Over the years, there have been many a story of Cinderella, all told in different ways, but the narrative has changed with Camilla Cabello’s debut in Amazon Prime’s Cinderella. Now because there are so many different takes on the fairy-tale, I thought I’d rank each film, according to my opinion (you can disagree) to see which one I think is the fairest of them all.
I have yet to see A Cinderella Story: Starstruck, so will leave that out of my ranking because I can’t exactly give my opinion on a movie I have yet to see.
So here are my rankings...
A Cinderella Story:
This Hilary Duff classic tells the tale of Sam Montgomery falling for pen pal, Nomad, and she decides to meet him at the school dance, despite her stepmother working her overtime. The pen pals fall for each other but Sam gets a surprise when she finds out Nomad is the high school’s popular jock, Austin Ames, portrayed by Chad Michael Murray.
Whilst this version of the fairy-tale is unlike the others with no musical numbers, apart from that of the ball, it still has a magical feel to it – perhaps even more so. The love story is real and heart-warming and makes every girl wish they were Hilary Duff.
Rating: 3.5/5
Another Cinderella Story:
Selena Gomez stars in this dance retelling of Cinderella as Mary Santiago, who dreams of getting into a prestigious dance school, but her stepmother tries to sabotage her plans. At the school dance, she dances with Joey Parker, her pop idol, but leaves behind her Zune – instead of a glass slipper.
With several dance numbers, this teen romantic musical will have you up on your feet dancing the night away.
Rating: 3/5
A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song
I remember when I watched this version and I remember I instantly played the album on repeat because I liked the songs so much. Lucy Hale stars in this musical comedy as Katie Gibbs, a singer-songwriter who dreams of getting a record deal. After singing (in disguise, of course!) to Luke Morgan, portrayed by Freddie Stroma, who is the son of a record producer, the pair grow closer, with some bumps along the way, toward their happily ever after – it wouldn’t be a fairy-tale without one would it?
The humour in this film isn’t as cringy as one may think, and the songs are actually really good.
Rating: 4.5/5
A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish
The perfect magical Christmas film for those looking for some heart-warming musical romance during the festive season. Austin and Ally’s Laura Marano stars as Kat Decker, an aspiring singer whose plans have been stalled by her step-family. After meeting the new Santa at the Christmas tree lot where she works, she gets her own kind of Christmas miracle.
I think this is a light-hearted Christmas romance that’s sure to get anyone in the Christmas spirit, with new festive songs playing in your head.
Rating: 3/5
A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits:
Sofia Carson plays Tessa, an aspiring popstar, whose stepmother keeps getting in the way of her plans; but when the opportunity to audition for a pop star’s version of Cinderella occurs, Tessa decides to chase her dream, which leads her to Reed, her own Prince Charming.
This version has songs and dances galore that will keep you entertained for sure.
Rating: 4/5
Cinderella:
Amazon Prime’s Cinderella was an unexpected joy to watch with Camilla Cabello’s fantastic acting debut. This modern take on the classic is funny, musical, realistic and it has important social messages spread throughout. The star-studded cast brings to life each character and changes the fairy-tale narrative to show female power, and that we can have both our love and dreams – you just might have to overcome some hurdles along the way.
In my opinion, this is the best retelling of Cinderella. I LOVED it and have had the album playing on my Spotify since it was released. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you do…right now.
Rating: 4.75/5 (only because I got Hamilton vibes from the rap songs, so thought they could’ve been done slightly differently, but that’s not to say they’re enjoyable to listen too).
Obviously, all these ratings are purely my opinion, and my opinion alone; you may hate musicals and completely disagree with me – I know some people already do!
But if you fancy watching a retelling of Cinderella, let me know what you think – especially if you watch Cinderella Story: Starstruck, as I have yet to watch it.
Until next time…
On this list, the only ones I've seen are with Hilary Duff and Selena Gomez. But my favourite Cinderella movie is definitely Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella with Whitney Houston. The cast is amazing, and the songs are lively and fun. It is such a colourful and diverse movie, which I love. In my opinion, it can't get better than this. But I would still love to see Camila Cabello's Cinderella.
Love these films! Although I think the Christmas one might be my second favourite!
Love the post! I haven’t seen all of them - 3 I think - but Cinderella is my favourite, followed by the Selena Gomez one. Well done!!! 👏👏👏