I don’t think there are too many of us who didn’t as children fall in love with Cinderella. Ah! A true Disney Classic
Well, move over, Walt, Drew is comin’ to town!
Mirelle Soria’s twist on Cinderella is imagination, cute and just plain fun! Add Drew Barrymore in the lead as Cinderella and you have a NEW classic on your hands!
Drew stars as Danielle (our new Cinderella) whose mother died when she was just a small child. Her widowed father, feeling that his only child needed a mother, married Rodmilla, a widow with two girls close to Danielle’s age.
Unfortunately, the unthinkable happens to Danielle. Within days of brining his new wife and her daughters to his house that he shares with his beloved Danielle, he dies suddenly, leaving Danielle at the mercy of her new (and naturally evil) stepmother.
Rodmilla never entered into the marriage for love - nor did she enter into it in order to care for her stepdaughter who is now in her sole care. She entered into for one purpose only. Rodmilla loves money. The more she has, the happier she is. Unfortunately for her, she also likes to spend it lavishly. All too soon, the estate left to her by Danielle’s father, withers to almost nothing. She begins selling off the household items.
Having not much more to sell, she decided to sell one of the servants who had been in Danielle’s family for more years than Danielle is old.
Danielle is horrified and vows to get him back. That’s how she meets Prince Henry.
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Prince Henry (Dougray Scott) is a handsome young man who doubts his own ability to someday rule his country. At present, he’s more interested in having fun and exploring other aspects of life than paying attention to what is needed to know in order to be King. His parents feel the best way to settle him down is to marry him off. But to whom?
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Little do they know that he has met Danielle and has immediately become smitten with her.
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Ah! Let’s not forget the stepmother and her conniving daughters!
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While this IS very much like the Cinderella story we’d come to know and love, this is a somewhat more realistic view of what might have happened.
Danielle, being an only child and raised solely by her father, was no shrinking flower when it came to voicing her opinion. Her father also taught her how to use an epee. Danielle, like her father, was adventurous. While he was away on business, she never hesitated helping the servants around the house, flying kites (a favorite past time), climbing trees or participating in races around the fields with the local boys.
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Henry, although in line to receive the crown, wasn’t ready to become King and make the necessary demands on his people and ensure law and order in his land. He wanted to enjoy life first!
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Rodmilla sought ways to marry off one of her daughters to the Prince to thus ensure her own financial security.
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I would love to tell you the entire story, but it would certainly ruin it for you.
I can tell you that Drew Barrymore is perfect in the role of Danielle.
Dougray Scott make a believable Prince Henry
AND
ANGELICA HOUSTON HAS HAD HER BEST ROLE EVER AS RODMILLA!
The casting director certainly knew how to pick a winning ensemble to make the perfect picture.
And yes, there are a few twists and turns that you might not expect, but hey, isn’t life really like that?
This is a sort of modern Cinderella. It’s an old fashioned love story that will make you laugh and make you cry.
This is a love story worth seeing.