Cinderella
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: March 13, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 47 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
17
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanMar 16, 2015
As a picture that celebrates one of the greatest archetypes in literature while freshening countless familiar details, I doubt it can be bettered. Read full review
90
SlateKaty WaldmanMar 16, 2015
With his live-action retelling of Cinderella, director Kenneth Branagh accomplishes a wonderful bit of spellwork: He manages to de-toxify Disney’s flagship fairy tale without overcorrecting away its prettiness, sincerity, or charm. Read full review
90
TimeRichard CorlissMar 16, 2015
Nearly a century after that black-and-white cartoon short, and 65 years after a “classic” animated feature that missed the mark, Disney finally got Cinderella right — for now and, happily, ever after. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyMar 12, 2015
As pure of heart as its heroine, Cinderella floats across the screen like a gossamer confection, full of elegant beauty and quiet grace. Read full review
90
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekMar 10, 2015
Like all of Branagh's films, even some of the bad ones, Cinderella is practically Wagnerian in its ambitions — it's so swaggering in its confidence that at times it almost commands us to like it. But it's also unexpectedly delicate in all the right ways, and uncompromisingly beautiful to look at. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 13, 2015
Cinderella is a wonderfully realized family feature that retains the strengths of its source material while at the same time updating it for today's audiences. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Nathalie AtkinsonMar 12, 2015
Like its titular fairy tale heroine, Cinderella is sincere, not an ironic bone in it. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 12, 2015
The world didn’t need yet another Cinderella story, but the one we got is one of the best versions ever put on film. Read full review
83
The PlaylistJessica KiangFeb 16, 2015
With no sheen of reflexivity, and no in-jokey admission of its hokiness to hide behind, can this non-ironic un-re-invention possibly work? Actually, yes it can, and does surprisingly well, by approaching the story with a sincerity and sweetness that defy cynicism, and by casting Cate Blanchett. Read full review
80
Total FilmJames MottramMar 23, 2015
Loving and lavish, Kenneth Branagh’s take will please traditionalists more than revisionists, but there’s enough here to enchant both young and old. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyFeb 16, 2015
Screenwriter Chris Weitz embraces both the magic and the humanity of the classic fairy tale. He underlines the virtues of kindness and courage in a heroine right out of the pages of a traditional storybook, who gradually reveals the qualities of a self-possessed modern girl. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisMar 11, 2015
Mention must be made of James’ guileless turn as Cinderella. Like the beautiful crystalline-blue ballgown worn in the film’s centerpiece section (you can’t take your eyes off it; it literally dazzles), she looks as if she’s lit from within. Read full review
75
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeMar 16, 2015
There’s a lot to like about director Kenneth Branagh’s gorgeously fanciful tale. Read full review
75
HitfixGregory EllwoodMar 16, 2015
It's hard for any actor or director to pull off love at first sight, but Branagh is lucky enough that James and Madden have just enough genuine on screen chemistry to make you at least want to believe it's possible. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaMar 13, 2015
Although James and Madden are no Fred and Ginger when it comes time for the fabled ball, her breathy swoons and glitter-splashed décolletage and his personable imperviousness bode well for the couple's future. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia PuigMar 12, 2015
With its vibrant sparkle and enchanting visuals, Cinderella almost makes you believe in magic. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrMar 12, 2015
Cinderella — the new, live-action Cinderella, that is — is an attempt by the Mouse House to revive one of Walt’s oldest fairy-tale adaptations with care and class and modernity and timelessness. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaMar 12, 2015
Still, you can’t fault a family entertainment extravaganza too much if it actually goes out of its way to integrate the ensemble of a fairy tale in an Old World European setting with a diverse array of supporting players. Branagh deserves an extra bravo just for that. And we mean it sincerely. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 12, 2015
Branagh's regular composer, Patrick Doyle, delivers a persistent dribbling stream of forgettable mood music, and that's too bad; most of the scenes are acted so well, you don't want anything competing with them. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldConnie OgleMar 12, 2015
Blanchett manages to project the idea that there’s more to this woman than mere banal evil. Cinderella may well be the heroine of this story, but if you wanted someone to have a few drinks with, you’d pick her stepmother in a heartbeat. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyMar 12, 2015
The fizzy cocktail combination of Blanchett’s cartoonish hauteur and Branagh’s visual razzle-dazzle and confectionary sets (courtesy of the legendary Dante Ferretti) manages to take a tale as wheezy as Cinderella and make it feel almost magical again. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversMar 12, 2015
Count Cinderella as a dazzling dream of a movie from director Kenneth Branagh, who can leap from the Bard (Henry V) to the boffo (Thor) with no apparent sweat. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedMar 11, 2015
Every generation gets a new one, and this time, replete with computer graphics and singing mice, Kenneth Branagh has created a live-action fairy tale that pulls out every stop and spares no expense. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMar 12, 2015
Disney’s new live-action version is for the most part beguilingly good, even though it’s no replacement for the studio’s 1950 animated classic. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 12, 2015
It's beautiful to behold and wears its magic on its well-appointed sleeves, daring the audience to crack wise. Read full review
70
Screen DailyLee MarshallMar 11, 2015
A delightfully clear-eyed adaptation of Charles Perrault’s fable of goodness triumphing over adversity, which brings psychological depth to characters like Cate Blanchett’s magnificent, believable stepmother. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneMar 9, 2015
Indeed, there is barely a frame of Branagh’s film that would cause Uncle Walt to finger his mustache with disquiet. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeFeb 16, 2015
Though this Cinderella could never replace Disney’s animated classic, it’s no ugly stepsister either, but a deserving companion. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMar 13, 2015
The result is more of an illustrated storybook of a cherished classic than a living thing in its own right. Read full review
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