Amanda Dorval

Doesn't even come close to touching the brilliance of Ever After: A Cinderella story (1998). Cinderella is one of my favorite fairy tales and stories, and this was the worst rendition I've seen. While I am a huge fan of representation (as a Latina, I'm ALL for Latin-led roles and narratives), Camilla Cabello is certainly no actress. The costumes are more prom-standard Windsor than Colleen Atwood. And while I can go along with an anachronistic take on the story in theory, this particular movie was just too much of a hodgepodge to stand behind. Oh, and Minnie Driver leading a cover of Let's Get Loud? *shudders*

Very mild spoilers: I LOVED it. A smart mix of nostalgia and innovation which combines plenty of original moments from the animated version with new thematic and narrative updates that make more sense within the dialogue of today. I had so much fun watching it. Halle Bailey as Ariel was a dream, but I think the stand out performance is from Melissa McCarthy as Ursula (chef's kiss 🤌). I don't know the actress who played the beautiful imposter version of Ursula but she was such a pleasant surprise too. The moment when her facade is revealed and she yells "You're too late!" she just looks positively deranged (in the best way possible). One downside, I will say, we took our three and a half year old son, who overall enjoyed the movie, but the final battle scene with giant Ursula was a bit too scary for him. For parents with young ones, keep that in mind. The animators kind of made giant Ursula look like the Exorcist, and as soon as she came out of the water my son clung to his daddy and murmured "I love you daddy" (he says that when he's scared). Y'all know what your kids can handle, just a heads up.