7) Cinderella – “Have Courage And Be Kind”
No one would call Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 re-telling of the classic fairy tale unconventional. The modern Cinderella acts and speaks largely like the one of yesteryear, with an appropriate dollop of some forward-thinking feminism and cozy charm. Those themes are useful in an age where every fantastical hero is given a sword and metal armor and told they’re the savior of the realm/world/universe.
This Cinderella (Lily James) is just a girl with a dead Disney dad, evil Disney stepmother, and bitchy Disney stepsisters who would really rather if she didn’t attend the Ball at the palace. You know where all of this is going, and yet every minute is thrilling – Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother, gorgeous direction, late-night midnight dash home and all.
[zergpaid]But every piece of it builds off of the opening scene wherein Ella’s mother (Hayley Atwell, aka Agent Peggy Carter) imbues her with a life message all impressionable kiddos watching, girl and boy alike, would do well to live by. “I have to tell you a secret that will see you through all the trials that life can offer,” she whispers to Ella on her deathbed. “Have courage and be kind. For where there is kindness, there is goodness. And where there is goodness, there is magic.” That’s it.
Quietly unassuming and straightforward yet mentally striking, it’s a mantra that perfectly encompasses the time-honored film it finds itself wrapped in: don’t be afraid to make your mark on the world, the film encourages by its reliably classic finale, but it’s never worth doing so at the negative expense of another. Not exactly mind blowing, but altogether laudatory – a quality most other kid’s movies don’t even come close to achieving.
– Mitchel Broussard
