You wrote a great petition jpod, and I signed, but I may cut the "this story was born from females wanting a man to take them away from situations they disliked" stuff. I don't think that's how the fairy tale was born and it makes it sound like it has a very bad message, that marrying rich will help you escape your bad situation instead of doing it yourself.
Thanks for your advice, I'll change it when I get home.
By the way, the filmakers of Cinderella were intending to make this the definitive live-action version of Cinderella, at least Sean Bailey, the president of production, the Disney Studios, said. Also, Kenneth Branagh said he cut things to make his film perfect, so a "director's cut" unfortunately may not be released because what we got really is his director's cut.
According to Kenneth Branagh, the original cut of the film was around 2 hours and 30 minutes. There were many scenes that added a lot of depth to the story and to the characters themselves, but those scenes were cut during post-production because Disney wanted to keep the running time under two hours. Kenneth Branagh is actually known for his lengthy film adaptations because he solely focuses on the story and the characters themselves. The theatrical cut wasn't his "director's cut" because the original cut was over two hours. It's obvious that Kenneth Branagh had to fight with those in power in order to keep the film at 105 minutes. The shorter the film, the more sessions it has. I think an extended cut is necessary because those 12 minutes of deleted scenes would add so much more to the story and to the characters themselves. Hope I'll have your and everyone else's support with the petition.
Okay, I think that ALL of the deleted scenes should have been in the film. Only possibly leaving out some of the second half of "Ella's Childhood" and "Serving". But really, the rest were good for so many reasons.
"Ella's Childhood" showed more of our star's life, and yes they are ridiculously happy, but they look genuinely happy and it's heartwarming. If you don't keep it all in, at least keep the part where Ella so adorably and uniquely attempts to eat the grass she was going to give to the lamb, and her mother being shocked and picking her up. Then, "Serving" showed more of how Ella became a servant and was kind enough to do it because it wasn't so bad at first, and it showed how the bells rang and Cinderella went to serve her stepfamily breakfast in bed just like in the original Walt Disney film this film is based on! The entire "Mourning" scene should have been kept in. It's good to see how both Ella and her stepfamily handled the situation, and more of how Cinderella became a servant, and how Lady Tremaine sold off the clothes, but Ella, courageously, goes for the butterfly that means so much now. "Getting to Know You" is really important to strengthen the relationship, and thus love, between Cinderella and the prince. They share who they are, to fall in love with each other! And it shows much more to Kit how kind Cinderella is by mentioning heaven and believing their mothers may be there and everyone can get into heaven. It is also a unique character idea. "The Search for Cinderella" I actually think is rather unnecessary, adding drama where it isn't needed, but the scene is still good, and shows how Cinderella is thought of as just a meaningless servant by others, and it's important for how the Duke treats Cinderella's letter later, when he learns she is the girl who wrote the letter. And speaking of the letter, "Dear Kit" is a must to be in the film because, as Kenneth said, it shows Cinderella going after her own happiness. I, too, was surprised the "What on Earth have you been doing?" "Dreaming, that's all" "Well wake up!" was there, and I'm glad it was. The way it was in the trailer would not have worked for this film, because in the trailer Lily sounded too happy, when she was returning from a rather sad venture. I like how the scene also shows that Cinderella occasionally goes out and does what she wants, against her stepmother's power.
So...yea. I really wish all those deleted scenes were in.
Now all I have to do is go get the Target exclusive version with more bonus content, right? Even more deleted scenes there?
Last edited by Disney Duster on Fri Sep 25, 2015 11:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Now having finally seen the deleted material, I agree with everything you've said Disney Duster.
And I would add that the movie wouldnt have been that much longer if they had been included. Maybe they were cut to include Frozen Fever before hand and still have both run under two hours together?
I also doubt Disney would put together a longer cut. They'd have to finish some effects shots first, and I doubt they feel spending the money to do so would bring in much more in additional sales.
Thank you, Flanger-Hanger. I agree with everything you said, too. Sadly, you are probably right that Disney won't release a director's cut with finished shots.
Old Fish Tale, I will say, one good thing about the way the final film turned out is it is closer to the original fairy tale than the deleted scenes would have made it. Also, I'm not sure how Ella becoming a servant would have been done and if it would have been as good as the way the final film did it. Glad you got to see all the scenes!
So now all I gotta do is see the Target exclusive bonus stuff...
Yes, I understand that the chance of Disney releasing an extended cut is slim, but we have a voice that should be heard. There's a petition for Sony Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer to release an extended cut of the recent Carrie remake. Could it happen? Possibly not. However, in saying that, a large number of well-known entertainment and horror websites have written articles about the petition. There's over 15,000 signatures and the studios are considering releasing an extended cut. Please do not be discouraged. Wouldn't you like to see an extended cut of Cinderella? I know I do. We, the fans, have a voice to show Disney that we would like an extended cut. I would genuinely be grateful if I had your support.
Flanger-Hanger wrote:I also doubt Disney would put together a longer cut. They'd have to finish some effects shots first, and I doubt they feel spending the money to do so would bring in much more in additional sales.
Cinderella was actually No.2 in home media sales for almost two weeks. According to a number of entertainment sources, the sales for the Cinderella DVD and Blu-Ray was up by 60%. It was almost on par with the sales for the Furious 7 DVD and Blu-Ray. Disney cares about making profit. If the sales of the Cinderella DVD and Blu-Ray exceeded their expectations, don't you think they would be more than happy to make extra profit on an extended cut? Bare in mind that the deleted scenes were not made available to those outside of the U.S. During its theatrical run, Cinderella grossed more money in the foreign market than it did in the domestic market. If Disney promoted that 12 minutes of additional scenes were added back into the film, then I'm pretty sure that tagline will boost even more sales.
I don't think there was ever confirmation that Disney made the film under two hours just to have more showtimes in theaters. I also don't think Kenneth Branagh had to fight with Disney about anything. Into the Woods, The Parent Trap, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the Marvel movies, Saving Mr. Banks, Chronicles of Narnia, etc were all over two hours. If Branagh wanted Cinderella to be over two hours, I'm sure he would've gotten his wish. In fact, I have seen and read interviews where Kenneth Branagh stated that he theatrical cut was the version he wanted. Therefore, the theatrical cut is also the director's cut. I also remember Branagh saying something like he wanted to keep the film under two hours. It was during a radio interview, I believe. It's o YouTube. Furthermore, screenwriter Chris Weitz was asked if there was anything that got cut that he would've liked they kept in and he said no. According to him, when he saw the final cut, he didn't even realize which scenes and dialogue from his screenplay were edited out.
Personally, I wish the movie was over two hours, but I also believe the final film was what Branagh intended the movie to be.
That's very informative tsom! I don't know how you are able to find out so much! My depression probably made me less...invested in searching for stuff.
You know, I was thinking about how I thought Cinderella was stupid for telling Lady Tremaine she wouldn't put her as the head of the household once she became queen, because as a queen she could easily go against that, but I was thinking maybe if she did require Lady Tremaine's backing to become queen in the first place, maybe she would have to put her in charge of the household before she even became queen, and the rules, or her word, would keep Lady Tremaine in charge. Cinderella could probably still overrule that decision, but maybe not. So it was good she stood up to her stepmother there.
Last edited by Disney Duster on Wed Sep 30, 2015 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Alternate Opening: So glad they removed it. Like some has said, the parents are way too happy in the beginning to the point of annoyance.
Search for Cinderella: Really great scene that reveals the Duke's character, but makes sense why they removed it, storytelling-wise
Dear Kit: God, I wish they've kept this. This shows the audience that she really is progressive and out to get her Prince, instead of waiting there.
The Mourning: They should have at least kept the funeral, Ella breaking down on her father's stuff, and Ella getting the butterfly back.
Getting to Know You: Very lovely scene. I loved the heaven part.
Serving: Unnecessary.
I wish they expanded Ella's mother's death, so we could have seen, "Where there's goodness..."
I wonder why they cut the "Where there is kindness, there is goodness. And where there is goodness, there is happiness" line? It's a pretty good message, and it was used heavily in the film's marketing.
Disney Duster wrote:I agree with some of your thoughts disneyprincess11. Good thoughts! As jpod, tsom, and flanger-hanger also had good thoughts on the deleted scenes.
Tsom, wasn't it, "...and where there is goodness, there is magic"? I did like that, but I feel okay that the movie didn't have it.
The actual ending of the line was "happiness." The trailer and promotional stuff just interchanged "happiness" with "magic" from Ella's mother saying "You have more kindness in your little finger than most people possess in their whole body, and it has power. More than you know. And magic."
Oh. Interesting they did that. I like either "happiness" or "magic". I like "magic" more though because it could be a metaphor that goodness creates happiness like magic, and it is the way she got magic to get her to the ball.
By the way, I finally bought the Target Exclusive version of Cinderella, and it was so worth it! "Something Magical' was an absolute delight for me because it talked about the coach and dress and magical parts of the film, and some information of how they did them. It showed a fantastic set piece of one of the entrances of the palace, with some naked statues worked into the columns. It was beautiful! And something I don't even know if it was caught in the film. And "Becoming The Prince" was also great! Really in-depth and shows the Captain pulling the stepmother from the door to go get Cinderella! It's quite funny!
So getting that version is worth it. If anyone wants a screencap of Cinderella running from the entrance with the statues let me know. It looks like it's her running down the beginning of the stairs, but it's right by the fountain, so it's either the bottom of the stairs or they just have the beginning of the stairs by the fountain because they didn't construct the entire long, long stairs, which makes sense.
This might be a dumb question but in the shots where the characters are holding umbrellas during The Mourning (particularly the funeral procession and Ella recovering her father's gift from the tinker), why isn't it raining? Were they going to add rain digitally if the scenes had been in the movie?
That is a good question, and your theory about digital rain is probably correct.
I just wanted to say, I can't believe this movie got made! I truly think that yes, this is the best Cinderella ever made, just above the Disney animated version. There's just so much more to it. Sure, Ilene Woods will always be the best Cinderella to me, and her and the film she comes from are my favorite Cinderellas, but this movie is so perfect. Well, almost, because the fairy godmother should have said "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" for each spell (except when she transforms herself, as in the original film she pulled her wand out without the magic words). But other than that, it is perfect. I see now that Cinderella and the Prince fall in love with each other's goodness. This film is a dream...a wonderful dream come true.
