Lily James as Cinderella in Disney's live-action feature film inspired by the classic fairy tale. Photo/AP
Lily James as Cinderella in Disney's live-action feature film inspired by the classic fairy tale. Photo/AP
Fairy tales are hitting theatres again - but will they be any good? Dominic Corry casts his eye over some magical upcoming releases.
Kenneth Branagh's new Disney blockbuster Cinderella, which opens in New Zealand next week, subverts the modern cinematic fairy tale by not being subversive.
It is a relatively straight-forward live-action adaptation of the 1950 Disney cartoon which revels in old fashioned cinematic value - big performances (Cate Blanchett goes full Joan Crawford), bold costumes and chaste romance.
I was captivated by the film for this very reason, although I'll never understand why Branagh couldn't find a place for Brian Blessed in there somewhere. Regressive gender politics aside, the film's classic approach felt like a breath of fresh, blue air.
It stands in marked contrast to the last several decades of fairy tale movies - for the longest time, the only way to justify a big screen mounting of a familiar fairy tale was to up-end the story in some high concept fashion. This was charming. For a while.
The tradition goes all the way back to 1987's beloved classic The Princess Bride, which is generally seen as an earnest love letter to fairy tales, but revels in witty subversion within a meta context declared up front by the film's opening shot - footage of a Nintendo game.
The trend evolved through Shrek franchise and its derivatives into the recent glut of live action fairy tale blockbusters (Snow White and the Huntsman, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Mirror, Mirror) spurred on by the ridiculous success of Tim Burton's 2010 dippy take on Alice In Wonderland, which made more than a billion dollars at the box office.
As the trend spread to television, the coy subversion began to lose its novelty value. But the fairy tale blockbuster would not be stopped. Last year's couldn't-be-more-Burton-esque Maleficent displayed all the imagination of a glossy turnip and still hauled in three quarters of a billion dollars at the global box office.
When I last checked in on the sub-genre almost three years ago (eep!), I was anticipating the above films and wondering if the trend was running out of steam. Maleficent's crazy success along with the very strong initial numbers for Cinderella suggest this train won't be stopping anytime soon.
As tempting as it is to ascribe Cinderella's traditional nature to a reverence for the material, it's obviously more attributable to Disney's desire to take ownership of what is otherwise a public domain character by tying the film to their animated version, which in turns builds on the corporation's scarily successful 'Disney Princesses' brand.
In the wake of the success of the Disney-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe, every studio in Hollywood is straining to construct a connected movie universe with four quadrant appeal.
Disney already has one (among several) in their iconic and revisionist takes on classic fairy tales, and the company's legendary gift for vertical synergy comes through strongly in how characters from Maleficent and Frozen easily shift to Disney-owned TV shows like Once Upon A Time.
Although such a fate undoubtedly awaits Cinderella, it's hard not to view it as a triumph on some level, if only as an antidote to the last 10 years of relentlessly clever fairy tale subversions. Plus it really is a beautiful dress.
So what of the upcoming fairy tale movies? Will they take a classic approach like Cinderella, or a revisionist one like Maleficent?
Here are some on the horizon ...
The Tale of Tales (2015)
This English-language Italian film from celebrated director Matteo Garrone (Gomorrah, Reality) is based on a 17th century fairy tale collection compiled by Italian poet Giambattista Basile. Many of the stories were early versions of tales later popularised by the Brothers Grimm. John C Reilly, Salma Hayek and Vincent Cassell are amongst the cast.
Classic or Subversive: The wider audience's lack of familiarity with the source material will undoubtedly lend this a subversive edge, and all fairy tale adaptations benefit from a European flavour. Sounds pretty cool.
Kristen Stewart in Snow White and The Huntsman.
The Huntsman (2016)
2012's Snow White and the Huntsman was about as forgettable as these movies get, but it apparently made enough money to see plans for a sequel move forward without Snow White herself.
Classic or Subversive? The original's notion of subversion was turning a fairy tale into a fantasy epic and stealing from Hayao Miyasaki. Although it was better than the same year's other Snow White reboot (Mirror, Mirror), this nevertheless didn't do nearly enough to justify a sequel. Abandoning its lead character demonstrates the franchise's lack of interest in doing anything remotely interesting with the story.
Alice In Wonderland: Through The Looking Glass (2016)
A billion dollars is simply too much money not to sequelise. Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska and Helena Bonham Carter are all returning for this follow-up, which is being directed by James Bobin (Muppets Most Wanted, Flight of the Conchords)
Classic or Subversive? The subversion on display in Burton's original was tiresome even in 2010 - this follow-up exists to serve market forces only, fatally undermining any subversion.
Beauty and the Beast (2016)
After turning down the lead in Cinderella, Emma Watson (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) decided to play Belle in this upcoming Disney flick opposite Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey).
Classic or Subversive? All signs point to this being a straight live-action adaptation of the 1991 Disney animated feature which eschews subversion in favour of Disney-defined tradition, like Cinderella. What next, a live action Dumbo? Oh hang on ...
The Little Mermaid (TBC)
It remains unclear if this planned live action fairy tale adaptation from Sofia Coppolla is still on track, but it's definitely an enticing proposition. It was previously animated by Disney in 1989 and Hayao Miyasaki in 2008 (as Ponyo).
Classic or Subversive? It's hard not to picture Coppola going subversive on this, but her kind of subversion is often so subtle, it's barely perceivable. Some Converse All Star cut-offs will no doubt feature.
