a cinderella story movie review

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, do yourself a favor -- skip 'cinderella story'.

Now streaming on:

Ernest Madison says he swore off movie critics when they panned " Dragonslayer ," one of the favorites of his childhood. "I stopped paying attention to critics because they kept giving bad reviews to good movies," says Madison, now 35.

Fourteen-year-old Byron Turner feels the same way. He turns to the Web for movie information and trailers, then shares what he's discovered with his friends, his sister Jasmine, even his mother, Toni.

"I used to watch Roger Ebert but now I get most of my information from Byron," Toni Turner says. "I don't really pay attention to critics anymore."

--Story by Bob Curtright in the Wichita Eagle

Dear Byron,

I know what your mother means because when I was 14, I was also pummeling my parents with information about new movies and singing stars. I didn't have the Internet, but I grabbed information anywhere I could -- mostly from other kids, Hollywood newspaper columnists and what disc jockeys said. Of course that was a more innocent time, when movies slowly crept around the country, and there was time to get advance warning of a turkey.

Your task is harder than mine was, because the typical multiplex movie is heralded by an ad campaign costing anywhere from $20 million to $50 million. Fast food restaurants now have tie-ins with everyone from Shrek to Spider-Man; when I was a kid we were lucky to get ketchup with the fries. Enormous pressure is put on the target audience to turn them out on opening weekends. And Hollywood's most valued target audience, Byron, is teenage males. In other words, you.

So I am writing you in the hope of saving your friends, your sister Jasmine, and your mother Toni from going to see a truly dismal new movie. It is called "A Cinderella Story," and they may think they'll like it because it stars Hilary Duff .

I liked her in " Cheaper by the Dozen ," and said she was "beautiful and skilled" in "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," but wrote: "As a role model, Lizzie functions essentially as a spokeswoman for the teen retail fashion industry, and the most-quoted line in the movie is likely to be when the catty Kate accuses her of being an 'outfit repeater.' Since many of the kids in the audience will not be millionaires and do indeed wear the same outfit more than once, this is a little cruel, but there you go."

That's probably something your mother might agree with.

In "A Cinderella Story," Hilary plays Sam, a Valley Girl whose happy adolescence ends when her dad is killed in an earthquake. That puts her in the clutches of an evil stepmother ( Jennifer Coolidge , who you may remember fondly as Stifler's mom in the " American Pie " movies, although since they were rated R, of course you haven't seen them). Sam also naturally has two evil stepsisters. Half the girls in school have a crush on Austin ( Chad Michael Murray ), a handsome football star, but Sam never guesses that Austin is secretly kind of poetic -- and is, in fact, her best chat room buddy. She agrees to meet him at the big Halloween dance, wearing a mask to preserve her anonymity; as a disguise, the mask makes her look uncannily like Hilary Duff wearing a mask.

Anyway, this is a lame, stupid movie, but Warner Bros. is spending a fortune, Byron, to persuade you to see it and recommend it to your mom and Jasmine. So you must be strong and wise, and do your research. Even though your mother no longer watches my TV show, you use the Internet as a resource and no doubt know about movie review sources like rottentomatoes.com , metacritic.com and even (pardon me while I wipe away a tear) suntimes.com/ebert . Even when a critic dislikes a movie, if it's a good review, it has enough information so you can figure out whether you'd like it, anyway.

For example, this review is a splendid review because it lets you know you'd hate "A Cinderella Story," and I am pretty much 100 percent sure that you would. So I offer the following advice. Urgently counsel your mom and sister to forget about going out to the movies this week, and instead mark the calendar for Aug. 24, when " Ella Enchanted " will be released on video. This is a movie that came out in April and sank without a trace, despite the fact that it was magical, funny, intelligent, romantic and charming.

It stars the beautiful Anne Hathaway (from " The Princess Diaries ") as a young girl whose fairy godmother ( Vivica A. Fox ) puts a spell on her that makes her life extremely complicated. She has the usual evil stepmother and two jealous stepsisters. Will she win the love of Prince Charmont ( Hugh Dancy )? "A Cinderella Story" is a terrible movie, sappy and dead in the water, but "Ella Enchanted" is a wonderful movie, and if Jasmine and your mom insist on Cinderella, you can casually point out what Ella is short for.

As for that guy Ernest Madison, he was about 11 when "Dragonslayer" came out. He must have been a child prodigy, to swear off movie critics at an age when most kids didn't even know they existed. If he still feels the same way, I hope he goes to see "A Cinderella Story." That'll teach him.

Your fellow critic,

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

Now playing

Megamind vs the Doom Syndicate

Carol Doda Topless at the Condor

Marya e. gates.

Knox Goes Away

Robert daniels.

Nandini Balial

The American Society of Magical Negroes

Glenn Kenny

Film credits.

A Cinderella Story (2004)

Rated PG for mild language and innuendo

Hilary Duff as Sam

Julie Gonzalo as Shelby

Madeline Zima as Brianna

Chad Michael Murray as Austin

Regina King as Rhonda

Andrea Avery as Gabriella

Dan Byrd as Carter

Jennifer Coolidge as Fiona

Lin Shaye as Mrs. Wells

Directed by

Mark Rosman
Leigh Dunlap

Latest blog posts

Home Entertainment Guide: March 2024

The Ebert Fellows Go to True/False

Keith Law Wants You to Watch Better Baseball Movies

The Joy of Watching the Greats Continue to Be Great Well Into Their 80s and 90s

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Upcoming Movies and TV shows
Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

What's the Tomatometer®?
Login/signup

Movies in theaters

Opening this week
Top box office
Coming soon to theaters
Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

Netflix streaming
Prime Video
Most popular streaming movies
What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

Love Lies Bleeding Link to Love Lies Bleeding
Problemista Link to Problemista
Late Night with the Devil Link to Late Night with the Devil

New TV Tonight

We Were the Lucky Ones: Season 1
Jerrod Carmichael: Reality Show: Season 1
A Gentleman in Moscow: Season 1
Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces: Season 1
Renegade Nell: Season 1
American Rust: Season 2
The Baxters: Season 1
grown-ish: Season 6

A Cinderella Story Reviews

Jennifer Coolidge is so funny as the evil stepmother, she has so many good lines.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | May 14, 2019

Funny and sweet update of the Cinderella story.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 21, 2010

The movie will wash over adolescent female audiences who don't know any better like melted Brie on 110-degree asphalt, but for the rest of us it's a grueling waste of time.

Full Review | Original Score: D- | Jul 11, 2010

Duff has yet another brainless movie to add to her repertoire.

Full Review | Apr 29, 2009

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Aug 7, 2008

Charles Perrault must be spinning in his grave.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jun 13, 2008

I took a friend's 10-year-old daughter to see the film, and she found it 'too childish.' And who am I to argue with a member of this film's target audience?

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Sep 11, 2006

'A Cinderella Story' makes so many good chocies, you wish you could like it more than you do.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 4, 2004

Rather than anything original or humorous or, heaven forbid, romantic developing from this fable, we get only tired clichs and worn-out stereotypes.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Oct 18, 2004

A benign, whimsical semblance of its namesake fairy tale.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Sep 16, 2004

A couple of cruel stepsisters are thrown in to push the Cinderella angle, but their asinine antics merely highlight first-time screenwriter Leigh Dunlap's stunning lack of talent and imagination.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Aug 21, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 19, 2004

This is simple, lazy storytelling rendered merely functional by appealing leads and the eternal lure of romantic fantasy.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 19, 2004

Every high school clich in the book is dredged up for this piece of fluff

Full Review | Aug 19, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Aug 16, 2004

It's all way too bland.

Full Review | Aug 8, 2004

I look at "Cinderella Story" as I would look at early Elvis films - this is a teen movie made for the sheer enjoyment of her fans.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Aug 7, 2004

The result is pure pumpkin, though fans of squeaky-clean, helium-voiced Hilary Duff might fall under its sickly sweet spell.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 3, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: D | Jul 28, 2004

This year's one-zillionth mean-girl movie, and that's not the only thing here that's played out.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 23, 2004

Cast & crew
User reviews

A Cinderella Story

Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Samantha Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school's Halloween dance. Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Samantha Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school's Halloween dance. Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Samantha Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school's Halloween dance.

Mark Rosman
Leigh Dunlap
Hilary Duff
Chad Michael Murray
Jennifer Coolidge
264 User reviews
62 Critic reviews
25 Metascore
6 wins & 8 nominations

(as Andrea Avery)

See all cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

Trivia Rupert Grint won the role of Austin Ames, but had to drop out due to commitments to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) . The role of Austin Ames instead went to Chad Michael Murray .
Goofs At the dance, Carter, as Zorro, says he learned to fence from "The Pirates of Penzance," by Sir W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan Act 2, Scene 1. There is no fight scene in Act 2, Scene 1 of Pirates, the scene consists of a slow ballad sung by the female chorus.

Sam's Dad : Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game.

Connections Featured in The Clique (2008)
Soundtracks This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) Written by Chuck Jackson (as Charles Jackson) and Marvin Yancy (as Marvin Jerome Yancy) Performed by Natalie Cole Courtesy of Capitol Records Under License from EMI Film & Television Music

User reviews 264

May 5, 2005
How long is A Cinderella Story? Powered by Alexa
July 16, 2004 (United States)
United States
Warner Bros. (United States)
Untitled 'Cinderella' Project
George's 50's Diner - 4390 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, California, USA (The diner)
Warner Bros.
Gaylord Films
Clifford Werber Productions
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$19,000,000 (estimated)
$51,438,175
$13,623,350
Jul 18, 2004
$70,080,371

Technical specs

Runtime 1 hour 35 minutes
Dolby Digital
D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1
D-Cinema 96kHz 5.1
Broadway Surround
Dolby Atmos

More to explore

A Cinderella Story Review

20 Aug 2004

A Cinderella Story

While Mean Girls proved there's life left in the teen comedy and Shrek in the contemporary fairy tale, this proves just how carelessly a hybrid can be slung out and still, somehow, please a portion of its adolescent audience.

Sam (Hilary Duff) slaves for her wicked stepmother (and minging step-siblings, natch, what with this being an update of the Cinderella myth. Clue's in the title, folks) while dreaming of her anonymous cyber soulmate. At a fancy dress party rendezvous, he's revealed to be school hunk Austin (Chad Michael Murray) - swoon! - but he doesn't recognise the eye-masked beauty as lowly diner worker Sam. What will happen if he finds out? Will he use the mobile phone (read: glass slipper) she left behind to track her down? No, that would be too easy. So would making humorous use of the 'ugly' sisters.

This is simple, lazy storytelling rendered merely functional by appealing leads and the eternal lure of romantic fantasy.

A CINDERELLA STORY

"a great fairy tale".

What You Need To Know:

(CC, BBB, L, V) Christian worldview, with giving, sharing, serving, obedience, and, most of all, grace, as well as references to blessings and prayer, with a romantic fairy tale storyline that has is not philosophically Rouseauian Romantic because it is not a "follow your heart" message, but rather a "do the right thing" message; one obscenity and four exclamations of “Oh my God!”; some comic violence including slipping on a wet floor, being hit with a pie, being hit by a baseball, and other slapstick humor; one lightweight character is a comic foil, but is not identified as homosexual, and kissing; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking; and, lots of moral messages.

GENRE: Romantic Comedy

More Detail:

A CINDERELLA STORY is one of the three best produced movies of the summer of 2004. It’s certainly the best romantic comedy for teenagers. It is wonderfully, entertainingly written and avoids all the politically correct sexual hijinx that usually bog down teen romantic comedies. In fact, at its heart, it’s a story of doing the right thing, counting your blessings, and finding the true rewards of doing so.

At the beginning of the movie, a little girl named Sam, short for Samantha, is playing with her father, who owns a friendly diner in the San Fernando Valley. He takes good care of her, because her mother, his wife, has died. Life seems perfect, except Sam’s father thinks that Sam needs a mother, so he marries Fiona, a “witch” who is played to the hilt by Jennifer Coolidge. Fiona is really wicked in her self-centered way and has two miserable, selfish twin daughters. When Sam’s father dies in the Northridge earthquake, Sam is relegated to being a servant of Fiona and the wicked stepsisters.

At school, Samantha’s only friend is Carter, a wannabe actor who tries out different roles everyday. They are the brunt of cruel jokes from the “in” crowd, but unknown to everyone, Sam is having a text messaging romantic dialogue with the big hunk on campus, Austin, who is the captain of the football team and a member of one of the cliques that embarrasses her every day. They both want to go to Princeton, so they cyber-met in a Princeton chat room. They have a lot in common, except they’ve never met each other on friendly terms on campus.

During the big Halloween dance, Sam dresses up as a princess, and by text messaging, Sam and Austin agree to meet on the dance floor at 11 p.m. Love strikes them both, but she has to get back to the family diner by 12 or face the wrath of Fiona. Soon after the dance, her emails are found by her stepsisters, who use the emails to embarrass her at a pep rally for the football team. From that point in the story, the plot takes an even deeper and very gratifying redemptive turn.

A CINDERELLA STORY keeps getting better and better as the movie tells the classic fairy tale story in a contemporary setting. This is pretty hard to do because the movie starts off at a high level of good humor and moral fundamentals. The jokes stem from the moral premise, the bad is rebuked, and the good is clearly deeper than just superficial. The movie extols kindness, love, compassion, decency, and all the cardinal virtues in a positive, winsome, attractive way. Therefore, this is a must-see movie for all ages.

The talented Hilary Duff has not been known for her acting, but she does a terrific job in this movie expressing nuanced emotions in a profound yet humorous way. Chad Michael Murray as Austin is also superb. But, Dan Byrd who plays Carter almost steals the movie – he is at the same time a nerd and a suave, professional wannabe actor. He’s funny and disarming.

Some of the jokes in the movie are retreads, of course, but they’re done in such a fresh way that they make you laugh out loud. Other jokes, though, are just superb, and you’ll probably want to see the movie twice to catch them all. One superb line says something like: “In California, it’s not who you are, but what you wear.” However, the movie is interested in who you are, not what you wear.

The central message of the movie is very biblical: never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. This echoes the only message found in every book of the Bible: “Fear not.” Why should we not be afraid? Well, because we live in a world created by God who loves us and who has a wonderful plan for our life even when everything seems to be falling apart.

A CINDERELLA STORY should be used in script classes to help demonstrate good scriptwriting. Bravo! It’s the perfect complement to SPIDER-MAN 2.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.

A Cinderella Story Review

A film that has its heart in the right place.

Here's my concern about A Cinderella Story , the new Hilary Duff vehicle: I liked it. It's a clunky little gem that grows on you and truly brings "up to date" the oft told saga of the put-upon beauty and her cruel stepfamily. Yes, I was mesmerized as I pondered Hilary Duff's salary cap. Yes, I kept thinking about what modern au-go-go teen would deign to like this. And yes, I'm aware that its TV-movie feel is due primarily to its TV-movie director, Mark Rosman, but... I liked it.

This modern fairy tale starts off smart by hooking us with a sympathetic hero. Eight-year-old Sam is shown with her single Dad, the owner of a San Fernando Valley diner and his "family" of employees. Dad (Whip Hubley) even reads little Sam bedtime stories. But when he is taken from us by the Northridge Earthquake... O-kay... Sam is left with her stepmother (the ever marvelous Jennifer Coolidge) and two gawky, evil stepsisters -- and summarily exiled to the attic.

Eight years later, Sam has transformed into Hilary Duff. Under the fat thumb of her step mom who's got her scrubbing floors at the diner, Sam pines to go to Princeton and, on the way, find true love if she can. Buddied up with her best friend Carter (Dan Byrd) an aspiring drama nerd, Sam is the butt of jokes by the mean girls at high school who've dubbed her Diner Girl. But though things look bleak, there's a prince of a guy who's the star quarterback and one of those teen stars with three names: Chad Michael Murray.

And because this is an update of the Cinderella story (thus its rather plain title), we have technology instead of a fairy godmother. Sam, it turns out, has a secret admirer she corresponds with via tech messages on her cell phone and on the Internet. It's Chad, of course, revealing to Sam his inner need go against his father's wishes and not go to USC (smart kid) and the pain of having to be "the prince." And because we know these two are meant to be together, the costumed Halloween Hop is the perfect rendevous. With a little help from the gang at work, Sam gets a makeover and a mask to hide her identity and she and Chad finally meet. But when her cell phone strikes twelve, Diner Girl must return to the Diner, leaving Chad hanging, with only a memory, and his two extra names.

What could be a by-the-book retelling is in fact a nice essay on the trials of finding inner strength. I know that's a stretch, but I like movies with a moral, especially a moral that provides hope, and this one actually has more going on than it first appears. Chad is indeed torn by his father's dreams for him, and Hilary is just about right for a modern Cinderella, pretty enough to clean up for the ball, average enough to be a believable wage slave. And their working class values seem real and noble. Both kids work! I like that. And both kids take on the responsibility of growing up and facing their flaws. By the time the movie ends in a rain-soaked and triumphant kiss, I bought it. And the medicine goes down nicely thanks to some wonderful character acting and some clever screenwriting from first timer Leigh Dunlop.

Prime among the fun is Jennifer Coolidge and if you take your eyes off step mom in any scene she's in you're missing out. Famous for her turns as the manicurist/goddess in the Legally Blonde series, Coolidge does more with botox jokes, tanning booths and the Beverly Hills Salmon Diet than one could hope. Watch her in a fairly basic car-out-of-control scene in which her freshly botoxed face shows NO EMOTION and you have to laugh. And even when the focus isn't on her, she'll be doing something -- idly pushing her breasts into place, staring into space thinking about her next meal, or using a toothpick to punctuate an exit. Also funny are mummy's evil "twins" Gabriella (Andrea Avery) and Brianna (Madeline Zima).

I worry however about who will like this PG dish. It's the type of movie I wish would be accepted more by audiences. I hope it is. There are some movies like this that are aimed at teens, ones that I have a passing interest in, and want to do well. But when I think about the real world and real teens, I can only imagine the cool kids saying no thanks and leaving only the lonely, gangly kind, sad little geeks who dutifully put on their Josie And The Pussycats ears and awkwardly wait by the mailbox hoping for that autographed picture of Melissa Joan Hart. I love those kids. I feel for them. And God wasn't I one in my own way. But maybe that's what the Cinderella tale is all about, the hope that someday we will grow past this phase of our development and win one for a change. For a major motion picture, at least A Cinderella Story has its heart is in the right place.

And that's a start.

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

DVD & Streaming

A Cinderella Story

Comedy , Drama , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

Hilary Duff as Sam; Chad Michael Murray as Austin; Jennifer Coolidge as Fiona; Dan Byrd as Carter; Regina King as Rhonda; Julie Gonzalo as Shelby; Madeline Zima as Brianna; Andrea Avery as Gabriella; Whip Hubley as Sam's Dad; Kevin Kilner as Austin's Dad

Home Release Date

Mark Rosman

Distributor

Warner Bros.

Movie Review

Scores of celluloid versions of the Cinderella story have been made, dating back as far as 1899. Only recently, though, has its lovably demure heroine started to morph from pathetic-but-pretty to high-tech and hot. From damsel in perpetual distress to the girl next door who just needs a small shot of self-confidence to put her over the top. In Ever After Drew Barrymore delighted audiences by lobbing philosophical hand grenades at her prince and punching out one of her stepsisters. After Ella Enchanted ‘s Anne Hathaway karate-chops evil elf-haters, she struggles to reach deep enough inside of herself to break a curse that makes her hyper-obedient. Here, Hilary Duff must find the courage to turn her cyber-relationship with the boy of her dreams into face-to-face reality by finally meeting him at the high school Halloween dance. In the old stories the prince saves Cinderella from the misery of her circumstances; in the new ones she saves herself, thank you very much.

After the “Once upon a time’s” are done, young Cinderella (Sam, in this story) loses her beloved dad to a California earthquake. But not before he foolishly marries Fiona, a Botox-obsessed, gold-digging sun worshiper. Naturally, Fiona has two daughters of her own, Brianna and Gabriella, who live to torture and insult their new stepsister. Sam’s Prince Charming comes in the form of a boy she meets in a Princeton University (get it?) chat room. (Both are planning on attending the following year.) The two teens go to the same Southern California high school, but they’ve never officially met—yet. Their rendezvous is set for the Halloween costume dance.

Positive Elements

Follow your dreams. Stick up for yourself. Don’t be cruel. Be a good friend. Stop caring so much about what people think of you. A Cinderella Story ‘s themes are as tried-and-true as the story it’s based on. Sam’s best friend, Carter, supports her through thick and thin, even though it seems like he’d rather not share her with some randomly appointed punk prince. Sam returns the favor. High school football star Austin Ames, who turns out to be Sam’s hunk in shining armor, pushes aside popularity and schoolyard preeminence to declare his love for Sam. She, meanwhile, refuses to settle for second-best, demanding that he give her everything—respect, affection, devotion and public adoration—or walk away.

Early scenes show how important the bond between a father and a daughter is. Dad teaches Sam how to live life to the fullest, and reinforces his favorite mantra: “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” Sam compliments a woman for being able to take simple things and make them beautiful. Negative actions used to reinforce positive themes include a mean-spirited pep rally skit designed to humiliate Sam, the obsession the ugly-on-the-inside Fiona has with her outward appearance and the stepsisters’ jealous flounderings.

Sexual Content

High school girls wear bikini swimsuits, short skirts and reveal cleavage. While trying to find Sam an appropriate costume for the Halloween dance, Carter points out a sexy leather get-up, then nearly passes out when he sees her in a Hawaiian-style grass skirt and coconut top. Couples kiss passionately. Austin’s friends ogle girls in the hallway, making mildly rude comments (“Hello Kitty!”) as they pass.

Violent Content

Pushing, shoving and tripping, mostly. To stop a guy from chasing him, Carter whacks him in the face with a swinging bar-counter door. A huge neon sign crushes a car. Brianna and Gabriella get into a fight over Austin, grappling with each other on top of a car that is going through an automatic wash.

Crude or Profane Language

“H—” is heard once in a background song. Another mild profanity (“d–n”) is used in dialogue. God’s name pops out as an interjection a few times. “Jeez” is said once.

Drug and Alcohol Content

No primary characters smoke, drink, do drugs or talk about drugs.

Other Negative Elements

Most of the major teen movie stereotypes are in place in this one. Parents are clueless. Teachers are dorks. (One scene shows food flying out of a teacher’s mouth as he clumsily eats an apple.) Cheerleaders are snots. Jocks are crass.

Fiona and her daughters drive recklessly, causing several near-misses. One of the sisters is seen passing gas in the swimming pool. A joke is made about a girl using laxatives. A cheerleader tells a boy that the only time he’s worth noticing is when she copies his work in Algebra II class. Sam barges into the boys’ locker room while they’re changing for a football game. (Nobody’s naked.) A nude Fiona gets out of a tanning bed. (She puts on a towel before the camera shows her body.)

I’ll approach the subject of Sam’s disobedience gently, with the understanding that inside the context of a Cinderella story, it’s certainly understandable, if not sometimes necessary . It’s noted that for her whole life, Sam has obeyed without question, even when she’s taken advantage of and abused with excessive work requirements. Then, finally, when she’s a senior in high school, she snaps and begins to defy the dictatorial orders of her stepmom. Once, she leaves work to attend the dance. (Mitigating her offense further, the diner’s manager insists that she do it.) And later, she takes a stand against Fiona, stating flatly, “I’m quitting this job. I’m quitting this family.” And she does, moving her things out of the house and taking up residence with an adult friend (the diner’s manager).

In A Cinderella Story Hilary Duff brings along with her quite a bit of the charm she exuded during her Lizzie McGuire years. And while the structure of this film’s plot follows that of the age-old Cinderella fairy tale, its feel is that of a half-hour Disney series. (Not so surprising considering its director helmed more than a dozen episodes of Lizzie McGuire , State of Grace and Even Stevens .) Its moral? Happily ever after only comes to those who make it happen for themselves. Princes will fail you. Moms will neglect you. Friends may even flake out on you. But none of that matters if you do the right thing, conserve water, watch out for the less fortunate and go to the college of your choice.

Steven Isaac

Latest reviews.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Someone Like You

Ordinary Angels

Weekly reviews straight to your inbox.

Artistic Reviews
Testimonials
Free Pass/Newsletter
Member Login

Letterboxd — Your life in film

Forgotten username or password ?

Start a new list…
Add all films to a list…
Add all films to watchlist

Add to your films…

Press Tab to complete, Enter to create

A moderator has locked this field.

Add to lists

Where to watch

A cinderella story.

2004 Directed by Mark Rosman

Once upon a time... can happen any time.

Sam Montgomery is a tomboyish, unpopular girl at school. She has been text messaging a somebody named Nomad for a few months and he asks her to meet him at the Halloween dance at 11:00 in the middle of the dance floor. The only problem is, she must get back to the diner, ran by her wicked Stepmom Fiona by 12 sharp because she is not supposed to be there. Before Nomad can find out who she is, she must leave with her best friend, Carter driving her back to the diner. After that night, everything in Sam's life goes wacko!

Hilary Duff Chad Michael Murray Jennifer Coolidge Dan Byrd Regina King Julie Gonzalo Lin Shaye Madeline Zima Andrea Avery Mary Pat Gleason Paul Rodríguez Whip Hubley Kevin Kilner Erica Hubbard Simon Helberg Brad Bufanda J. D. Pardo Aimee-Lynn Chadwick Kady Cole Hannah Robinson Josh Prince Art LaFleur James Eckhouse Jonathan Slavin John Billingsley Lilli Babb Carlie Westerman Mike Randleman Christie Herring Show All… Lindsay Hollister Taylor Hoover Brittany Weber Darryl Sivad Rita Bland Keli Murphy Alexis Raich Sabin Rich Sandra McCoy Julianne Waters Karen Elmore Stella Choe Jessie Rice-Holiday Cricket Hamar Shannon Novak Oscar Orosco Jason Beitel Kato Bonner Carol Borjas Reshma Gajjar Molly Gosline Hunter Hamilton Richard Jackson Trey Knight Jonathan Ritter Jenny Seeger Becca Sweitzer Melanie A. Gage Jolene Riella Elle Beyer Joe Jagatic Lon Beyer Tarah Paige Justin Rhoads Danielle Riffenburgh Rory Thost John H. Tobin Toni Wynne

Director Director

Mark Rosman

Producers Producers

Hunt Lowry Troy Rowland Dylan Sellers Clifford Werber Ilyssa Goodman

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Peter Greene Michael I. Rachmil Susan Duff Keith Giglio

Writer Writer

Leigh Dunlap

Casting Casting

Sarah Halley Finn Randi Hiller Courtney Gross

Editor Editor

Cara Silverman

Cinematography Cinematography

Anthony B. Richmond

Camera Operator Camera Operator

George Richmond

Production Design Production Design

Charles William Breen

Art Direction Art Direction

Gary Diamond

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Jann K. Engel Jeffrey Kushon

Title Design Title Design

Jimmy Zelinger

Stunts Stunts

Mark Kubr Eddie Yansick Anthony Molinari Andy Gill Debbie Evans Brandon Sebek Marc Scizak Richard Epper Nancy Thurston Meegan E. Godfrey Joette Nichole Orman Nicole Basanda Maria Coloroso Phil Green

Composer Composer

Christophe Beck

Costume Design Costume Design

Denise Wingate

Dylan Sellers Productions Gaylord Films Clifford Werber Productions Warner Bros. Pictures

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

English Czech German

Releases by Date

10 jul 2004, 16 jul 2004, 20 aug 2004, 16 sep 2004, 07 oct 2004, 01 feb 2005, 30 nov 2011, 01 jan 2020, 15 jan 2020, 06 jul 2005, 31 mar 2010, 23 jul 2014, 20 sep 2007, releases by country.

Physical PG
Digital VOD
Digital U Netflix
Theatrical 0

Netherlands

Theatrical 12
TV 12 Net 5
Physical 12 DVD

Russian Federation

Theatrical 12+

South Korea

Digital 12 Netflix
Theatrical PG
Premiere PG Hollywood, California

95 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by harley ★★★★★ 5

how hilary duff didn’t get a best actress nomination for her “waiting for you is like waiting for rain in this drought” monologue is beyond me

Review by issy 🥝 ★★ 2

imagine making fun of someone for working in a funky pink retro diner where they glide around delivering muffins and coffee on rollerblades in checkered pants that flare ever so slightly at the ends continuing a neverending witty yet sincere repartee with her middle aged coworkers. that’s the motherfuckin dream!!! it’s diner girl’s world and you’re just living in it!

Review by Kate ★★★★★

I literally choked on my drink at the "no dad it's YOUR dream" line even though I 100% knew it was coming

Review by aaron ★★★★★ 4

ohhh to be a raindrop on chad michael murray’s cheek

Review by linny ★★★★ 3

i can't believe quentin tarantino directed this

Review by maddie ★★★

she'd rather have a big mac than a rice cake, so she's Not Like Other Girls™

Review by Caitlin ★★★ 2

y'all remember when Chad brought Hilz as his date to the Freaky Friday premiere and Lindsay lost her absolute shit I miss the good old days

Review by miranda todd ★★★★★ 4

they just don’t make films like this anymore...

Review by Owen Morawitz ★★★ 3

*types out LOL on a mid-00s-era flip phone*

Hilary Duff: "Laugh out loud."

I C O N I C

Review by euclidesfaccin ★★ 4

HOW DID NO ONE RECOGNIZE HER SHE WAS LITERALLY JUST WEARING A MASK THE SIZE OF GLASSES

Review by lain ★★★★½ 2

the end kiss is the best movie kiss in film history. it's not even up for debate. this is just pure, simple Fact.

Review by Jay ★½ 12

the real magic of this story is how a high school chad transforms into an art college sadboy that puts ethan hawke to shame

Related Films

Similar Films

Mentioned by

Select your preferred poster

Upgrade to remove ads.

Letterboxd is an independent service created by a small team, and we rely mostly on the support of our members to maintain our site and apps. Please consider upgrading to a Pro account —for less than a couple bucks a month, you’ll get cool additional features like all-time and annual stats pages ( example ), the ability to select (and filter by) your favorite streaming services, and no ads!

Find Family Movies, Movie Ratings and Movie Reviews

A Cinderella Story Parent Guide

Hillary Duff plays a modern-day Cinderella who meets her Prince Charming (Chad Michael Murray) anonymously over the Internet. But a wicked step family and some evil popular peers still make it anything but a ball to find out the identify of her secret suitor.

Release date July 18, 2004

Run Time: 95 minutes

Get Content Details

The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

Few fairytales get as much coverage as Cinderella. Oh, the scenery may change and the costumes differ, but the characters rarely stray far from the original premise. A dearly departed parent, nasty stepfamily, and handsome prince are all staples in this storybook script.

A Cinderella Story is a modernized telling of the tale set in a drought-stricken San Fernando Valley. When Sam Montgomery’s father (Whip Hubley) dies, she is left at the mercy of her malicious and cosmetically enhanced stepmother (Jennifer Coolidge) and her two socially inept stepsisters (Madeline Zima, Andrea Avery). Like any good telling of the tale, they are keen to pamper themselves while leaving all the work to Sam (Hillary Duff). They take over her father’s diner and relegate Sam to the upper floor garret at home. Rather than polish castle floors, this chore girl is forced to wait tables and wipe counters at the family business.

However, revealing her identity at the costume ball proves to be difficult when Sam discovers the guy on the other end of the e-mail is the student body president and football quarterback, Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murray).

Already the recipient of cruel comments from the school’s more popular teens, Sam realizes her rundown beater car and attic accommodations probably won’t do much to impress the class’s most sought after senior.

Luckily for her, the film is full of people who encourage this nascent princess. Her good friends Carter (Dan Byrd) and Rhonda (Regina King) from the restaurant stick by her as she finds her way.

While a happily ever after ending is as sure as the presence of a helpful fairy godmother, the script steers clear of most content families would find objectionable. A couple of remarks about female anatomy, a few profanities and instances of school bullying are about it. Unfortunately, the heartless members of Sam’s stepfamily also have to get their comeuppance (though the revengeful moments at the end might be argued as understandable if at least not true to the storyline).

Hardworking, studious and for the most part obedient, Sam is one Cinderella whose fairytale life seems to be right on track when the frog she kisses turns out to be a real prince.

About author

Kerry Bennett

A cinderella story parents' guide.

Fairytales have a habit of ending with ?happily ever after?. Besides Sam, what other characters have their lives neatly wrapped up by the end of this film? What characters don’t get a happy outcome?

How can our fears interfere with achieving our dreams? What was Sam’s goal in life and what did she do to face her uncertainties?

The most recent home video release of A Cinderella Story movie is October 18, 2004. Here are some details…

Related news about A Cinderella Story

6 Cinderella Movies to Watch This Week

{parents:pull_quote}

The Ford Mustang Makes Movie History

menu ▼ ▲

Latest News
Apps and Tracking News
Media Releases
Media Coverage
Archived News
Archived Events
By Age Suitability
By Classifications
By Date Added
By Collection
On Streaming
KBYG Weekly
About CMA movie reviews
By Platform
Privacy Check
Apps can track: privacy tips and checks
Apps containing loot boxes
Children and Gambling Watch List
About CMA app reviews
Smart Beginnings
Choosing Movies for Children: a guide
Scary Stuff
Screen Violence
Healthy Game Play
Working with your child and their Digital Privacy
Healthy Sleep
Current Campaigns
Media Codes, Guidelines and Standards
How to complain
Email your concerns
Our submissions
Board of Directors
Annual Report
Become a Member
Sponsors and Supporters
General Resources
Privacy Law and You
small screen
Parent Guides
Useful links
eBook - Quality Play and Media in Childhood Education and Care
Current Research
Research Archive
Researchers who focus on Children and the Media

A Cinderella Story

Short takes

Not recommended under 8; parental guidance to 13 (themes)

This topic contains:

overall comments and recommendations
details of classification and consumer advice lines for A Cinderella Story
a review of A Cinderella Story completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 23 September 2004 .

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie.

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

a synopsis of the story
use of violence
material that may scare or disturb children
product placement
sexual references
nudity and sexual activity
use of substances
coarse language
the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

Sam is brought up in San Fernando by her widowed father Hal who owns a diner. They share a very close, loving relationship but her world is shattered when her father dies during an earthquake. Prior to his death he had married Fiona and brought her and her twin daughters Brianna and Gabriella, into their home. Fiona now takes over the running of the house and the diner relocating Sam to the attic and putting her to work scrubbing floors and waiting on tables in the diner. Sam has high hopes of attending Princeton College and tries hard to juggle work and school.

In high school Sam is mercilessly harassed as being the ‘diner girl’ however she has a good friend in Carter, a bit of a nerd, and gets good grades. She secretly admires Austin Ames, the good looking captain of the football team who is going out with Shelby, the ‘popular’ girl at school. Austin also wants to go to Princeton but his father has great ambitions for him to win a football scholarship to USC and carry on the family tradition. However unbeknown to Sam she shares an email relationship with Austin whom she knows as Nomad, and who appreciates poetry. They arrange to meet on the dance floor at the Halloween Ball, but of course on this night Fiona demands she works in the diner. With the help of her good friend ‘Fairy Godmother’ Rhonda, Sam arrives looking beautiful at the ball. Austin of course falls in love with her but she has to leave before midnight to rush back to the diner before becoming discovered.

Austin now has to find his beautiful princess and in the process has to decide what he really wants out of life – to be himself or do what his father wishes. Sam too learns to stand up for herself and uncovers a few surprises when she decides to move out of home.

Themes info

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Death of a parent; Step-families; Bullying.

Use of violence info

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There’s a bit of comic violence in this movie:

Sam hits Carter with a baseball accidentally
Solarium lid falls on Fiona
Brianna and Gabriella fall down the stairs dressed as Siamese twins
Carter punches David (Austin’s friend) for persisting with Shelby after she says no to him
Brianna and Gabriella get stuck in a car wash
There is also a lot of verbal harassment of Sam and Carter by the ‘cool’ people at school and Sam is publicly humiliated by the ‘mean girls’ and her twin stepsisters in front of a large crowd.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under five info.

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

Children in this age group might be disturbed by the following:

Sam’s father’s death. Nothing is actually shown; he just doesn’t come home one day.
Fiona nearly crashes her car when one of the twins puts her foot on the pedal; this causes much havoc.

Aged five to eight info

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

Children in this age group may also be disturbed by the above mentioned scenes.

Aged eight to thirteen info

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Children over the age of eight are unlikely be disturbed by this movie.

Thirteen and over info

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Children over the age of thirteen are unlikely to be disturbed by this movie.

Product placement

None noted.

Sexual references

Nudity and sexual activity.

There is no nudity or sexual activity but plenty of skimpy clothing and girls in bikinis.

Use of substances

Coarse language.

There is a small amount of coarse language, the occasional use of ‘butt’ and ‘oh my God’.

In a nutshell

There are a few underlying messages such as reaching for your dreams, assertiveness and that parents shouldn’t try to live their lives through their children.

Values parents may wish to encourage include:

determination
assertiveness.

The following content could be used by parents to discuss with their children what their own family’s values are, and what the real life consequences can be of some actions and attitudes:

harassment and verbal abuse
selfishness
putting too much emphasis on body image.

Movie Review Search

Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The

Alphabetical:

Age suitability:.

Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.

Classifications:

Date added:

About our colour guide.

Content is age appropriate for children this age

Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended

Content is not age appropriate for children this age

CMA thanks the Romeo family for its support

Children and Media Australia (CMA) is a registered business name of the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM).

CMA provides reviews, research and advocacy to help children thrive in a digital world.

ACCM is national, not-for-profit and reliant on community support. You can help .

ABN: 16 005 214 531

Movie Reviews

App reviews.

A Cinderella Story

Reviewed by: Lacey Mical (Callahan) Walker CONTRIBUTOR

Review of “ Another Cinderella Story ”

For a follower of Christ, what is LOVE —a feeling, an emotion, or an action?

Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “Cinderella never had it this bad. In “A Cinderella Story”—a twisted and hilarious update of the classic fairy tale—high school senior Sam Montgomery ( Hilary Duff ) lives at the beck and call of her self-obsessed step-mother Fiona ( Jennifer Coolidge ) and her sinfully wicked step-sisters, who treat her more like a servant than a member of the family. With her sights set on attending Princeton, Sam finds her less-than-sparkling social life wonderfully complicated when she meets her prince charming online. But when her anonymous cyber soul mate turns out to be her high school’s über-popular quarterback Austin Ames (CHAD MICHAEL MURRAY), Sam makes a mad dash back to reality, leaving her cell phone behind just before the clock strikes midnight. Fearing rejection if her secret is revealed, Sam dodges Austin’s efforts to discover the identity of his princess. Will Sam let fear hold her back, or will she find the courage to be herself and claim the life she’s always wanted? Her chance at happily ever after depends on it.”

I entered the theatre to view this much-hyped, teenie bopper star-studded flick with skepticism looming, wondering just how palatable yet another “Cinderella story” would be.

Cinderella and Prince Charming. They meet, overcome their social barriers, foil the wicked step family, and live happily ever after.

Screenwriter Leigh Dunlap has taken a “been there, seen that,” plot and added some refreshing twists which make “A Cinderella Story” a story worth watching.

In this modern take on the tale, our “Cinderella” is Sam Montgomery ( Hilary Duff ), a sweet-natured girl who has been orphaned and left in the care of her stepmother ( Jennifer Coolidge ) who forces her to work in the family diner seven days per week, before and after school. In spite of this, Sam is an excellent student and plans on graduating early so that she can fulfill her late father’s goal for her: to attend Princeton University.

This ambition becomes a shared dream when she meets “Prince Charming” on the internet. We see Sam stealing moments from her days to spend time chatting electronically with her crush, who is also hoping for acceptance to Princeton. Unbeknown to Sam, the boy she’s pouring her heart out to is Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murray), a popular jock and quarterback for their high school football team. Austin doesn’t realize the girl who’s stealing his heart is low-profile tomboy Sam, who serves him and his friends at the local diner and is constantly teased at school.

The cast does a good job telling the story. Jennifer Coolidge is perfect in her role of the wicked stepmother. Hilary Duff’s acting ability has improved. She did a good job with this role, and didn’t overact as she has done in the past. The ugly stepsisters (Madeline Zima and Andrea Avery) near-totally bombed. Most of their “funny” scenes were met with silence in the nearly full auditorium where I viewed the show.

The love story of this film is actually not based on lust as are most silver screen flings. A major theme in this film is that the beautiful people aren’t necessarily the ones worth knowing. Because they have formed a relationship on the internet, the two do not even know what each other looks like.

The downside of portraying this internet romance is that it encourages some unsafe behavior. Sam and Austin meet on-line, and talk only through chat programs, e-mail, and cellular text messaging. The two choose to retain their anonymity with each other until they plan to meet in person for the first time at a school event. Nothing is said about how dangerous this is in reality.

There are a few kissing scenes in the film. Little or no sexual innuendo.

Profanity is minimal, but present: one mild obscenity, four religious exclamations.

There is very little violence to speak of. Sam’s father loses his life in an earthquake early in the film. There is a very brief, non-graphic dramatic scene depicting this which could disturb small children, especially if they live in an area threatened by earthquakes. There’s also a scene of two boys tussling which is meant to be funny rather than frightening or violent.

Most Hollywood productions lead audiences to believe that true happiness can only be found in some romantic entanglement. This film does not follow suit, however, as we see Sam’s dad instructing her as a little girl that “happily ever after” doesn’t have to exist in finding prince charming, but in following her dreams and standing up for what she believes in. Spiritually, this script can serve as a springboard for Christian parents to instruct their children in seeking God’s plan for their lives and letting His dream be the wish their heart makes.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Bottom line, this movie probably does not have something for the whole family, but it is a cute chick flick for a mother-daughter outing.

Violence: Minor / Profanity: Minor / Sex/Nudity: Mild

Young people

A Cinderella Story (2004)

Stream & Watch 'A Cinderella Story' Full Movie Online

Trailers & Clips

A Cinderella Story - Clip 2 - We Had a Connection

Cast & Crew

Movie details, cinderella story collection.

A Cinderella Story is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Mark Rosman, written by Leigh Dunlap and stars Hilary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, Jennifer Coolidge and Regina King. A modernization of the classic Cinderella folk lore, the film's plot revolves around two Internet pen pals who plan meet in person at their high school's Halloween dance. The film was followed by five direct-to-video sequels, Another Cinderella Story (2008), A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song (2011), A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits (2016), A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish (2019), and A Cinderella Story: Starstruck (2021). The sequels using the themes and situations but not containing any characters from the first film. Unlike the first film, the sequels also include musical, dance, and holiday themes.

Featured News

‘How I Met Your Father’ Exclusive Interviews

Movie Recommendations

Movie Reviews

Follow Moviefone

Movie trailers.

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

For Parents
For Educators
Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

Get the app
Movie Reviews
Best Movie Lists
Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

Best TV Lists
Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
Common Sense Selections for TV
Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

Book Reviews
Best Book Lists
Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

Game Reviews
Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

Podcast Reviews
Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

App Reviews
Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

YouTube Channel Reviews
YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

Explaining the News to Our Kids

Family Tech Planners
Digital Skills
All Articles
Latino Culture
Black Voices
Asian Stories
Native Narratives
LGBTQ+ Pride
Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

A cinderella story: christmas wish, common sense media reviewers.

Enjoyable modern-day fairy tale has music, romance, humor.

A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Encourages positive attitudes about the future, va

Heroine is feisty, honest, loyal, and loving; she

Some slapstick falls. A precious possession is des

Kisses. Mild teasing about sexual possibilities, a

"Pissed off."

Starbucks and Febreze are referenced.

Wicked stepmother is seen frequently with an adult

Positive Messages

Encourages positive attitudes about the future, valuing oneself in spite of obstacles, standing up tall against those who are disrespectful. "If you can dream it, you can be it." Manipulative villains pay a price for their behavior.

Positive Role Models

Heroine is feisty, honest, loyal, and loving; she finds her courage and learns to assert herself against bullies. Hero is exemplary: wise, resourceful, trustworthy, open-hearted. Evil stepmother and stepsisters are stereotypical meanies (played for humor). One African American in a small role.

Violence & Scariness

Some slapstick falls. A precious possession is destroyed.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Kisses. Mild teasing about sexual possibilities, and some light sexual moments (e.g., a woman behaves seductively when trying to get her way).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

Wicked stepmother is seen frequently with an adult beverage; no drunkenness.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish is a teen romantic comedy with lots of music and humor. The movie has its origins in Leigh Dunlap's book, A Christmas Story, which has spawned a number of other movie romances since its release. Writer-director Michelle Johnston makes her Cinderella a budding singer-songwriter whose wicked stepmother and stepsisters torment her in the authentic fairy tale way. The "prince" is a billionaire's son who doesn't find a glass slipper, but recognizes his princess because of a composition book and a set of elf ears. There's one use of "pissed off." The movie is wholesome and warm-hearted. Its PG rating is based on mean-spirited bullying by the stepfamily and mild sexual innuendo (e.g., a female character's awkward attempt to entice a gentleman). Other than that, and a tumble or two, there's nothing bothersome in the movie for older kids who are fans of the genre. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

Parents say (3)
Kids say (10)

Based on 3 parent reviews

A little too much teen romance for young kids

What's the story.

A CINDERELLA STORY: CHRISTMAS WISH tells the charming tale of a young singer-songwriter just months before she is to receive her inheritance. Kat Decker's ( Laura Marano ) beloved dad died years ago, and it's only four months until her 18th birthday. Making the most of her dependence upon them, her wicked stepmother (Johanna Newmarch) and tormenting stepsisters never let up. Working as an elf at Santaland with Isla ( Isabella Gomez ), her very best friend, is the only respite from Kat's chores and insults at home. When she meets Nic ( Gregg Sulkin ), the company's new Santa Claus, there's an immediate attraction. Because they're both in costume, neither remembers that they've met before under awkward circumstances. An invitation to a billionaire's Christmas Eve ball sets the serendipitous events in motion: A ballgown, a subterfuge, more evil plotting by Kat's "steps," and lots of singing and dancing help the young couple to their happy ending.

Is It Any Good?

The wicked stepfamily is over-the-top nasty, and the story relies on incredible coincidences, but the accomplished cast and sweet romance will definitely appeal to young fans of happily-ever-after. Contemporary Christmas movies and fairy tales seem to go hand in hand, and they're often by-the-numbers entries hoping to capitalize on the spirit of the holiday. A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish is better than that. The song-and-dance numbers may not be sophisticated or highly original, but they're fun and well-performed. The likable Laura Marano and Gregg Sulkin have a nice chemistry, and Isabella Gomez makes a wonderful BFF. The writing is polished, the directing is accomplished, and there's lots of rooting interest for the "prince" and "princess" of this pleasing tale.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the lasting pleasures of fairy tales. What's so appealing about them? How does A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish fit the description of the genre?

Modern versions of fairy tales usually have female heroes who are more assertive and confident than the early ones. How does that reflect changing cultural attitudes about girls and women in today's world?

Be creative. Write (or draw) a Cinderella that's entirely your own. Who is your Cinderella? What does she do? How does she meet her prince? Tell her story.

Movie Details

On DVD or streaming : October 24, 2019
Cast : Laura Marano , Gregg Sulkin , Isabella Gomez
Director : Michelle Johnston
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Latino actors
Studio : Warner Bros.
Genre : Romance
Topics : Fairy Tales , Friendship , Great Girl Role Models
Run time : 85 minutes
MPAA rating : PG
MPAA explanation : rude and suggestive material
Last updated : February 18, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

Cinderella (2015)

Want personalized picks for your kids' age and interests?

The Princess Switch

Christmas with Holly

A Princess for Christmas

Best holiday movies for kids, christmas movies, related topics.

Fairy Tales
Great Girl Role Models

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Fans Can't Believe These Obvious Plot Holes From Popular Disney Movies

What plot holes did fans notice in favorite Disney classic movies like Cinderella and Aladdin?

Quick Links

What is a plot hole in the classic disney movie cinderella, what are some plot holes in the disney movie aladdin, the biggest plot holes in other classic disney movies.

From a pumpkin that turns into a carriage to bread and butter flowers, magic carpet rides, and a genie who grants three wishes, every classic Disney movie has magical and memorable elements. Since many people grew up watching Sleeping Beauty , Alice In Wonderland , and The Little Mermaid , it's no wonder that people still feel so nostalgic for these stories. But while the high number of Disney live-action remakes only makes fans want to rewatch their old favorites, fans noticed some plot holes in popular Disney movies .

From Cinderella to Aladdin and more recent classics like Toy Story , some parts of Disney movies that don't make any sense. While these plot holes don't ruin the enjoyment or nostalgia of these great stories, they're interesting to think about.

A Disney Lawsuit May Have Forced This 90s Sci-Fi Movie to Alter Its CGI

Of all the plot holes in Disney movies, fans noticed the most glaring and confusing plot holes in Cinderella . BuzzFeed commenter silencesilence suggested something that doesn't make any sense from Cinderella :

"Why does the fairy godmother only give Cinderella a pretty dress and shoes? Why doesn't she do something more useful, like adopting her or finding her a better place to live?"

This is a fair point, and it's also strange that Cinderella doesn't ask for more , considering that she is one of the most intelligent princesses in a Disney movie . Considering that Cinderella has been tormented for so long by her evil stepmother and stepsisters and has been dreaming of a better life, it would seem more logical for her to talk to the Fairy Godmother and get herself into a happier situation.

Fans noticed more plot holes and questioned the most memorable aspect of the classic Disney film: Cinderella's famous glass slipper . In a Reddit thread, Redditor @callmefinny asked "Why Cinderella’s slipper that fell off didn’t disappear at midnight." It does seem that if this world is full of magic, Cinderella wouldn't see her slipper ever again. Redditor @Relevant-Blood-8681 thinks it's strange that the glass slipper doesn't become a normal shoe . While there are many movies based on Cinderella and the storyline of a regular person turning into royalty is still powerful, the original film does have this odd plot hole that should have been cleared up. The fan shared in a Reddit thread:

"Everything... I repeat, EVERYTHING was supposed to change back to the way it was at the stroke of midnight... The carriage goes back to being a pumpkin. The horse goes back to being a mouse. Everything, whether worn or not worn by Cinderella, changes back. Cinderella's dress goes back to being a rag..."

Fans noticed some plot holes about Aladdin , which has some great songs but doesn't always make sense. In a Reddit thread, Redditor @Ok-Technology2355 thinks that Jasmine accepts Aladdin's identity too easily instead of asking him important questions about what happened to him. They wrote:

"After the magic carpet ride, when Jasmine realizes that Prince Ali is the boy from the marketplace...shouldn't she at least have said, "What?! I thought you were dead! What happened after the guards took you?! etc..." Instead she's just like, ha! Caught you!"

This is a great point as Jasmine and Aladdin are one of the best Disney movie couples and their growing bond is one of the most significant parts of the story. It doesn't seem logical that Jasmine, who has shown herself to be clever and perceptive, wouldn't have some burning questions for Aladdin.

According to Bustle , there are some other plot holes in Aladdin , including the question if there is a time limit on the three wishes from the Genie . This is because Aladdin wants to be a prince, and after he becomes the Prince of Ababwa, Jafar says he is a "common street rat." Given the supposed rules of the three wishes, it doesn't seem like that could actually happen.

There are some other plot holes in classic Disney movies that fans have pointed out on Reddit , including a question about Scar in The Lion King . Redditor @FinalBossGamer asked, "Why did Scar let Simba go?" Scar is one of the most memorable Disney male villains and it does seem confusing that Scar would decide that Simba should be free. While of course the alternative would be dark and upsetting, there still could have been a logical explanation.

Another fan found a plot hole in the Toy Story franchise. Redditor @Jedibri81 asked:

"If Buzz Lightyear thought he was real, why did he freeze when people were around?"

It does seem odd that Buzz wouldn't act like a human around actual humans . While it's still fun to watch the franchise, and Buzz is still one of the most iconic characters in a Pixar movie , it's a burning question because it feels out of character for the intelligent, confident, and secure Buzz Lightyear.

Another Redditor asked about a plot hole in Beauty and the Beast : Chip's siblings seem to disappear . They asked, "Where did Chip's siblings go?" After Mrs. Potts says that Chip should stay in the cupboard along with the other teacups, Chip becomes a human once again when the movie ends. However, no one finds out anything about his siblings. While fans talk about the differences between the classic and live-action Beauty and the Beast , this is something else that people have noticed.

18 Strongest Disney Princesses, Ranked

an image, when javascript is unavailable

Metro Boomin and Future Look to Marry Their Respective Styles, With Mixed Results, in ‘We Don’t Trust You’: Album Review

By A.D. Amorosi

A.D. Amorosi

Metro Boomin and Future Look to Marry Their Respective Styles, With Mixed Results, in ‘We Don’t Trust You’: Album Review 7 days ago
James Blake Partners With Subscription Service Vault to Address Streaming Royalty Issues for Artists 1 week ago
Dr. Dre, a Defiant One, Goes From Compton Streets to Receiving His Hollywood Walk of Fame Star 1 week ago

Mixing the business of trap and the pleasure of friendship is what unites mumble-rapper Future with cinematic producer Metro Boomin . With “We Don’t Trust You” marking the marquee collaborators’ official full-album debut, the two have produced a work of chilly, melancholy, deep-beat-booming hip-hop that rocks and rages. But while their signature strengths are here, and clear, it’s not always an easy marriage; there is a give-and-take to who has the upper hand with every track.

Within that same 2022-2023 timeframe, Future released “I Never Liked You,” an album that sounded…. just like Future: solidly salacious, frankly flowing, almost quaintly braggadocious and occasionally lyrically lazy. That’s been the Future way ever since 2014’s “Honest.” Like McDonald’s Big Mac, every Future album is as good, and similar in its flavor and texture, as the last. That said, “We Don’t Trust You” doesn’t feel like a competition. Starting with the title track, with its upbeat synth line and its low-key “Smiling Faces Sometimes” Undisputed Truth sample, a surprisingly ragged Future dramatically takes on the subject of brotherly countenance and questions of who is fake and what is real with genuine heft. “Young Metro,” co-produced by Mike Dean and featuring the Weeknd’s dreamy neo-falsetto on its bridge, finds Future doing his Auto-Tune usual, playing loose with a story of never being sober. The glacially atmospheric track, though solid, never picks up steam until its “drowning/tryin’” bridge and its slowwww-fade finale. The cracked sequencer and quietly tapping rhythm of “Ice Attack” offer Future the opportunity to up-talk the worthy merits of Metro Boomin and the fashion in which his somber soundscapes carry this tune. But you start to wonder, as “Ice Attack” segues into the cooly grooving “Type Shit,” if Metro isn’t bringing his own game not so much down, but perhaps sideways , to accommodate Future’s manageably angered rhymes and mad, maudlin flow. The churchy mood, softly arpeggiating synths, and subtly bell-bonging vibe of “Type Shit” sounds as if the track was meant to ascend gloriously – and it probably would feature an incendiary, epic lift if this were a Metro Boomin album alone. But Future, Playboi Carti and Travis Scott tamp out Metro’s fire, and a track that could’ve been great is merely good. This same thing happens to the producer on several other occasions. Metro’s Freddie Kruger-meets-Jaws ambience and uneasy piano line on “Magic Don Juan (Princess Diana)” only picks up steam when Future’s flow finally rises to the occasion of the track’s plucked strings and swelling, faux-French-horn ending. The celestial lullaby of “Cinderella,” with Travis Scott on its chorus, dissipates in the ether.

An airy, piano-driven “Claustrophobic,” like several tracks on this album, tackles the subject of Future and Metro being “professionals” who are exceptional at their craft, while (surprise) most other rappers lack skills. But “buying another mansion” and needing another stove because he’s cooking so much cocaine doesn’t really speak to the issue of claustrophobia. Future Hendrix just sounds like he needs lessons in feng shui.

Young Thug doesn’t have Lamar’s vigor, ire or salt, but instead brings gravelly menace to the choruses of Metro’s whistling horror-track of “Slimed In.” Though Future’s lyric of “charging a chicken just for a verse” sneaks in some surprising laughs, the bleak mood of “Everyday Hustle” only finds briskness in Rick Ross’ jovial take on criminal enterprise. For the most part, Metro makes more of the duo’s first volume than Future does. Then again, there are stunningly soulful and richly melodic tracks such as “Running Outta Time” (co-produced with Zaytoven and Chris XZ) where the rapper sounds clear as a bell, passionate and hungry, with the backing of simple hammering piano and a slow, grinding organ. “Where My Twin @” too, with its twinkling percussion, squelchy synth and spritely melody, gives a quietly frenzied Future something harried to chew on: a mad, bad story involving a courtroom, a pistol and some mushrooms. Now, that’ s a movie a lot of us would like to see.

So there’s hope yet for the potential majesty of Metro Boomin and Future’s patented brand of EVOL to rise up and meet in the middle. And maybe, just maybe, that’s what will happen with April’s second chapter.

More From Our Brands

Obama to protester interrupting: ‘can’t just talk and not listen … that’s what the other side does’, aaron bludorn’s new houston restaurant tips a hat to classic tavern cuisine, a sports betting plea: move slower. and don’t break things, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, girls5eva’s ratings no-show has us worried about its future — again, verify it's you, please log in.

Here's how the cast of 'Shirley' compares to the real-life people they're playing

Writer and director John Ridley's new Netflix film "Shirley" stars Regina King as Shirley Chisholm.
The movie chronicles Chisholm's historic 1972 presidential campaign.
Here's how the cast compares to the real-life people they play.

Trailblazer Shirley Chisholm's influence continues to reverberate decades after she ran for president of the United States.

Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman, gets the Hollywood treatment in the new movie "Shirley," written and directed by John Ridley. The film is now streaming on Netflix and specifically concentrates on Chisholm's groundbreaking 1972 presidential campaign.

Here's how the cast of "Shirley" compares to the real-life figures they portray.

Academy Award winner Regina King stars as Shirley Chisholm.

Chisholm, born in Brooklyn, was the first Black woman elected to the US Congress. She served for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. She died at age 80 in 2005.

King has been acting professionally since the '80s, beginning with the TV show "227." She's known for her roles in films like "Jerry Maguire," "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "A Cinderella Story," and "If Beale Street Could Talk," which earned the actor an Oscar in 2019.

King also won a Primetime Emmy for her performance as Angela Abar/Sister Night on HBO's limited series adaptation of the graphic novel "Watchmen."

She made her feature film directorial debut with the 2020 movie "One Night in Miami...," based on a stage play of the same name about a meeting between legendary figures Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke.

Lucas Hedges portrays Robert Gottlieb, Chisholm's former intern who served as a youth coordinator during her presidential campaign.

Gottlieb is still alive and has his own firm called Robert C. Gottlieb & Associates PLLC. He has also been supportive of "Shirley" and attended the film's Los Angeles premiere.

Hedges is known for his Oscar-nominated performance in "Manchester by the Sea," as well as roles in films like "Moonrise Kingdom," "Lady Bird," and "Boy Erased."

Stage and screen actor Michael Cherrie plays Conrad Chisholm, a private investigator and Shirley's first husband.

The pair were married from 1949 to 1977.

Prior to "Shirley," Cherrie starred in various projects in his home country of Trinidad and Tobago. He also appeared in US stage adaptations of "A Streetcar Named Desire," "Lobby Hero," "Othello," and "Romeo and Juliet."

Dorian Missick portrays politician Ron Dellums.

Dellums was a member of the US House of Representatives from 1971 to 1998 and served as the mayor of Oakland, California, from 2007 to 2011. He also cofounded the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in 1971 with Chisholm and others.

Missick has appeared on shows like "Luke Cage," "Southland," and "For Life."

"The Changeling" and "Queen Sugar" star Amirah Vann plays actor and singer Diahann Carroll.

Carroll was recognized for playing the titular role on the TV series "Julia," which earned her a Golden Globe award in 1968. The show was noteworthy for being the first to center on a Black woman who wasn't a servant.

She also landed an Oscar nomination for her performance in the film "Claudine." Throughout her career, Carroll was nominated for three Emmys for "Julia," "A Different World," and "Grey's Anatomy." She was also a Grammy nominee and Tony Award winner for her work in "No Strings."

Vann is best known for roles on the TV shows "Underground" and "How to Get Away With Murder."

W. Earl Brown stars as segregationist and former Alabama governor George Wallace.

Wallace, a brazen supporter of segregation, was Chisholm's competitor in the Democratic primary campaign. He became paralyzed from the waist down after a failed assassination attempt in 1972.

Brown is known for playing Dan Dority on the TV series "Deadwood." He also portrayed a Weequay proprietor on the "Star Wars" shows "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett."

"Moonlight" star André Holland portrays DC congressional delegate Walter Fauntroy.

Fauntroy was a civil rights activist who cofounded the Congressional Black Caucus.

In addition to starring in Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight," Holland also had roles in "American Horror Story," "Castle Rock," "Passing," and "Bones and All."

Oscar nominee Terrence Howard portrays Arthur Hardwick, Chisholm's second husband.

Hardwick was a fundraiser and advisor during Chisholm's 1972 campaign. They were married from 1977 until his death in 1986.

Howard has been acting since the '90s and is known for roles in "Hustle & Flow," "Crash," and "Empire."

Main content

New on Netflix: 7 movies and shows you have to watch this April

Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon - Part 2: The Scargiver, Ripley, new anime The Grimm Variations, Scoop, and more are streaming on Netflix this month

Spring has sprung and so has a new batch of first-class film and television from the internet’s biggest streamer ready for you to start binging. Let's be real, is there a better way to spend your Easter holiday than chowing down on chocolate eggs and bunny-shaped candy whilst taking full advantage of Netflix’s newest movies and TV shows? We think not!

April's streaming highlights include the dramatic retelling of one of the biggest Royal scandals in British history, Part 2 to Zack Snyder ’s sci-fi epic Rebel Moon , and a brand new alien horror show Parasyte: The Grey. And, of course, it wouldn't be a true Netflix round-up without a thrilling documentary and a few dramatic series, so we’ve got those too!

So, what are you waiting for? Read on as we take you through the latest releases that the streaming giant has on offer this season.

New on Netflix in April 2024

files of the unexplained.

Release date: April 3

From My Lover, My Stalker, My Killer to American Nightmare, Netflix has brought us some top-notch true crime documentaries this year, so it is no surprise the streamer has yet another one up its sleeve, this time focusing on the strange, the paranormal, and… the unexplained.

The eight-part docuseries Files of the Unexplained investigates several mysterious events, from eerie encounters to bizarre disappearances, mysterious hauntings to chilling cold cases, to try and get to the bottom of the truly perplexing and unexplainable. The upcoming series looks to be a revamping of Netflix’s popular show Unsolved Mysteries, so if you are a fan of that, we recommend this one.

Ripley

Release date: April 4

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Based on the Tom Ripley novels by Patricia Highsmith, Netflix’s new thriller series Ripley sees All of Us Strangers star Andrew Scott morph into suave conman Thomas Ripley. The series, set in the ‘60s, follows the grafter who suddenly gets hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy and to convince his vagabond son to return home. However, the too-good-to-be-true job is not what it seems, and soon Tom is caught in a tangled web of deceit, fraud, and murder. If that all seems a bit too familiar, that's probably because the novel was already adapted way back in 1999 with Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley , starring Matt Damon as the grifter.

The series is directed and written by Steven Zaillian and boasts an impressive cast including Dakota Fanning, Johnny Flynn, and Maurizio Lombardi. For more, check out the first trailer for Ripley here.

Parasyte: The Grey

Release date: April 5

If you have been enjoying Netflix’s 3 Body Problem , then we have something truly exciting in store for you with new sci-fi drama Parasyte: The Grey, based on the widely popular manga series Parasyte by Hitoshi Iwaaki. Written and directed by Train to Busan's Yeon Sang-ho, the series follows savaged remains of the human race after parasitic creatures fall to Earth from outer space and begin to embed themselves into people's bodies and brains, using them as hosts and controlling them to grow their power. However, one woman manages to resist a parasite who latches onto her, and in a Tom Hardy- Venom -like way, she must coexist with the creature, and find her place in a newly divided world.

For more, see the official Parasyte: The Grey trailer here .

Release date: April 5

Inspired by Prince Andrew's infamous BBC Newsnight appearance in 2019, Scoop explores one of the most pivotal examples of compelling journalism that shook the nation.

Starring Gillian Anderson as interviewer Emily Maitlis and Rufus Sewell as the Prince, Scoop takes the audience behind the curtain, inside the story of when the Prince was put under scrutiny for his friendship with known pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The drama focuses on what was going on both behind and in front of the cameras on that fateful day, from the high-stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace to the shocking forensic showdown.

The film is directed by Philip Martin, known for helming documentary-style dramas such as Hawking, and Einstein and Eddington, and written by Peter Moffat. The cast also includes Keeley Hawes as Amanda Thirsk, Billie Piper as Sam McAlister, and Romola Garai as Esme Wren.

Baby Reindeer

Release date: April 11

Move over Kathy Bates, there’s a new Misery in town! Could you ever believe that one single act of kindness could lead to hundreds of hours of voice messages, 40,000 emails, and a case of serial stalking? Well, Netflix’s new seven-episode limited series is just that, and worse, its based on a true story. The upcoming dark, yet weirdly funny, drama follows a struggling comedian named Donny who meets a seemingly friendly woman who soon begins to stalk him relentlessly, forcing him to live in a state of trauma and paranoia.

What is most interesting about this show, is that it is written by and starring the real life Donny who actually lived through this harrowing tale. If you’re looking for a real life story of human behaviour and complex relationships, than Netflix’s April wildcard Baby Reindeer is the show for you.

The Grimm Variations

Release date: April 17

Taking inspiration from the classic fairy tales by The Brothers Grimm, Netflix’s new anime horror series The Grimm Variations turns our beloved stories completely on their heads, giving them the full bloody and brutal animated treatment. The show follows two brothers named Jacob and Wilhelm who for a long time collected fairy tales from across the land and made them into a book. Seemingly innocent enough, until their younger sister Charlotte, who has a rather unique and dark perspective on life, decides to retell the stories quite differently from her brothers. The eight-part series twists fairytales such as Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and the Pied Piper, rehashing them in a much darker format.

Rebel Moon - Part 2: The Scargiver

Release date: April 19

Now, the one that everyone has been waiting for, the second half of Zack Snyder’s Netflix epic, Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver. Following on from Rebel Moon - Part 1: A Child of Fire , which introduced us to Snyder's faraway sci-fi fantasy world full of fearless fighters, the saga of the surviving warriors continues as they prepare to defend Kora’s once peaceful village. However, on the eve of the big battle, they each must face the truths of their own pasts, and join together in rebellion to face the full force of the Realm, led by the formidable Admiral Atticus Noble brought back from the dead.

Returning cast members include Sofia Boutella as Kora, Ed Skrein as Noble, Fra Fee as Regent Balisarius, Doona Bae as Nemesis, Staz Nair as Tarak, Cleopatra Coleman as Devra Bloodaxe, and Djimon Hounsou as Titus, to name a few. For more on Rebel Moon, check out the trailer for Part Two , or refresh your memory with Part One’s ending explained .

Looking for more to watch? Here are the best shows on Netflix .

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for SFX and Total Film online. I have a Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Journalism and a Masters in Fashion Journalism from UAL. In the past I have written for local UK and US newspaper outlets such as the Portland Tribune and York Mix and worked in communications, before focusing on film and entertainment writing. I am a HUGE horror fan and in 2022 I created my very own single issue feminist horror magazine.

Terrifier 3 director teases the most horrific scenes in the franchise to date, and we thought the bleach and salt scene was bad enough

Kristen Stewart says she’d “never” star in a Marvel movie – unless one director asks her to

Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama's last contribution to the manga was a drawing of Piccolo waving goodbye, and fans couldn't have asked for a better send-off

Most Popular

By Jasmine Gould-Wilson 26 March 2024

By Jamie Graham 26 March 2024

By Joe Donnelly 26 March 2024

By Heather Wald 26 March 2024

By Amy West 26 March 2024

By Joseph McCabe 26 March 2024

By Chris Arrant 25 March 2024

By Jeremy Peel 25 March 2024

By Tim Coleman 25 March 2024

By Joe Donnelly 25 March 2024

By Alicia Haddick 24 March 2024

'The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story' Review: Miles Morales Takes Great Power Over His Great Responsibility

Miles Morales approaches his anxieties and pressure in this excellent short set in the Spider-Verse.

The Big Picture

Miles Morales confronts mental health struggles, learns to reach out for help, and shows bravery in The Spider Within .
Characters like Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man feel pressure and become overwhelmed by it, while Miles actively seeks support.
Director Jarelle Dampier effectively conveys Miles' overwhelming anxiety in a visually stunning short.

In last year’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse , we learned that there are certain “canon events” that make a Spider-Man “Spider-Man.” These events happen to all Spider-Men/Women/Pigs/etc., like the death of parents and being taken care of by an aunt or uncle, being betrayed by a fatherly figure, and the death of a first love. But one of these canon events that we’ve seen time and time again in Spider-Man stories is learning that with great power comes great responsibility. We’ve seen this idea presented with each new iteration of Spider-Man, from Tobey Maguire ’s Spider-Man becoming so overwhelmed by stress that he loses his power, to Tom Holland ’s version having to say goodbye to everyone he knows to save the world. But rarely do we see how much the pressure this great responsibility causes on a Spider-Man like we do in the fantastic new short, The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story .

The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story

Miles Morales experiences a panic attack that forces him to confront the manifestations of his anxiety and learn that reaching out for help can be just as brave an act as protecting his city from evil.

What Is 'The Spider Within' About?

The Spider Within takes place outside the confines of the larger Spider-Verse and where we last left Miles Morales ( Shameik Moore ). As he comes home, we see what’s going on in his head, memories of fights he’s recently had as Spider-Man, but louder are the pressures he feels as Miles, as we hear his parents discussing him not reaching his potential and stating that he has “no sense of responsibility.” While his dad, Jeff Morales ( Brian Tyree Henry ) has prepared a scary movie night for him and his son, Miles just wants to go decompress in his room. However, once there, his fears and the engulfing sense of stress take over , with the pressure taking the form of a giant spider, and then hundreds of smaller spiders crawling over him, impossible to ignore. Yet Miles has never been one to adhere to the Spider-Verse rules, and instead of succumbing to the daunting fears in his mind, he decides to go take a walk with his father instead and discuss all the worries that he’s been feeling recently.

The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story comes from a partnership with the Kevin Love Fund, which attempts to prioritize mental health wellness, and yet, this short does so without ever feeling like a PSA for mental health advocacy. Instead, The Spider Within works beautifully with the story of Miles as a character who is handling the mantle of Spider-Man on his own terms and by his own rules. Every other person to take on the Spider-Man mantle in the movies has let the great power take the reins until the character almost feels like they’re going to burst. They hide the truth about how they’re feeling from the ones they love—even the ones who know his secret—and there’s a lack of awareness as to how this type of attitude and closed-off nature affects not only Spider-Man, but those around him.

'The Spider Within' Shows Miles Improving on the Spider-Men That Came Before Him

Not so with Miles and The Spider Within . Ever since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse , Miles has known the unbelievable stakes of what he’s being asked to take on, and yet, he’s always kept family central in his mind, regardless of what villains or Spider-Verses he’s had to encounter. He’s seen the impact of what keeping these feelings bottled inside can have on other Spider-Beings , and he actively avoids that by seeking help, even if he still can only tell his father part of the truth. Miles grew up in a world where Spider-Man existed, so he knows the weight that this icon has to take on, even before he met the man under the mask. But as the Spider-Verse movies have shown us, Miles has to do things his own way, and in some cases like this, do them better than those that came before him.

The Spider Within does an excellent job of presenting this in just barely five minutes. Director Jarelle Dampier (who has previously worked in the art department in 2019’s Spider-Man TV show and Young Justice ) conveys these ideas almost entirely without dialogue and utilizing the tremendous animation style of the Spider-Verse films. The short even dips into horror , as we watch the shadows coming for Miles, as he seems on the verge of a panic attack as his fears get the best of him. But despite Miles (understandably) getting attacked by a giant spider, and then hundreds of smaller spiders, Dampier captures that suffocating feeling of being overwhelmed in a relatable way. Stress and responsibility can often feel like you’re being hunted by a shadow version of yourself, or taken over by so many small things that you can’t shake them all off. It’s a great way to present these ideas simply through the visual language we’ve come to love from these movies.

‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Review: This May Be the Greatest Superhero Movie Series Yet

Also fantastic is the screenplay by Khaila Amazan , who centers these ideas on a story of father and son—a dynamic that the Spider-Verse has always tried to centralize in Miles’ narrative. Again, Miles says so little here, but even without seeing within his mind, where we hear the fears that are taking over, we can tell through his movements and physicality that it’s all becoming too much for him. So when Miles does open up to his father, as they go for a walk at the end of the short, it feels like a victory for Miles—and a victory in a mission we’ve seen many other Spider-Men fail before him. It’s easy to praise what these Spider-Verse films are doing visually, but Amazan’s short but economical screenplay shows just how powerful these stories are on the page as well.

As the Spider-Verse films have so far, The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story takes our idea of what we have been shown Spider-Man to be and shifts it in smart ways by having Miles learn from the mistakes of the past. Instead of letting the responsibility break him, Miles allows those who can help him in. Yet this short does this without feeling preachy and in a way that fits perfectly within this incredible Spider-Verse . It conveys an important message, but doing so in a way that seems like a natural progression for Miles in his journey. The only problem is The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story only whets our appetite for the eventual Across the Spider-Verse sequel that can’t come soon enough.

The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story is a strong update to Miles Morales' story, told effectively via a horror-laced short.

Miles approaches mental health in a way that is better than his predecessors.
Director Jarelle Dampier utilizes horror to invoke feelings of pressure and stress.
Through its stunning animation, The Spider Within says plenty with little dialogue.
This just makes the wait for the Across the Spider-Verse sequel even more unbearable.

The Spider-Within: A Spider-Verse Story is now available to watch on YouTube in the U.S.

Election 2024
Entertainment
Newsletters
Photography
Personal Finance
AP Buyline Personal Finance
Press Releases
Israel-Hamas War
Russia-Ukraine War
Global elections
Asia Pacific
Latin America
Middle East
March Madness
AP Top 25 Poll
Movie reviews
Book reviews
Personal finance
Financial Markets
Business Highlights
Financial wellness
Artificial Intelligence
Social Media

Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’

Movie Review: ‘Godzilla x Kong’ has scales and scale but not much else

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Godzilla, left, and Kong in a scene from “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Dan Stevens, left, Rebecca Hall and Kaylee Hottle in a scene from “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Godzilla in a scene from “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Rebecca Hall, left, and Brian Tyree Henry in a scene from “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Brian Tyree Henry in a scene from “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Rebecca Hall, foreground, and Kaylee Hottle in a scene from “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Rebecca Hall, left, and Dan Stevens in a scene from “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Copy Link copied

As the old saying goes, there are two kinds of people on this Earth: Those who like their movies with a giant evil ape swinging a vertebrae like a lasso while riding a kaiju controlled by a crystal, and those who don’t.

The former types will have much to cheer in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” a ground-stomping, radiation-spewing monster-mash feast. Technically, we are not on this Earth. We’re inside it, in a subterranean jungle world that gives the movie’s filmmakers an exotic, untrampled realm in which they try to chart some new ground for a pair of well-traveled beasts.

But aside from the film’s strong Jules Verne streak, “Godzilla x Kong” is no drastic pivot for its long-in-the-tooth monsters. For that, you were better off catching last year’s Toho-made “Godzilla Minus One,” which grippingly returned to Godzilla’s post-WWII origins and in the process won the 70-year-old lizard its first Oscar.

Other, less respectable creatures might have used an Academy Award as a springboard for more dramatic roles. But not Godzilla. No costume dramas for him, unless you count the robotic fist that Kong gets outfitted with midway through the movie.

People walk by a poster to promote the movie "Oppenheimer" Friday, March 29, 2024, in Tokyo. “Oppenheimer” finally premiered Friday in the nation where two cities were obliterated 79 years ago by the nuclear weapons invented by the American scientist who was the subject of the Oscar-winning film. Japanese filmgoers' reactions understandably were mixed and highly emotional. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

No, we are back in the pure spectacle territory that has traditionally been Godzilla and King Kong’s stomping ground. It’s even a very small title tweak from the previous installment, “Godzilla vs. Kong,” to “Godzilla x Kong.” This one promises a team-up, with the frenemies joining forces to fight a mutual foe. If things keep up this way, we can look forward to “Godzilla xoxo Kong.”

Returning director Adam Wingard kicks things off with his two stars separated, like star-crossed lovers, with only Earth’s mantle in between. Godzilla roams above ground while Kong romps around in Hollow Earth. To humankind, this is a good arrangement that keeps city-destroying rampages to a minimum – though Godzilla’s choice of bed, the Roman Coliseum, is surely unpopular among archeologists.

Every movement of each monster is closely tracked digitally. The humans in “Godzilla x Kong” verge on being bit players — or more like roving sports commentators — who spend most of their time trying to analyze what the goliaths are up to. It’s a lean crew of scientist Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), conspiracy-spouting podcaster Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry) and biologist Trapper (Dan Stevens) who fly into the Earth’s center when Kong is hurt and confusing distress signals seem to emanating from the underworld. With them are Ilene’s adoptive daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the lone surviving member of the tribe that protected Kong’s Skull Island.

Being in Hollow Earth takes some of the fun out of things. What good is a colossus when you can’t fling it against a skyscraper? Some of that comes later in “Godzilla x Kong.” But most of the film’s thrills come out of the strange dimensions that can turn up around every corner. In Hollow Earth they stumble onto a host of lost civilizations and a cavernous lair held up by giant crystals that look like the roman numerals of a Super Bowl logo.

That also leaves “Godzilla x Kong” residing in a purely CGI arena without even tenuous connections to reality. It’s a empty chamber for movie spectacle and nothing else, where the only option is to pile elements on top of each other until you have, you know, a giant evil ape swinging a vertebrae like a lasso while riding a kaiju controlled by a crystal.

But this mostly a very big, very simple tag team affair. The bad guys underground — the nasty gorilla Skar King and equally unpleasant lizard kaiju Shimo — eventually battle Kong and Godzilla in a finale that strips out the last vestige of reality, gravity, in a floating melee.

Who is there to root for here? Godzilla has first billing but it spends most of its time traipsing around the globe sucking up radiation. Of the humans, Hall does the most to bring something real to the movie. Kong, as he’s been throughout this iteration of the franchise, is the main guy. But he’s just on the lookout for a friend or two. His most emotional scene, like Nick Nolte in “Affliction,” is due to a tooth ache. That, and the resulting yank via helicopter, prompted me to wish the movie was just a series of medical issues for an aging Kong. A knee replacement. Some reading glasses.

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” a Warner Bros. release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for creature violence and action. Running time: 115 minutes. Two stars out of four.

IMAGES

Review: A Cinderella Story (2004)
Prime Video: A Cinderella Story
A Cinderella Story
A Cinderella Story Movie Review
A Cinderella Story Reviews
A CINDERELLA STORY: STARSTRUCK

COMMENTS

A Cinderella Story movie review (2004)
For example, this review is a splendid review because it lets you know you'd hate "A Cinderella Story," and I am pretty much 100 percent sure that you would. So I offer the following advice. Urgently counsel your mom and sister to forget about going out to the movies this week, and instead mark the calendar for Aug. 24, when " Ella Enchanted ...
A Cinderella Story Movie Review
Our review: Parents say ( 6 ): Kids say ( 43 ): Girls will love this fresh, funny, and sweet, update of the Cinderella story, and it might win some fans among their older siblings and parents, as well. Duff has a winning personality and makes a lovely Cinderella, sensitive, smart, honorable, and devoted. She knows what she wants and is willing ...
A Cinderella Story
Movie Info. Sam (Hilary Duff), a teenager in California, is obliged to work as a janitor and dishwasher in the diner of her stepmother (Jennifer Coolidge). After a cell phone mix-up, Sam begins an ...
A Cinderella Story
TOP CRITIC. Funny and sweet update of the Cinderella story. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 21, 2010. Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com. The movie will wash over adolescent female audiences who ...
A Cinderella Story
A Cinderella Story is a 2004 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Mark Rosman, written by Leigh Dunlap and starring Hilary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, Jennifer Coolidge, and Regina King.A modernization of the classic Cinderella folklore, the film's plot revolves around two internet pen pals who plan to meet in person at their high school's Halloween dance.
A Cinderella Story (2004)
It takes an old fashioned fantasy like Cinderella, and sets the story in a contemporary setting. It throws in some fantasy aspects, while keeping it real with everyday life. They didn't complicate it, and it worked out well. Maybe i'm just a sucker for some cute romance, but I found this movie to be quite romantic.
A Cinderella Story (2004)
A Cinderella Story: Directed by Mark Rosman. With Hilary Duff, Jennifer Coolidge, Chad Michael Murray, Dan Byrd. Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Samantha Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school's Halloween dance.
Review: A Cinderella Story
July 12, 2004. Photo: Warner Bros. If some films are made to order, director Mark Rosman's A Cinderella Story has the market-researched stretch marks to prove it. Somewhere in the arid San Fernando Valley, Sam (Hilary Duff) is at the beck and call of her onerous stepmother, Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge), who firmly believes that "droughts are ...
A Cinderella Story
A Cinderella Story - Metacritic. Warner Bros. 1 h 35 m. Summary In this twisted and hilarious update of the classic fairy tale, Hilary Duff stars as a high school senior whose anonymous cyber soul mate turns out to be her high school's über-popular quarterback (Murray). (Warner Bros.)
A Cinderella Story Review
A Cinderella Story Review. A modern retelling of the Cinderella story, with Hilary Duff as the downtrodden heroine who gets the chance to sneak off to the prom and dance with the handsome jock ...
A CINDERELLA STORY
Wonderfully written, A CINDERELLA STORY keeps getting better and better as it tells the classic story of Cinderella in a contemporary setting. This is pretty hard to do, especially since the movie starts off at a high level of good humor and moral fundamentals. The jokes stem from the moral premise, the bad is rebuked, and the good is clearly ...
A Cinderella Story Review
For a major motion picture, at least A Cinderella Story has its heart is in the right place. And that's a start. ... Movie and TV Reviews; A Cinderella Story (2004) About The Author.
A Cinderella Story
Movie Review. Scores of celluloid versions of the Cinderella story have been made, dating back as far as 1899. ... In A Cinderella Story Hilary Duff brings along with her quite a bit of the charm she exuded during her Lizzie McGuire years. And while the structure of this film's plot follows that of the age-old Cinderella fairy tale, its feel ...
Screen It! Parental Review: a Cinderella Story
Eight years after an earthquake claimed her father's life, Sam Montgomery (HILARY DUFF) is a high school senior who once believed in fairy tales, but had them dashed by her mean stepmom, Fiona (JENNIFER COOLIDGE), and equally bad step-sisters, Brianna (MADELINE ZIMA) and Gabriella (ANDREA AVERY).
‎A Cinderella Story (2004) directed by Mark Rosman • Reviews, film
Once upon a time… can happen any time. Sam Montgomery is a tomboyish, unpopular girl at school. She has been text messaging a somebody named Nomad for a few months and he asks her to meet him at the Halloween dance at 11:00 in the middle of the dance floor. The only problem is, she must get back to the diner, ran by her wicked Stepmom Fiona ...
A Cinderella Story Movie Review for Parents
A Cinderella Story is a modernized telling of the tale set in a drought-stricken San Fernando Valley. When Sam Montgomery's father (Whip Hubley) dies, she is left at the mercy of her malicious and cosmetically enhanced stepmother (Jennifer Coolidge) and her two socially inept stepsisters (Madeline Zima, Andrea Avery).
Movie review of A Cinderella Story
harassment and verbal abuse. lying. deceit. selfishness. putting too much emphasis on body image. Movie review of A Cinderella Story by Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 23 September 2004 to help parents find age-appropriate and enjoyable movies for their children.
A Cinderella Story: Starstruck Movie Review
Our review: Parents say ( 3 ): Kids say ( 2 ): Cinderella meets A Cowgirl's Tale meets Tootsie in this feel-good latest installment in the fairy tale-inspired film franchise. A Cinderella Story: Starstruck is goofy and it knows it, from over-the-top hoedown dances to the herb-named scheming step-relatives to the reciting of Full House theme ...
A Cinderella Story critic reviews
A Cinderella Story has little of the smarts that distinguished this spring's big teen hit, "Mean Girls", which starred Duff's arch-rival, Lindsay Lohan. Whereas that film presented a genuinely complex and enjoyably snarky portrait of modern teen life, this effort is content to be another candy-coloured fantasy. FULL REVIEW.
A Cinderella Story (2004)
Here's what the distributor says about their film: "Cinderella never had it this bad. In "A Cinderella Story"—a twisted and hilarious update of the classic fairy tale—high school senior Sam Montgomery (Hilary Duff) lives at the beck and call of her self-obsessed step-mother Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge) and her sinfully wicked step-sisters, who treat her more like a servant than a ...
A Cinderella Story (2004)
A Cinderella Story is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Mark Rosman, written by Leigh Dunlap and stars Hilary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, Jennifer Coolidge and Regina King. A ...
A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish Movie Review
Parents need to know that A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish is a teen romantic comedy with lots of music and humor. The movie has its origins in Leigh Dunlap's book, A Christmas Story, which has spawned a number of other movie romances since its release. Writer-director Michelle Johnston makes her Cinderella a budding singer-songwriter whose wicked stepmother and stepsisters torment her in ...
A Cinderella Story (film series)
A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits. A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish. A Cinderella Story is an American anthology series of films created by Leigh Dunlap and based on the Cinderella fairytale. The film series is owned and distributed by Warner Bros. Although the first film was theatrically released, all the remaining films were direct-to ...
Fans Can't Believe These Obvious Plot Holes From Popular Disney Movies
From Cinderella to Aladdin and more recent classics like Toy Story, some parts of Disney movies that don't make any sense. While these plot holes don't ruin the enjoyment or nostalgia of these ...
Metro Boomin and Future Unite for 'We Don't Trust You': Album Review
Mixing the business of trap and the pleasure of friendship is what unites mumble-rapper Future with cinematic producer Metro Boomin.With "We Don't Trust You" marking the marquee ...
Netflix's 'Shirley' Cast Versus Real-Life People They're Playing
Lucas Hedges, left, as Robert Gottlieb in the Netflix film "Shirley." The real Gottlieb, right, in New York on March 13, 1989. Glen Wilson/Netflix; John Cornell/Newsday RM via Getty Images
New on Netflix: 7 movies and shows you have to watch this April
The eight-part series twists fairytales such as Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and the Pied Piper, rehashing them in a much darker format. Rebel Moon - Part 2: The Scargiver
'The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story' Review: Miles Morales Takes
Miles Morales confronts mental health struggles, learns to reach out for help, and shows bravery in The Spider Within.; Characters like Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man feel pressure and become ...
'Godzilla x Kong' review: A monster-mash feast
Every movement of each monster is closely tracked digitally. The humans in "Godzilla x Kong" verge on being bit players — or more like roving sports commentators — who spend most of their time trying to analyze what the goliaths are up to. It's a lean crew of scientist Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), conspiracy-spouting podcaster Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry) and biologist Trapper (Dan ...

Movie Reviews

Roger Ebert

Now playing

Megamind vs the Doom Syndicate

Carol Doda Topless at the Condor

Knox Goes Away

Nandini Balial

The American Society of Magical Negroes

Glenn Kenny

A Cinderella Story (2004)

Directed by

Latest blog posts

Home Entertainment Guide: March 2024

The Ebert Fellows Go to True/False

Keith Law Wants You to Watch Better Baseball Movies

The Joy of Watching the Greats Continue to Be Great Well Into Their 80s and 90s

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Email not verified

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Movies / TV

A Cinderella Story Reviews

A Cinderella Story

More like this

Did you know

User reviews 264

Technical specs

Related news

More to explore

Recently viewed

A Cinderella Story Review

A CINDERELLA STORY

What You Need To Know:

More Detail:

A Cinderella Story Review

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

A Cinderella Story

Content Caution

In Theaters

Home Release Date

Distributor

Movie Review

Positive Elements

Sexual Content

Violent Content

Crude or Profane Language

Drug and Alcohol Content

Other Negative Elements

Steven Isaac

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Someone Like You

Ordinary Angels

Letterboxd — Your life in film

Add to your films…

Add to lists

Where to watch

Once upon a time... can happen any time.

Director Director

Producers Producers

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Writer Writer

Casting Casting

Editor Editor

Cinematography Cinematography

Camera Operator Camera Operator

Production Design Production Design

Art Direction Art Direction

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Title Design Title Design

Stunts Stunts

Composer Composer

Costume Design Costume Design

Primary Language

Releases by Date

Netherlands

Russian Federation

South Korea

Popular reviews

Related Films

Similar Films

Mentioned by