Cinderella
Amazon Prime Video | Release Date (Streaming): September 3, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
41
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
15
Negative:
10
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
76
Paste MagazineAmy AmatangeloSep 3, 2021
In her debut theatrical performance, Cabello is charming and handles the script, particularly the throwaway lines that lovingly mock the genre, with aplomb. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Aparita BhandariSep 5, 2021
The movie is basically a sumptuous almost two-hour long music video/musical. And as we wind down the summer – looking ahead to yet more uncertainty in the fall (Variants! Elections! Just Life In General!) – it’s delightful to indulge in a flight of fantasy. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperSep 1, 2021
The popular singer-songwriter Camila Cabello makes her acting debut as the titular character, and she’s a revelation, as the camera loves her and she displays not only the expected vocal chops but a real knack for comedy, as this version of Cinderella is particularly charming when she’s floundering about and getting into embarrassing situations of her own making. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubCaroline SiedeSep 1, 2021
While this version of Cinderella likely won’t top anyone’s list of all-time best adaptations, it’s a winking, glittering family comedy that’s cohesive in tone and confident in what it wants to be. And mostly it just wants to be flashy, toe-tapping karaoke. Read full review
67
IndieWireKristen LopezSep 1, 2021
Cannon’s take on Cinderella looks to be this year’s “Greatest Showman,” where the flaws in the narrative are nothing in comparison to the vibrancy and energy on display with each and every musical number, worth dancing for, maybe even in a pair of glass slippers. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawSep 1, 2021
Writer-director Kay Cannon’s new Cinderella isn’t bad, and Camila Cabello makes a rather personable lead, carrying off some of the movie’s generous helping of funny lines. Read full review
55
TheWrapYolanda MachadoSep 1, 2021
Cinderella has far less substance than [Cannon’s] other features, ultimately making this a one-time, forgettable watch. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comNell MinowSep 3, 2021
The frenetic silliness and uneven tone are unfortunate distractions from the genuine pleasures of the film, including Cabello's appealing performance as Cinderella, and the creative and energetic musical numbers. Read full review
50
IGNBrittany VincentSep 2, 2021
Billy Porter's five fantastic on-screen minutes as the electric "Fab G" are over far too soon. Instead, Cinderella focuses on humor that rarely works (like James Corden’s huge head on a mouse body), an overstuffed, meandering soundtrack, and underwhelming vocals to back it. Ultimately, live-action Cinderella peaked in 1997. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn HornadaySep 1, 2021
Cinderella, the latest of countless adaptations of the centuries-old rags-to-riches story, is far less interested in enchantment than in dismantling the entire sexist, classist racket. Read full review
50
The Associated PressJocelyn NoveckSep 1, 2021
A feminist recasting of the familiar story is welcome, of course, but the screenplay focuses so insistently on its female-empowering message that it feels at times like we’re just getting hit over the head with it. Read full review
50
VarietyCourtney HowardSep 1, 2021
For all the innovative, intelligent decisions made, there are an overwhelming number of frustrating creative choices. The movie’s pacing is inconsistent, especially when it comes to character development, which can feel at once underdeveloped and overstuffed. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonSep 1, 2021
When the film thoughtfully dissects the fable’s patriarchal attitude, this Cinderella can be touching and light on its feet. But too often, whether because of the subpar songs or the hit-or-miss comedy, Cannon’s rethink struggles to consistently dazzle — it’s a glass slipper that doesn’t quite fit. Read full review
45
CNNBrian LowrySep 2, 2021
It's possible to allow that Cinderella has its heart in the right place without concluding that the movie works. Credit where it's due for trying to squeeze the material into some new clothes, but hoping isn't enough to make the shoe fit. Read full review
40
The TelegraphMarianka SwainSep 4, 2021
Despite the strenuous effort, this glass slipper just doesn’t fit. Read full review
40
The New York TimesNatalia WinkelmanSep 3, 2021
Among the countless iterations the story has weathered through the ages, this Cinderella (streaming on Amazon), starring Camila Cabello as the orphaned maiden, is forgettable. It is oddly transfixing, though, as a study in the semiotics of the modernized fairy tale. Read full review
40
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiSep 2, 2021
Unfortunately, Cinderella lacks the specificity of Ever After and doesn’t commit to the full fantasy of Brandy’s Cinderella, either, nor does it have the charisma of Ella Enchanted. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshSep 2, 2021
It’s underwritten yet over-stuffed with songs, and the production itself feels chintzy and airless. Read full review
40
EmpireElla KempSep 1, 2021
Cinderella is given more independence, but at what cost? An irritating script ruins the sincere magic of the beloved story – strong music isn’t fabulous enough to preserve the DNA of a classic. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeSep 1, 2021
The classic fairy tale and its straightforward but powerful lessons in self-confidence, perseverance and the power of imagination provide an alluring foundation for ambitious and visually stunning storytelling. It’s sad that, watching this version, you wouldn’t be able to tell. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshSep 3, 2021
With all the songs, gowns and corny jokes, kids under 10 will likely love it, and frankly, that’s who this is for, not the millennials or Gen Z kids who grew up with Brandy or Hillary Duff. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineWes GreeneAug 30, 2021
With an overload of winking, Kay Cannon’s Cinderella displays a contemptuous attitude toward fairy tales in general. Read full review
33
The PlaylistLauren J. CoatesSep 5, 2021
Though the comedic talents of its supporting cast (mainly Acaster, Ranganathan, and Brown), and the veteran performers (Brosnan, Driver, and Menzel) do their best to anchor the haphazard, bloated mess of a film, Cinderella is an uninspired fairytale that feels less like an empowering, new twist on a classic and more of a lazy, virtue-signaling attempt at cashing in on Cabello’s fame and legion of fans. Read full review
32
PolygonKristy PuchkoSep 3, 2021
It’s frankly galling that a princess movie is this utterly lacking in grandeur. All Cannon has delivered is a cringe-worthy eyesore that’s deadly dull and intellectually shallow. Read full review
30
Film ThreatBobby LePireSep 11, 2021
Cinderella fails spectacularly on just about every level. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Jackson McHenrySep 1, 2021
A musical, theoretically, could reveal something under the surface, whatever thoughts her character isn’t able to articulate in dialogue. But there’s nothing under the surface here, just a girl trying to sell you a dress. Read full review
25
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiSep 2, 2021
Writer-director Kay Cannon has shattered Cinderella’s glass slipper. And we, the audience, are forced to walk across the shards barefoot. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleLily JaniakSep 1, 2021
Here, where even the stepmother has a backstory, Cannon seems intent not just on trying to blot out the original’s sexism but also its mystery. In trying to be safe and copacetic with modern sensibilities, this Cinderella neuters itself. Read full review
15
The AtlanticDavid SimsSep 17, 2021
Everything in Cinderella, admirable as its message may be, is soulless—and that robs it of any joy. Read full review
12
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliSep 2, 2021
I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. There. That just about sums it up. Read full review
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