It turns out I wasn't the only one who was excited to learn that the 1997 version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella was coming to Disney+ last week. Everyone involved in the making of this classic film from over 20 years ago got together for interviews, a live watch party on Twitter, and more. The biggest surprise of this celebration was a brand new music video from Disney aficionado Todrick Hall featuring the leading lady herself, Brandy Norwood. It starts out as a fun little singing session between Brandy and Todrick as they serenade each other with songs from the classic musical. Then, something magical happens as Brandy is transformed into a slightly updated version of her princess look from the 1997 film and returns to the ball with Todrick as her prince. The video comes to a "happily ever after" with socially distanced cameos from several of the other cast members in the film.
Todrick Hall is no stranger to producing professional-quality Disney fan videos. I was particularly impressed by his "Spell Block Tango" mash-up video of Disney villains with the musical Chicago back in the day. It's evident that his "Cinderella" video was a labor of love by all the wonderful little touches in the background of his studio. There are countless Broadway posters lining the walls, a classic storybook from Disney's animated 1950 version of the story, and dolls of both Brandy and Whitney Houston in their iconic gowns from the 1997 movie. The costume that Brandy wears when she transforms into Cinderella at the ball is slightly different from the in the original film. It is a darker shade of blue and made of more shimmery material, adding to the magic of the music video. Her crown is also larger, implying that she has evolved from a princess into a full-blown queen. The choreography during this scene is on point and every bit as magical as it was in the original film.
What I enjoyed the most about this video was the look of sheer delight on Brandy and Todrick's faces as they performed these classic songs. You could tell that the video was made as a result of love and enjoyment for the original and not as a forced promotion for Disney (even though Whoopi Goldberg throws one in at the end). It's adorable how amazed Todrick Hall looks when Brandy walks into the room. She also seems to be having the time of her life adding her own soulful spin on iconic songs like "In My Own Little Corner" and "Impossible." The rest of the cast, including Bernadette Peters, Jason Alexander, and Paolo Montalban, who dressed up for his cameo, show their appreciation for the movie by appearing in the "Cinderella" storybook at the end. It was delightful to see that all of these performers still remember their roles in this gorgeous movie.
Todrick Hall isn't the only one who blessed us with new "Cinderella" music last week. On the same day that Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella launched on Disney+, Andrew Lloyd Webber released another song from his Cinderella musical called "I Know I Have a Heart." This song is thematically similar to "Far Too Late." It expands upon Cinderella's regrets toward not telling Prince Sebastian about her feelings for him and running away from the ball. The song emphasizes her heartbreak after he picks a different woman to be his bride with the line "I know I have a heart because you broke it" and deconstructs today's feminist princess trope that encourages girls to suppress their femininity and hide their emotions. This version of Cinderella embodies the modern princess trope of being rebellious and independent and denying her feelings for the prince. "I Know I Have a Heart" enunciates the dangers of this attitude by showing us that no matter how tough a woman may act on the outside, she is just susceptible to pain and heartbreak on the inside.
"Cinderella" is a story that was once considered outdated. With these two musical revivals, it seems to be back in fashion. It makes sense that all of the people falling on hard times due to the current state of the world would want to embrace the fantasy of having their problems magically disappear. Personally, I've never grown tired of this story and am happy to see it make a comeback in any form. I think that the currently airing Disney+ series, WandaVision, is another example of a modern deconstruction of the "Cinderella" trope, but I will expand on that after the season ends.
A new season has begun, which means there are tons of new anime shows available from Japan. Going over the long lists of new shows every three months can be overwhelming, so I'm here to curate the most princessy shows each season for you. This Spring brings us two unique princess shows and two villainess shows , which is a popular princess-adjacent genre with new offerings for every anime season. For me, the standout series of the Spring 2026 anime season is Always a Catch , which places a unique spin on the broken engagement trope . What makes Always a Catch unique is that it subverts the trope of modern princess anime shows that start with a wicked prince breaking off his engagement to a noble lady, resulting in her winning over a different prince. In this show, Prince Renato attempts to break off his engagement with Lady Aida, but he hasn't seen her in years and confuses her with her outspoken cousin, Mimi. As an apology for the mistake (and because he finds Mimi charming),...
Part 2 of the Winx Club reboot dropped on Netflix yesterday, and it seems like fans are completely disengaged with this franchise. No one is talking about it, and it was pretty poorly received in So Diva! Magazine . The latest drop was fairly short, with only six episodes. This batch of episodes focuses more on the Winx girls than Damien, who seemed to be the star of the initial drop. However, the reboot is stuck between old and new story developments with a lot of revisited material from the superior original series , and not all of the changes they made to it are for the better. The first episode of the drop, "The Truth About Bloom," threw me for a loop because the reboot didn't make it clear that Bloom didn't realize she was adopted. Those of us who have been watching the original series for years were well aware of this fact, and dragging it out slowed the reboot to a crawl. After Bloom learned that she was the secret keeper of the dragon flame, had a magical gui...
Today is a major accomplishment for me. I started this blog 100 days ago, and I've managed to write a new post in it every day since then. Some of the topics were easier to come up with than others. I also had to go back and edit some after the fact due to poor proofreading. Speaking of which, I'm really sorry about the disastrous short story from my first Story Saturday post . The whole thing was written on my phone on the way to a Mermaid Art Show event in San Diego, so I was a little distracted. I promise to put more effort into future Story Saturdays, which should be easier now that I will no longer be writing new posts every day. Don't worry, though. I will still keep everyone informed of the latest princess news and review all the new princess movies and specials. Without further ado, in celebration of my 100th post, here is a list of 100 princesses with all of the posts I've made about them (in no particular order). Thank you so much for reading my blog. 1-11:...
If there's one fairy tale that's been adapted more times than most people can count, it's "Cinderella." With a rumored Disney spinoff on the way , this timeless rags-to-riches story has even more film adaptations than "Snow White." That's not even counting books , musicals , television , and other media ! Therefore, I thought it would be fun to rank ten different movie interpretations of the beloved tale, including some you might not be familiar with. In fact, I just learned about my number ten spot earlier this week! As always, my rankings are subjective and may change based on my mood, so don't take them too seriously if you don't agree with all of them. 10. The Glass Slipper (1955) The Glass Slipper is a lesser-known Cinderella adaptation, and for a good reason. This film lacks many of the qualities that make Cinderella movies great. There's one mediocre song, and the main actress was cast more for her ballet abilities than for her...
Today is the day that Disney's live-action Snow White comes out on Disney+, providing an opportunity for the many people who did not see it in theaters to watch it. In honor of this occasion, I have explored many of the previous live-action interpretations of this character that have come before. Although I still have strong feelings about remaking the first feature-length animated movie of all time in a live-action format, I did not think that Disney's newest adaptation was the worst one. Yet, it had so much competition from its predecessors that it did seem a bit unnecessary. Let's explore all the live-action Snow Whites that came before and see where this one falls. Please note that this is purely for fun and not an official ranking by any means. All opinions are my own. Feel free to share yours in the comments, whether you agree or disagree with my list.. 10. Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) I tried to watch this movie again recently because I didn't remember i...
Only one month after my recent obsession with Find Me in Paris , the time-traveling ballerina princess drama dropped its third and final season on Hulu today. Though somewhat predictable, this season offered a satisfying conclusion to the show's unique concept that combined dance with science fiction and tied up all remaining loose ends from the previous seasons. We finally learned the truth about Lena's birth and why she's always being chased by anyone remotely interested in time travel. Nearly every character got paired off at the end, even if it meant some questionable decisions on behalf of the writers. The season also offered some of the most beautiful dance sequences in the show yet for its key story moments. While I could have done without the repetitive recap sequences, the final episodes made it clear that this was always meant to be the end and gave the cast and crew many happy memories to look back upon. The final season of Find Me in Paris incorporated the ...
Have you ever wished you could put on a princess dress and fly away to a magical realm where anything is possible? The Labyrinth Masquerade Ball is the closest thing you can get to that, and it just came back to the Millenium Biltmore Hotel here in Los Angeles for its twentieth year! My husband I had the pleasure of being among its may attendees last night. As a bonus, it even gave me a rare excuse to wear my wedding dress again. I was surprised how many compliments I got on it, considering how many elaborate fantasy and faery costumes there were. Beginning in 1997, the Labyrinth of Jareth was inspired by the masquerade scene featuring the late David Bowie in Jim Henson's 1986 film, Labyrinth . In order to recreate the dreamlike quality of the film, the event requires all attendees to wear either formal attire and masks or elaborate fantasy costumes. People go all out for this each year, donning tons of glittery, enormous wings, face paint, ...
It's been four years since the announcement of a new Sofia the First series. Today, that series is finally available to watch on Disney Jr. and will be coming to Disney+ tomorrow. Sofia the First: Royal Magic is everything I hoped it would be, with callbacks to the original show and most of the original cast and crew returning alongside many new faces. Sofia is back with her iconic purple dress, magic amulet, and the same sweet and cheerful personality that we all know and love. The show's pilot included a cameo from Rapunzel that referenced a "council of princesses," but this hint to additional Disney Princess adventures is not mentioned again in the rest of the eight episodes that premiered today, so we will have to wait and see how she encounters other classic princesses in the future. Sofia the First: Royal Magic does an excellent job of blending new characters and settings with the ones from the show's initial, welcoming new audiences without alienatin...
Five new episodes of Sofia the First: Royal Magic launched during World Princess Week , and they contain quite a few nostalgia-based throwbacks to a number of different properties. Although the fast-paced reboot lacks the heart of the original series , it's still a wholesome and magical adventure that gives fans a taste of what they've been missing since it stopped airing. The first episode of the reboot teased a visit from Rapunzel , who returned briefly in the new episode "Crown Chaos." Yet, the return was lackluster at best, particularly due to the lack of Mandy Moore , who originated the character in both the Tangled film and series. In the original Sofia the First series, princess cameos were a huge deal. They were rare and often appeared during hour-long specials, accompanied by songs and important guest stars. With Royal Magic's 10-minute episode formula, there's barely enough time to get excited about a princess's appearance before a new story be...
Disney wrapped up World Princess Week today with a new LEGO special on Disney+ . Magical Mayhem is another princess tag team special featuring all the original Disney Princess voices in a zany animated LEGO adventure. This 22-minute animated feature had much lower stakes than the previous two . Instead of dangerous vengeful villains, the princesses faced off against a big rainstorm and a mischievous Cheshire Cat. The whole special took place at their castle, which they share with each other. The concept of all the princesses hanging out together started with Wreck-It Ralph 2 and continues to gain traction through the references to the Princess Council in Sofia the First: Royal Magic . The overall scope of this special is smaller than the other two, in which the princesses faced off against dragons and saved entire kingdoms. This special focused on quick pacing and snappy humor to appeal to the TikTok generation. It was chock-full of references to the movies the characters o...
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