So here's my question...if the glass slipper was such a perfect fit, why did it fall off in the first place??? If, as we have been raised to believe, there was "magic in dat shoe" then perhaps that infamous slipper was trying to tell Ms. Ella something???
Can a shoe change your life? Well, it can certainly change your day, or a night, and in Cinderella's case she could argue that a single shoe took down the evil relatives and handed her a key to the proverbial castle. But was it really the shoe...not sure even a fab pair of Manolo's could have that kind of power. For over 325 years the story of a sooty orphaned girl in rags, who was all goodness and beauty, and who was "rescued" by a handsome prince and a Fairy Godmother with a penchant for pumpkins, has been a staple of every little girl's bedtime dreams. The ingredients to this tale are simple...
You need a Wicked Stepmother
Two Ugly Evil Step-Sisters
A Fairy Godmother
A Handsome Prince
...and of course THAT Magic Slipper
The cynic in me knows that the new Cinderella film is all about Disney and selling millions of little girls everything from plastic slippers to blue nylon ballgowns and Cinderella pillowcases. I get that! I worry that in fact Disney is selling those little girls more than that, raising a new generation of girls on fantasy and fairy tale...can't be good right? Girls need to know they make their own magic by believing in themselves not their Fairy Godmother. Yet, I admit to having the Cinderella Complex ingrained in me-somewhere deep down always believing, no matter how much of an educated Feminist I became ,that "one day my prince will come". I have fought it, cast aspersions on all things "Happily Ever After" , wore my Independent Woman T shirt with pride, but when all is said and done I will come clean and admit that the romantic in me wins-every single time. I love the story, always have since watching a grainy black and white rerun of Julie Andrews dance across my portable TV screen. I sang along with Gus Gus and waved an imaginary Bibbidi Bobbodi Boo wand around the house, and yes I cannot wait to see Kenneth Branagh's gorgeous live-action retelling of Cinderella's journey.
But here's the thing for me about Cinderella...I will make the argument that she really does not get rescued at all, but rather is a fighter in her own right who stands up to those that try to keep her in a corner in her own little chair. Cinderella I believe impacts all around her, including a Prince who is lost and needs her grace to find his way. Sure, she has a fairy Godmother, and wouldn't we all love one of those! but in the end it is Cinderella who casts the real spell and changes her destiny. She does believe in herself and though she has some help along the way it is Cinderella who finds her own way to her own Happily Ever After. I choose to believe she went on to run the Kingdom in partnership with her Prince!
So, I will go watch to see this new Cinderella with its perfect cast, amazing costumes, and exquisite sets...but... I'll be back by midnight!
Watch the very first Cinderella Flick from 1899
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