The story follows the fortunes of young Ella, whose merchant father remarries following the tragic death of her mother. Keen to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother Lady Tremaine and her daughters Anastasia and Drisella into the family home. But when Ella’s father suddenly and unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself at the mercy of a jealous and cruel new family. Relegated to nothing more than a servant girl covered in ashes, Ella is spitefully renamed Cinderella since she used to work in the cinders. Despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, Ella is determined to honor her mother’s dying words to “have courage and be kind” and to not give in to despair or despise those who abuse her. Unaware that the dashing stranger she meets in the woods is a prince and not merely an employee at the palace, Ella feels she has finally met a kindred soul. When the palace sends out an open invitation for all maidens to attend a ball, Ella hopes to attend and once again encounter the charming “Kit”. However, her stepmother forbids her to attend and callously rips apart her dress. But, as in all good fairy tales, help is at hand as a kindly beggar woman steps forward and, armed with a pumpkin and a few mice, changes Cinderella’s life forever.
The new Disney film stars Lily James, Richard Madden, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera, Stellan Skarsgård,Nonso Anozie, Hayley Atwell, Ben Chaplin, and Derek Jacobi as The King.
“Disney’s Cinderella” hits theaters everywhere on March 13, 2015.