{ Cinderella (DAY 516) }

For weeks now I have been wanting to see the new Cinderella movie.  I watched the trailer and every little single space belonging to my young girl heart got giddy.  I’m almost (but not quite!) 😉 embarrassed to admit just how excited I was, I even thought about dressing up in my vintage gown that is nearly identical to the one Cinderella wears in the film.   The costumes looked extravagant and gorgeous, the landscape glorious, and the “magic” perfect.  It seemed like it was going to be a film of pure delight.  So when I got the opportunity to go on opening weekend my dad looked straight at me and said, “Just go.” (I had had the flu 24 hours earlier and wasn’t sure if I should go out of the house yet…)  So I wanted to share a few things that stood out to me from this beautiful film.  Just from watching the trailer you know that the film’s message is all about having courage and being kind but I wanted to highlight some other wonderful messages I picked up.

Pain often proceeds beauty, struggle before victory.  Following the classic story of Cinderella this version has both her parents pass away.  It was heart wrenching.  To see her walk through the grief of loosing her parents and still staying true to who they raised her to be was powerful.  It’s so easy to think of a Disney story and immediately make fun of “happily ever after”.  There is nothing easy about death though and this film shows that.  I swear I almost cried when the prince looses his father.  Both Cinderella and Kit (the prince) have experienced severe grief as well as the step mother.  Yet Cinderella and Kit allow it to make them stronger in healthy ways while the step mother lets her grief turn her bitter.

Cinderella gave what she had.  From the scraps on her plate she gave to her little friends, the mice.  She knew that it wasn’t about lace and parasols.

I love that she learned to see memories as treasures.  I’ve always wondered why Cinderella didn’t realize it was closer to midnight until the clock starts chiming.  I mean that was an important detail that everything would return to the way it had been and she seems to have completely spaced that!  While this is just speculating I think Cinderella had learned to live in the present and be fully engaged in what was happening at the moment. Alright and the prince is good looking and sweet…so there is that too. 😉

Another thing I loved was how her house was a scared place and a haven for their family.  Their family had owned it and passed it down for generations and that mattered.  Where she came from, although simple, had significance.  There’s such a thing as a “spirit” to a place where love has been and that should be cherished.

Cinderella knew that true beauty came from within and while someone can be pretty on the outside, if their hearts are ugly they are to be pitied.

I also appreciate the fact that while Cinderella does take a lot of abuse (made me so mad) in the end she stands up for herself and the ones she loves.  Also note here for anyone experiencing verbal abuse: IT IS NOT OKAY! You are valuable and just because others tear you down doesn’t mean their words have to define you.  I loved that Cinderella realizes the power that words have.

One random note: she’s not into the whole side saddle thing and I was like “Thank you!”

My favorite line from the whole movie though goes something like this, “The greatest risk we will take is to be seen as we truly are.”  I also think that’s one of the bravest things we can do: showing up and being seen without our facades.

Have you seen the film?  What did you think?  What was one positive thing you took away from it?