Sure it's still got some of the dated gooey-ness of the original movie, sure Shrek's impact on savaging the Disney/fairy-tale formula can still be felt years after release, but Cinderella is a beautifully directed and cinematographed; and Kenneth Branagh did this?
Why do films like this exist in today's industry? Well franchising for one thing, and even though films like this are basically products in Disney's pipeline it CAN be well done given that the movie's got a determined director at the helm. And oddly, Branagh, the guy who directed films such as 1996's Hamlet, was just the guy to make Cinderella into a watchable film. It's pretty, has a good cast and has some nice tid-bits of humor here and there. And it's an update on the whole Disney-esque 'happily ever after' thing. Yes the story's the same but it gives some much-needed chemistry to Cinderella's and 'The Prince''s romantic charm. And... it works.
You don't need to be a girl or a gay to like this film; just see it for what it is: a harmless remake of an animation from the 1950s.
