Yesterday the new Cinderella film opened in cinemas, and before it is the new Frozen short, Frozen Fever. With H being the obsessive she is about all things Frozen I took her as it was the last day of term and I felt like we needed a treat.
Cinderella and Frozen Fever were released in cinemas yesterday, March 27th. I snapped up tickets as a treat for H and I so, what do you need to know? Well, firstly, I’ve decided to try and simplify film reviews on Mum Friendly, and try to waffle less. This is my first attempt, after discussions in the Mum Friendly Facebook Group. We’re using a traffic light system.
Frozen Fever
It’s short. You can buy the new song ‘Perfect Day’ from iTunes which takes up the bulk of the short. We bought it beforehand and didn’t really have a context, but once you watch it you don’t really get it out of your head. It’s Anna’s birthday and Elsa wants to make it a perfect day as she has never been able to celebrate her birthday. She has help from Kristoff and Sven, and it’s a really nice little in-between before Frozen 2 happens in the future. It has plenty of funny parts, and H was laughing out loud in her seat. The entire cinema went silent once it started too!
Green lights all the way, certificate U. Slight grump at the idea that there’ll be new Frozen ephemera including little snowpeople which Elsa creates when she sneezes! (snowgies?!) and of course new dresses… sigh!
Cinderella.
The story of Ella, whose mother and father die, who is treated badly by her new stepmother and stepsisters – and you know the rest, it’s the traditional Cinderella story in film, beautifully updated and told.
Deaths – three. H ‘got’ what was going on, and didn’t seem too sad about it. I’d say this is amber depending on how sensitive your child is – you may need to explain beforehand.
Story – wonderful, really wonderful. The filming really makes the movie – and the views of the land and castle reminded me of Arundelle (Frozen) – the settings of both made me realise how well they compliment each other. The story is easy to follow, not scary and a delight. A lot of the film is narrated by Helena Bonham Carter, and H was transfixed as the coach and horses were transformed to take Cinderella to the ball. The Ugly Sisters are no longer ugly, they’ve just ugly personalities for the film and it is no longer mentioned. The only song which features throughout is ‘Lavender’s Blue’, the old traditional folk song and nursery rhyme.
Top Tip – stay for the end credits and you’ll hear a version of ‘A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes’ towards the end. I can see ‘Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo’ is on the soundtrack, which makes me wonder if that followed it – we left the cinema, so I can’t say.
Cinderella is a green light (just be prepared with the deaths), certificate U. The only thing I would say is both films with trailers came in at two hours – a lot of younger children were getting twitchy, so be prepared for a long sit down!