the deleted scenes. And of course with a godmother she is religious (just see the deleted scenes). There’s not a lot of lingering over all the ways they connect, but it’s much better than Brandy’s instant marriage to the prince in Rogers & Hammerstein. Also see my earlier comments on how Cinderella rejects consumerism. Muppet movies and Swan Princess have far more negative messages, but they got rated younger and more stars, I just can’t understand it. The quality of this is incredible. The message of forgiveness and hope when all seems lost are beautiful. Don't worry about being bored, get ready to be blown away and watch it again and again. There's so much versions out there they really went all out and incorporated a lot of fun elements from different written versions.

I don't understand what people expect out a Disney remake of Cinderella. The movie sticks to the story and core ideas of the original. Cinderella was written has a fairytale story and that's exactly what the movie conveys. THIS IS A PERFECT MODERN REMAKE OF THE CLASSIC FAIRYTALE STORY CINDERELLA. And I absolutely enjoyed