In the original it was easy enough to see why the Prince would want Cinderella, but why she would be into him remained a mystery, at least to me. In this one they finally seem more balanced - she's toned down to be a bit less brilliant and quick, which helps, and they have a dynamic it's possible to believe in. They seem to truly like each other, which I never got from the first version.
I also love how this tough girl is still so utterly terrified by her step mother, which is very real, and the take on the stepsister as more trying to please her mother than anything else.
For me this hits home in a way the older version never did. That said, it's a movie made for kids first and the rest of us after, and as an adult I am trying to respect that lovely as this is, I am not the target audience for this, and that's okay. I still enjoyed it a lot.
I also love how this tough girl is still so utterly terrified by her step mother, which is very real, and the take on the stepsister as more trying to please her mother than anything else.
For me this hits home in a way the older version never did. That said, it's a movie made for kids first and the rest of us after, and as an adult I am trying to respect that lovely as this is, I am not the target audience for this, and that's okay. I still enjoyed it a lot.