My Work

For my Stories into Film class, we were assigned to analyze an original text with it’s film adaptation and stake a constable claim about the narratives. In my paper I focus on the 2015 Disney adaptation of Cinderella and the Brothers Grimm story. I argue that the film allows for Cinderella to develop from a passive princess to a dynamic character. I’m rather proud of this piece because it showcases, not only my strength in English writing and textual analysis, but also my film minor skills in how I was able to read a scene.

Michael Cotter

Stories into Film

Dr. Mustafa

November 10^th, 2015

Understanding the Texts:

“Cinderella” by the Grimm Brothers

Passage 1:

1. Transcription: “One day it happened that the father was going to the fair, and he asked his two stepdaughters what he should bring back for them.

“Beautiful dresses,” said the one.

“Pearls and jewels,” said the other.

“And you, Cinderella,” he said, “what do you want?”

“Father, break off for me the first twig that brushes against your hat on your way home.”

 

1. Ideas & Additional Research: This scene establishes the binary between the characters of the stepsisters and Cinderella. It shows their obsession with money and vanity where as Cinderella’s character is tied more to nature and the concept of freedom.

 

1. Paraphrase: One day, Cinderella’s father was going to the fair and he asked his daughter and stepdaughters what he can bring back for them. One stepsister said beautiful dresses, another asked for pearls and jewels. Cinderella said, ‘dad, break off the first twig that you can reach on your way home.”

 

1. Exact repetitions: he/him (3)

 

1. Strands: father, Cinderella, stepsisters

Dresses, pearls, jewels, twig

Dresses, pearls, jewels

Dresses, pearls, jewels, hat

 

1. Binary oppositions: fair vs. home

money vs. nature

jewels vs .twig

Cinderella vs stepsisters

leaving vs. staying

 

1. Figurative Language: dresses, pearls, jewels – symbolic of character of stepsisters and their greed, shallow nature, and fascination with appearance

twig – symbol for Cinderella’s love of nature and adoration of her father for being her father as opposed to just for his wealth

isolation – Cinderella’s request is considered “odd” when juxtaposed with her step sisters creating a divide between their characters

 

Passage 2:

1. Transcription: “A rich man’s wife became sick, and when she felt that her end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said, “Dear child, remain pious and good, and then our dear God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you.” With this she closed her eyes and died”

 

1. Ideas & Additional Research: It’s interesting that the mother is still teaching her daughter as she’s dying. Perhaps suggesting that parenting is never through. Also interesting that the final moment is between two women.

 

1. Paraphrase: Cinderella’s mother became sick and when she felt that her end was near, she called Cinderella to her bedside and said “Cinderella, remain moral and good, and then our God will protect you, and I will watch you from heaven and be near you” then she passed.

 

1. Exact Repetitions: dear (2), you (3)

 

1. Strands: “dear child” (Cinderella), rich man, wife

                  Pious, good, heaven, God

                  Pious, good, protection

 

1. Binary Oppositions: protect vs. died

            Picture vs. subject

            Devils vs. saint

            Sick vs. dead

            Near you vs. heaven

 

1. Figurative Language: death/isolation – a theme in the narrative that allows for Cinderella to demonstrate her independence, skills, or luck

Pious & good in trade for protection –symbolic of bartering or trading

 

Passage 3:

1. Transcription: “Now that no one else was at home, Cinderella went to her mother’s grave beneath the hazel tree, and cried out: Shake and quiver, little, tree, throw gold and silver down to me. Then the bird threw a gold and silver dress down to her, and slippers embroidered with silk and silver.”

 

1. Ideas & Additional Research: Really interested by how different this version is compared to the classic I’m familiar with containing glass slippers and fairy godmothers. I’m interested when this adaptation came along and what drove it. Something I will be interested to research more when I develop my paper.

 

1. Paraphrase: When no one else was home, Cinderella went to her mother’s grave and under the tree she planted she cried asking for help to be allowed to go to the festival. A bird in the branches threw her a dress of gold and silver and shoes of silk and silver.

 

1. Exact Repetitions: tree (2), silver (3), gold (2), throw/threw (2), her (2)

 

1. Strands: home, mother’s grave, hazel tree

Hazel, gold, silver

Dress, slippers

Shake, quiver, throw

Tree, bird

Dress, slippers, gold, silver, silk

 

1. Binary Oppositions: alone vs. accompanied

Out of the home vs. in the home

Tree vs. dress of gold and silver

Mother’s grave vs. dress of gold and silver

 

1. Figurative Language: tree – “quivering” allows for the tree to be personified

Isolation – theme in the narrative which allows for the characters, particularly Cinderella, to demonstrate luck or strengths

 

Passage Connectivity: The passages I have selected demonstrate the isolation of the titular character. This isolation allows for Cinderella to work through the story in a way that demonstrates her skills, independence, and overall good fortune.

 

Cinderella (2015)

 

Added: mice friends, interaction with Prince before ball, fairy godmother, carriage of pumpkin

 

Dropped: cutting off parts of feet to fit the shoe, stepsister’s eyes being pecked out,

 

Changed: Cinderella’s father dies in the film, gold slipper to glass, pious to having courage, Cinderella is actually a nick-name given to Ella in the film by her stepsister.

 

Scene #1 (0:04:22 – 0:07:11)

1. Transcription: “NARRATOR/FAIRY GODMOTHER: …but sorrow can come to any kingdom, no matter how happy.

(Ella’s mother collapses)

NARRATOR: and so it came to Ella’s home

DOCTOR: I’m so sorry

FATHER: Thank you, doctor. Come, Ella.

(Ella and her father walk into a room where her mother is laying down)

ELLA’S MOTHER: Ella, my darling, I want to tell you a secret. A great secret that will see you through all the trials that life can offer. You must always remember this: have courage and be kind. You have more kindness in your little finger than most people possess in their whole body and it has power. More than you know, and magic.

ELLA: Magic?

MOTHER: Truly. Have courage and be kind my darling. Will you promise me?

ELLA: I promise.

MOTHER: Good. Good. Now, I, I must go very soon, my love. Please forgive me.

ELLA: Of course I forgive you (Ella cries and hugs her mother. Father joins in)

MOTHER: I love you. I love you, my darling. I love you.

NARRATOR: Time passed and pain turned to memory. In her heart Ella remained the same because she remembered her promise to her mother: have courage and be kind.”

 

1. Ideas & Additional Research: I’m interested in the change from “be pious and good” to “have courage and be kind” – I wonder if it was done to modernize the tale in a way that disassociated it with religion. Additionally, I’m interested that they chose to have the opening of the story narrated by the fairy godmother. I think this change really establishes the connection between the character of Ella and her fairy godmother.

 

1. Filmic elements: montage – shows Ella’s growth to progress the story into the present.

Close-up – Ella’s face when she waits for her father to finish speaking to the doctor establishing intimacy with her and the audience as well as a relatability to her vulnerability and youth.

Close-up – Ella’s foot out of her blue silky slipper. It’s propped out of her slipper acting as a foreshadowing of what’s to come at the ball as well as relate to the blue/sadness of the scene that it unfolding. There’s also a sense of growth that is shown here being that her foot almost looks too big to fit in her little slipper.

Close-ups – Ella’s mother which allows for the audience to be subjective in the shots thus having more of an emotional impact on the viewer as she reminds us to have courage and be kind.

 

Scene #2 (0:24:44 – 0:26:35)

1. 1.             Transcription: “STEPMOTHER: Ella, what’s that on your face?

CINDERELLA: Madam?

ANASTASIA: It’s ash from the fireplace

STEPMOTHER: Do clean yourself up!

ANASTASIA: You’ll get cinders in our tea!

DRISELA: I’ve got a new name for her! Cinder-wench

ANASTASIA: Oh I couldn’t bear to look so dirty! Oh dirty Ella!

DRISELA: Cinder-Ella! That’s what we’ll call you!

STEPMOTHER: Oh girls you’re much too clever. (Stepsisters giggle) Who’s this for? Is there someone we’ve forgotten?

CINDERELLA: It’s my place

STEPMOTHER: It seems too much to expect you to prepare breakfast, serve it, and still sit with us. Wouldn’t you prefer to eat when all the work is done, Ella? Or should I say, Cinderella? Hmm? (Stepmother and stepsisters laugh)

(Cinderella walks into the kitchen carrying a tray. She begins to sob as she places it down. She drops the tray and shatters the dishes. She bends down to clean them up.)

NARRATOR/FAIRY GODMOTHER (Voice-over): “Cinderella…” (She looks at her reflection in a copper pot) Names have power, like magic spells, and ever sudden it seemed to her that her stepmother and stepsisters had transformed her into merely a creature of ash and toil.”

 

1. 2.             Ideas & Additional Research: Really interested that the name was a nickname developed to torment Ella where as in the original text it was her real name. I think this was done to emphasize her personal character as Ella and the maliciousness of her stepfamily as they strip her of her humanity.

 

1. 3.             Filmic elements: shot-reverse-shot – shows Ella’s reaction to the stepfamily and emphasizes how much they’re words are hurting her.

Close-up – A reflective shot is done showing Ella’s face distorted by the copper of the pot making her appear to be some deformed creature as opposed to the beautiful young girl she is.

Close-up – Ella’s face, tears on her cheeks and face covered in ash, as she begins to compose herself – she becomes frustrated and moves from frame.

Medium-shot – Ella is framed in a medium shot at eye level so that she is one with the audience

Low-angle – the Stepmother is often shot from a close-up low angle which emphasizes her authority and power.

 

Scene #3 (0:28:27 – 0:29:45)

1. 1.    Transcription: “PRINCE: Miss, what do they call you?

CINDERELLA: Never mind what they call me.

PRINCE: You shouldn’t be this deep in the forest alone

CINDERELLA: I’m not alone, I’m with you. Mister… what do they call you?

PRINCE: (laughs) You don’t know who I am? That is they call me Kit. Well, my father does when he’s in a good mood.

CINDERELLA: And where do you live Mister Kit?

PRINCE: At the palace. My father’s teaching me his trade.

CINDERELLA: You’re an apprentice!

PRINCE: Of a sort…

CINDERELLA: That’s very fine. Do they… do they treat you well?

PRINCE: Better than I deserve most likely. And you?

CINDERELLA: They treat me as well as they’re able.

PRINCE: I’m sorry

CINDERELLA: It’s not your doing

PRINCE: Nor yours either, I bet

CINDERELLA: It’s not so very bad. Others have it worse I’m sure. We must simply have courage and be kind, mustn’t we?

PRINCE: Yes (chuckle) you’re right (Cinderella laughs) That’s exactly how I feel.”

 

1. 2.             Ideas & Additional Research: Love this interaction with Ella and the Prince. Very reminiscent of Sleeping Beauty when she meets Prince Philip in the woods and doesn’t know he’s the prince. I think this scene demonstrates a much more developed Cinderella character with some backbone.

 

1. 3.             Filmic elements: tracking shots – Ella and Eli are on horses so the camera pans with them as they have their interaction

Shot-reverse-shot – employed during their conversation

Medium – shots – used on Ella and Eli to create a comfort with their characters and relatability between them and the audience. Also allows for them to be seen as equals.

 

(Working) Thesis Statement: Disney’s 2015 live-action Cinderella establishes itself as an intermediate film adaptation of the Brother’s Grimm tale by taking Cinderella from a passive princess to independent woman.

Michael Cotter

Dr. Mustafa

Stories Into Film

November 24^th, 2015

Cinderella’s Transformation from Passive Princess to Independent Woman

The Brothers Grimm have been considered the go-to authors of fairytales for decades. The dark and dismal worlds that teach children morals with their fantastic situations have become staples in pop culture and this is partly because of the adaptations that have sprouted from these original tales by the Walt Disney Company. Disney takes the grim stories and makes them slightly less despaired through animation, music, and beloved characters. Through the ages, Disney has begun to revisit their old stories to modernize the older tales or make the characters more identifiable to a modern audience. From the new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland to the other side of Sleeping Beauty’s tale in Maleficent, Disney has been churning out adaptations that allow for the beloved tales to carry onto a new ear. Disney’s 2015 live-action Cinderella establishes itself as an intermediate film adaptation of the Brother’s Grimm tale by taking Cinderella from a passive princess to independent woman.

By losing her mother, Cinderella’s shows her devotion to family and her response to challenges.In the original Brother’s Grimm story, when Cinderella’s mother dies she becomes captivated with her death and is reliant on others to “mother” her. In the original text, Cinderella finds herself in struggle but, unlike the film, relies on other people, animals, or objects to help her out of the situations. This can be seen when her stepmother prevents her from attending the Prince’s festival. In order for her to attend, the stepmother creates a challenge for Cinderella; she must pick lentils out of ashes in the fireplace in under two hours (Grimm 2). In order to accomplish this goal, Cinderella called out to birds in the backyard and asked them to do her chore. This prevents her from showing anything more than the fact that she has a good bond with nature and supportive anthropomorphic animal friends. Additionally, when Cinderella is getting ready for the festival she seeks assistance finding a dress. She goes to the tree in the backyard that she planted by her mother’s grave and calls out: “Shake and quiver, little tree, throw gold and silver down to me” (4). Once she calls out, little birds in the tree “threw a gold and silver dress down to her, and slippers embroidered with silk and silver” which she slips on before heading to the festival (4). This scene, once again, demonstrates the Grimm’s Cinderella as a young woman who relies on her animal friends to provide for her. Her dependence on the animals and nature creates a strand between nurture and nature.

In the film, Cinderella uses her mother’s advice to guide her in her actions as a young woman. Before Cinderella’s mother passed away in the film adaptation, she asked Cinderella to promise “to have courage and be kind” (Branagh). This promise to her mother shapes Cinderella into the young woman she is in the film. This is demonstrated when she encounters the Prince for the first time, unknowing that he is in fact the Prince and simply introducing himself as Kit. In this interaction the Prince asks Cinderella what her family is like and how they treat her. Instead of responding bitterly or suggesting that her family is awful as they are, she merely responds with “they treat me as well as they are able” which demonstrates her ability to be kind and have forgiveness for people who have hurt her (Branagh). Further, before Cinderella is able to attend the ball she needs to fix the dress her stepfamily tore to shreds. Though incredibly frustrated and sad that her stepfamily would ruin a memory of her mother in such a way, she encounters a beggar woman who asks if she has a scrap of bread or cup of milk she can share. Almost instantly, Cinderella begins to compose herself and mentally assures herself that life could be worse – she could be begging for food outside too.  Her kindness radiates through the sadness as she talks with the beggar woman who asks why she’s crying. It’s soon exposed that the beggar woman is in fact Cinderella’s fairy godmother and she is going to help Cinderella get to the ball. This scene not only allows for Cinderella to demonstrate the dedication she has to the promise she made her mother; but also it allows for her to show her true kindness and the idea of what goes around comes around, which is a theme in the story and the film.

Cinderella’s flat characteristics are broken by the film adaptation. The original text makes Cinderella into a flat character whose features are often defined by how she is with others. Throughout the narrative, the Cinderella that is portrayed by the Grimm Brothers is a very passive character who is very reliant on others. The moments in the narrative when Cinderella’s character is most shown is when she is interacting with other characters. When Cinderella is with her father, he asks her and her stepsisters what they would like brought back from his travels. The stepsisters ask for “beautiful dresses” and “pearls and jewels” and Cinderella asks her father to “break off […] the first twig that brushes against [his] hat” (1). This shows Cinderella’s ties to nature as well as her love for her father being that she is requesting that he brings her something that will not cost him any money like the lavish gifts the stepsisters requested. Another key scene that captures Cinderella’s character is at the festival when she dances with the Prince. This scene in the original text really doesn’t allow for Cinderella to have any control of the actions and she acts as more of a prop. “When Cinderella appeared at the festival in this dress, everyone was astonished at her beauty. The prince had waited until she came, then immediately took her by the hand, and danced only with her” (5). These scenes further emphasize Cinderella as a flat character.

The film rounds out Cinderella’s character by providing a stronger developed backstory, which helps demonstrate her character. By establishing the film with a stronger focus at it’s opening on Cinderella and her family, the story emphasizes the connection Cinderella has to her parents. Before her mother’s death, the film featured montages of days in the garden, playing, and laughing. These shots acted as echoes of the joy that Cinderella has in her heart and allowed for the death scene of her mother and father to be even more haunting through their juxtaposition. With Cinderella basically raising herself at a young age, being that her stepfamily act more like her boss, Cinderella demonstrates her positive outlook and inspiration to follow through the promise she made her mother. When Cinderella’s stepmother makes Cinderella move her bedroom into the attic, instead of being bitter or upset at the dismal room, she sees the storage as an opportunity to look at what has been hiding in the attic and remodel the room to her liking. She also comments that “no one will disturb [her there]” (Branagh). Additionally, her nature is shown when Cinderella first meets her fairy godmother. As mentioned, the fairy godmother is disguised as a beggar woman who asks for bread and milk, which Cinderella gladly supplies. After her fairy godmother looses her disguise of a beggar woman, she offers suggestions to the fairy godmother on what could be transformed into a carriage. This demonstrates her helpful nature and overall goodness.

As opposed to the original story, the film’s Cinderella demonstrates real emotions to being bullied ranging from sadness to anger. There’s a major topic of isolation that follows Branagh’s Cinderella and through this depressive state the narrative presents the opportunity for her to show her perseverance and positivity. When Cinderella’s parents pass, the slow panning shots establish the audience on the same level as her. We are put in a place of relatability that forces us to feel the pain she feels having her entire world altered and run by a stepfamily that abuses her. There becomes a growing sense of isolation and detachment as she grows in the film from her social separation from her stepfamily to her literal isolation to sleeping in the attic and working in the cellar kitchen. Further, when Cinderella is denied from attending the Prince’s ball in the film, she finds herself unable to keep her promise to her mother. After her stepmother and sisters destroy the dress she tailored of her mother’s old gown, she begins to cry. This scene demonstrates the humanity of Branagh’s Cinderella; she’s hurt that her stepfamily would ruin a memento of her mother and she is unable to see the good in them anymore. Frustrated and saddened she leaves the house and cries by a wishing well before she speaks out: “I’m sorry, mother. I’m sorry. I said I’d have courage and I don’t. I don’t believe [in other’s kindness] anymore” (Branagh). This vulnerability allows for the audience to relate to the modern Cinderella and see her as a dynamic character with a full range of feelings.

To emphasize her independence; the film adaptation adds scenes to show Cinderella’s proactivity. The original text provided very few moments when Cinderella displayed independence Through the Brothers Grimm narrative established Cinderella as a flat and passive character, there are moments that can be looked at to establish her in a way that allow for her to be seen in a more proactive light. When Cinderella is tasked to pick the lentils from the fireplace, she relies on her animal friends to do the chore for her, but she also has to do this chore three times to prove how dedicated she is to her stepmother. This repetition allows for the reader to understand that she desperately wants to attend the festival of the Prince. Further, when she gets to the festival and dances with the Prince, she does so multiple times being that the festival lasts several nights. Each night she is selected to be the dance partner of the Prince and each night she needs to escape and be back home before midnight. This pressure to beat her stepfamily back to the house demonstrates that she is, again, dedicated to pursuing the Prince.

The addition of new scenes allows for Cinderella to be more proactive with achieving her dreams than in the Grimm Brother’s text. One of the added scenes added to the film is when Cinderella first meets the Prince in the forest. The Prince is out on a hunt of a stag with his court. In this scene, the court and Prince chase the stag into the thicket of the woods where Cinderella is riding a horse – bareback I might add. When she encounters the stag, she calms it down by speaking to it and assuring that she will not let anyone harm him. He continues to run into the woods when the Prince approaches. Cinderella stops the Prince and tells him that he’s “nearly frightened the life out of [the stag]” and questions what the stag has ever done that resulted in the hunt (Branagh). The Prince seems charmed by this gesture of Cinderella being bold and defending the animals while speaking her mind. This also allows for the audience to understand Cinderella’s kindness more which, as she promised her mother, is a huge factor of her character. Another scene added in Branagh’s film is the interaction Cinderella and the Prince have once she has arrives at the ball. Though the original text allows for the two to interact, the film adaptation builds upon the old scenes and establishes the relationship between the two as more than infatuations. After Cinderella and the Prince dance at the ball, they take a walk during which the Prince brings Cinderella to his secret garden. In the garden, the two talk about their lives a bit more and flirt with one another away from the crowd that gawks at them. This new scene demonstrates the growing relationship between Cinderella and the Prince as well as allows for the audience to observe the chemistry between them. Through this scene, Cinderella demonstrates her mutual attraction to the Prince and understands that this love may be a gift that rescues her from her wretched home life with her stepfamily.

Branagh’s modern adaptation of the Brothers Grimm tale allows for Cinderella to shine as an ambitious woman who lives her life having courage and being kind. The modern adaptation is also produced by Walt Disney Studios which famously made the animated Cinderella in 1950. The live-action 2015 adaptation took several plot points from the original text as well as from the 1950 animated classic. To further analyze Cinderella, one might add the 1950 animated film to this analysis and look from similarities or differences between the three source texts. Contrarily, one may also analyze the new live-action adaptations that the Walt Disney Company has been producing in relation to the original texts and animated films. This would be incredibly interesting to compare the animated Disney films and source texts with the new Disney live-action films that have been made or are in production such as Maleficent (2014), The Jungle Book (2016), or Beauty & the Beast (2017).

 

Works Cited

Cinderella. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Lily James, Richard Madden, Cate Blanchett,

and Helena Bonham Carter. Walt Disney Pictures, 2015. Digital Download.

Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm Grimm. Cinderella. 2nd ed. N.p.: Project Gutenberg, 2010.

Online.