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There have been several adaptations of the ageless Cinderella story, mostly commonly Disney’s takes. But one of the lesser seen is 1997’s Rodger’s and Hammerstein version starring Brandy in the title roll and Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother. This one was sort of made for TV (ABC, so Disney-adjacent) despite their efforts to try and get it released in theaters. But, TV is probably the best place for it.
It’s essentially a theater production. Only a few sets all of which are very open and stagey, and big camera movement to show everything off. Despite a few 1997-ass special effects, it easily could have gone to stage without much tinkering. That said though, we totally love this version. There’s no denying how great the music is, and in the hands of Brandy and Whitney the songs truly soar. The production design is a little dated, but we like it anyway. 1997 was a good time to be alive tbh and we all really liked this in middle/high school.
The worst part about 1997’s Cinderella really is that it’s so hard to find. We had to watch a DVD of it. The only way we could find it available online was to buy the DVD on Amazon for about $5. Thankfully Wil had it on hand, but with Brandy making a bit of a comeback and Moesha finding new success on Netflix, we’re surprised Disney hasn’t gotten this up on Disney+. Of even more importance now in 2020 is diversity, and this is super diverse as it was blind cast.
What we’re saying is, you should put in the effort to watch this version of Cinderella if you have any connection to the lineage of the story. Have you seen it? Come chat with us about it on Twitter! So few people even know it exists and we want to talk about it with you! For now though, enjoy today’s bad CG-filled episode of So…I’m Watching This Show!
