 A girl named Ella (Cinderella) has the purest heart living in a cruel world filled with evil

stepsisters and an evil stepmother out to ruin Ella's life. Ella comes one with her pure heart when
she meets the prince and dances her way to a better life with glass shoes, and a little help from her
fairy godmother, of course.
 A live-action retelling of the classic fairytale about a servant stepdaughter who is abused by
her jealous stepmother and stepsisters after her father died. Forced to be a servant in her own house,
through it all she did not let anything or anyone crush her spirit. Then one day, she meets a dashing
stranger in the woods.
—gmorato
 Ella (Eloise Webb) lives with her wealthy parents in a beautiful estate in a peaceful kingdom.
From a young age, she is taught by her mother (Hayley Atwell) to believe in the existence and
presence of magic, allowing her to befriend the many animals on the estate, particularly the mice.
Everything is perfect until her mother contracts a fatal illness. On her deathbed, she makes Ella
promise that she'll always have courage and show kindness to others. Years later, Ella's (Lily James)
father (Ben Chaplin) reveals that an old acquaintance, Lord Tremaine, has passed away and that he
has chosen Tremaine's widow (Cate Blanchett), who has two daughters of her own, Drizella (Sophie
McShera) and Anastasia (Holliday Grainger), as his second wife. Ella welcomes her stepfamily
warmly, despite the stepsisters' less than pleasant attitudes and her needing to protect her friends
from her stepmother's cat, Lucifer. Soon after, Ella's father goes abroad on business. Sadly, he
becomes ill and also dies. This new loss results in Lady Tremaine revealing her true cold, wicked
nature. Desperate for money, she dismisses the servants and forces Ella to do all the work. Even
worse, she gives Ella's room to the stepsisters, forces her to sleep in the attic, and won't even let her
eat with the family. One morning, after Ella, not wanting to sleep in the cold attic, sleeps by the
fireplace, her soot covered face leads her stepsisters to mock and dub her as Cinderella, which Lady
Tremaine (and even Ella herself) calls her. Crushed by their cruelty, Ella goes for a ride in the
woods, where she encounters a hunting party. She meets one of the hunters (Richard Madden), who
claims to be an apprentice named Kit who lives in the palace. Unknown to her, he's actually the only
son of the land's dying king (Derek Jacobi). Despite never learning her name, Kit (a nickname given
to him by his father) is enchanted by Ella's charm, kindness, and unique outlook on life and
becomes obsessed with her. Upon learning that he has little time left, the King insists that Kit find a
bride at an upcoming ball. Despite the law saying that he must marry a princess, Kit can't get over
the mystery girl and talks his father into letting every eligible maiden in the land attend. When the
ball is announced, the Tremaine family is ecstatic at the prospect of marrying into royalty. However,
when Lady Tremaine refuses to buy Ella a new dress, she fashions one herself from an old dress of
her mother's with help from the mice. The night of the ball, Ella tries to join her stepfamily on the
way out, but Lady Tremaine, claiming that her mere presence will disgrace them, leads her
daughters in ripping up the dress before leaving without her. Ella runs into the garden in tears and
encounters an old beggar woman, who reveals herself to be her Fairy Godmother (Helena Bonham
Carter). She uses her magic to turn a pumpkin into a magnificent carriage, four mice into horses,
two lizards into footmen, and a goose into a coachman, as well as turning Ella's dress into a
gorgeous blue gown complete with glass shoes before sending her on her way with the warning that
the spell only lasts until midnight. At the ball, Ella wins the coveted first dance with Kit, whose true
identity she's pleasantly surprised to learn. This irritates the Grand Duke (Stellan Skarsgård), who's
secretly promised Kit to a princess, a fact Lady Tremaine overhears. After dancing, Ella and Kit tour
the palace and grounds together, slowly falling in love, but before he can learn her name, the clock
strikes 11:59, forcing her to flee, dropping one of her glass shoes in the process. She manages to get
away before the stroke of midnight and hides the other shoe in her room as a memento. Soon after,
the King dies, but not before giving his son permission to find his love. Once it's announced that
every maiden in the kingdom is to try on the shoe, Ella goes to her room for hers, only to find Lady
 Tremaine waiting with it in hand, having figured out her identity from her attitude after the ball.
Lady Tremaine demands that Ella make her head of the royal family and give her daughters proper
husbands when she becomes queen and when she refuses, Lady Tremaine smashes the shoe and
locks Ella in her room. She then brings the shoe and identity of the mystery girl to the Grand Duke
and talks him into rewarding her with title of countess and worthy husbands for her daughters. He
takes the shattered shoe to Kit, hoping to convince him to forget the mystery girl, but this makes
him more determined than ever to find his love. The Grand Duke and the captain of the guards
(Nonso Anozie) lead a garrison to try the remaining shoe on all the maidens in the land, all of whom
are rejected by its magic, before arriving at the Tremaine estate. When the shoe rejects both
stepsisters, they turn to leave, only to hear Ella singing thanks to the mice opening her bedroom
window. The Grand Duke tries to leave anyway but is stopped by one of the men, who reveals
himself to be Kit in disguise and demands that the captain investigate the sound. Once Ella is found,
Lady Tremaine tries to forbid her from trying on the shoe, but is overruled by the captain. Sure
enough, the shoe fits and Ella leaves with Kit after forgiving her stepmother, who later is forced to
leave the kingdom with her daughters and the Grand Duke, never to return. Kit and Ella are married
and crowned king and queen. The Fairy Godmother narrates that they become the land's most
beloved monarchs, ruling with the courage and kindness she promised her mother.
—Spencer Higham
 Ella is a down-to-earth, innocent young girl with a threatening stepmother and stepsisters.
But when she meets the man of her dreams, she is twirling down the dance floor in glass slippers
and blue dress, with the help of her fairy godmother. But she better watch the clock!
—joshuastainer
 Ella is living a great life until her mother passes away. Ella's father remarried a "good"
woman with two wretched daughters. One day Ella's father goes on a journey and never returned
because of death. Ella gets stuck living with her "family" until she rides in the woods and meets a
prince. The Prince holds a ball expecting to see Ella there. The stepmother admits her jealousy and
locks up who she call Cinderella in her attic room.
 When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel
stepmother and her scheming step-sisters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to
change after meeting a dashing stranger.

Spoilers
The synopsis below may give away important plot points.

Synopsis

 In a beautiful kingdom, a little girl called Ella (Eloise Webb) lives a happy life in a lovely
manor house with her doting parents. Her father (Ben Chaplin), a wealthy merchant, is often away
on business trips, but always makes the most of his time with his family. Ella's mother (Hayley
Atwell) encourages her to believe in magic, courage, kindness, and hope. Ella considers the resident
farm animals to be her dear friends, and talks to them often.

Ella and her father are grief-stricken when Ella's mother falls gravely ill. On her deathbed, she tells
her daughter that power and magic stem from kindness, and to always "have courage and be kind."

Over the next several years, Ella (now Lily James) carries on a comfortable life with her loving
father, though they both miss her mother terribly. When her father announces his plan to remarry,
Ella gives him her sincere blessing and hopes for his happiness in this new chapter of his life.

Ella's new stepmother, Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) is a stately widow with two daughters of
Ella's age: Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera). The three women, along
with their ill-tempered cat Lucifer, move into the manor house with Ella and her father. Lady
Tremaine proves to be a prideful and cold woman with rather unsavory friends, while Anastasia and
Drisella bicker constantly and only seem to bond over their disdain for Ella.

Ella's father prepares to depart on another business trip, and asks Ella and her stepsisters what
presents they would like him to bring back. While Anastasia and Drisella ask for parasols and lace,
Ella merely requests the first branch that brushes her father's head as he travels. He bids her a loving
farewell the following morning.

No sooner had her husband departed, Lady Tremaine manipulates Ella into giving up her bedroom
to Anastasia and Drisella. Ella is then relocated to the attic, where she finds that her mouse friends
also reside. Despite this unjust development, Ella remains optimistic and continues to live by her
mother's mantra: "Have courage and be kind."

Some time later, Ella is given tragic news by a local farmer: her father had taken ill and died on his
journey. The farmer gives Ella the branch she had requested, along with his condolences. Ella is
heartbroken. Lady Tremaine is also upset, but for solely financial reasons. Resentful of her new
husband for leaving them with no source of income, she takes out her rage on her stepdaughter.
After dismissing all the household servants, Lady Tremaine shifts the entire workload to Ella, who
is so miserable that she views the endless chores as almost welcome distractions from her grief.

Ella's days of servitude grow increasingly dismal, as the shock of her father's death wears off and
she realizes she no longer has a loving family. After a particularly cruel and hurtful incident (during
which her stepfamily dubs her with the infamous nickname "Cinderella"), Ella rides her horse into
the nearby woods to calm herself down. She encounters a stag, fleeing from an approaching hunting
party, and her horse takes off in fright while Ella clings on for dear life . Her plight is noticed by the
young prince (Richard Madden), out hunting with his men, who manages to stop her horse and
introduces himself as Kit, an "apprentice" from the palace. While Ella is charmed by the handsome
stranger, whom she does not recognize as the king's son, she scolds him for hunting a helpless
animal and requests that he refrain from harming the stag. While taken aback at Ella's odd request,
Kit is smitten with her compassionate spirit, but is called back by his hunting party before he can
learn her name.

Back at the palace, Prince Kit tells his father, the King (Derek Jacobi) about the pretty girl he met in
the woods. While the King still insists that Kit must marry a princess for the good of the realm, he
sympathizes with his son's desire to break the occasional tradition. However, as the King is growing
increasingly ill, he believes that Kit must marry quickly and properly in order to take the throne in
the near future. Kit reluctantly agrees to his father's wishes, which are seconded heartily by the
king's right-hand man, the Grand Duke (Stellan Skarsgard), but suggests that the entire kingdom be
invited to the upcoming palace ball instead of merely the nobility and upper-class. The King agrees,
and Kit looks forward to possibly seeing Ella again. The captain of the royal guard (Nonso Anozie),
who is also Kit's friend and confidante, encourages Kit's progressive thinking in spite of the King's
opinions.

As Ella buys groceries in the market square, the royal crier (Alex MacQueen) announces to the
gathered public that a grand ball will soon be held at the palace so the prince may choose a bride,
and that all eligible ladies in the kingdom are invited. Having never been to such a luxurious affair
and hoping to see Kit the "apprentice" again, Ella is excited to learn that even the serving class is
welcome to attend. She rushes home to relay the news to her stepfamily, who are overcome with
anticipation. Lady Tremaine immediately plans for one of her daughters to win the prince's hand and
bring riches to the family again. When Ella expresses interest in going to the ball, she is scoffed at
and dismissed. Ella, still not disheartened, finds an old dress of her late mother's and begins to mend
it herself in preparation for the event.

On the evening of the ball, Anastasia and Drisella are decked out in their new gowns and are aflutter
with excitement. Lady Tremaine is delighted that she has "two horses in the race," and is all but
convinced that the family will soon be elevated to royal status. Ella descends the stairs in her
mother's old dress, taking one more stab at attending the ball. Lady Tremaine and her daughters
cruelly rip the dress to tatters, taunting Ella and forbidding her to accompany them. As the three
women depart, Ella runs into the garden, weeping with rage and sadness.

Ella is startled by an old beggar woman crouching in the corner of the courtyard who asks for a bit
of nourishment. Despite her own misery, Ella kindly offers the woman a bowl of milk. To Ella's
great surprise, the old lady transforms into a shimmering fairy and introduces herself as Ella's fairy
godmother (Helena Bonham Carter). The fairy godmother wastes little time in transforming a
pumpkin, Ella's mouse friends,a goose, and some lizards into a spectacular carriage, four while
horses, a coachman, and footmen, respectively. Ella's ragged pink dress is spruced into a
magnificent blue ball gown, and her worn-out shoes are replaced with a stunning pair of glass
slippers. Ella is dumbfounded by her change in luck and is most grateful, but is warned by her fairy
godmother that the spell will be broken at the last stroke of midnight and all will be as it was before.
Ella promises to be home in time, and is sent off to the palace after receiving a charm that will
prevent Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters from recognizing her.

The ball is just underway as Ella arrives, with scores of princesses being introduced to the Prince
and the King. When Ella appears on the ballroom balcony, the assembly goes silent and Kit
recognizes the girl from the woods at once. He asks her for the first dance, which she gladly accepts,
and the party officially begins. While Lady Tremaine sends her daughters into the fray to compete
for the Prince, Kit and Ella sneak away to the castle grounds. Realizing that Kit is, of course, the
Prince, Ella is a bit shocked, but upon getting to know him, sees he is an honest and caring man. He
speaks of his inner conflict between pleasing his father, whom he loves and respects, and pursuing
his own ambitions. Though having a marvelous time with Kit, Ella notices the clock beginning to
strike twelve and hastily excuses herself. In her rush to leave the palace before the magic wears off,
she loses one of her glass slippers on the palace steps. Kit sends the royal guard after her,
determined to find out who she is, but Ella's goose coachman manages to evade them. At the last
stroke of midnight, Ella's dress, coach, and attendants all return to their normal forms, although her
one remaining glass slipper remains intact. She walks the rest of the way home, still giddy from her
magical evening.

When her stepfamily finally arrives home, Ella is still in a wonderful mood as the stepsisters talks of
the beautiful "mystery princess" who stole the show at the ball. Lady Tremaine is angry after
overhearing the Grand Duke say that the Prince was already promised to the Princess of Zaragosa,
so the whole ball had been for naught. She is also suspicious as to why Ella is so cheerful after such
a supposedly unpleasant evening alone at the house.

The King is nearly dead, and finally gives Kit his blessing to marry for love, encouraging him to
find the beautiful girl from the ball. Kit thanks his father and bids him a tearful farewell. Once made
king, Kit immediately sends his men out to find the mystery princess so that he may marry her. All
eligible women in the kingdom try on the glass slipper that Ella left behind on the palace steps, but
it fits none of them.

Having learned of the kingdom-wide sweep for the mystery princess, Ella rushes to her attic room to
retrieve her remaining glass slipper, which she had hidden under the floorboards with her other
treasured belongings. She is startled to find her stepmother waiting there for her, tauntingly
displaying the slipper in her hand. Lady Tremaine finally reveals to Ella the source of her
resentment: Lady Tremaine's first husband, whom she had married for love, met a premature death
that forced his wife into the trials of single motherhood. After marrying Ella's father, she was left in
the same predicament after his death. Despising the fact that she had to constantly look upon the
beloved child of another man who had left her, Lady Tremaine channeled her rage and frustration
onto Ella. Having deduced from the discovery of the slipper that Ella is the sought-after mystery
princess, Lady Tremaine dashes the slipper to pieces against the wall and locks Ella in the attic
alone.

Lady Tremaine brings the remains of the slipper to the Grand Duke as proof that Ella, her "servant
girl," is the mystery girl whom Kit loves. The treacherous Grand Duke, while feigning loyalty to
Kit, had concocted a scheme with Lady Tremaine in order to force Kit to marry the Princess of
Zaragosa: Lady Tremaine will keep Ella away from Kit, and in return will receive the title of
Countess and prosperous marriage arrangements for her two daughters. Despite this plot, the Duke
pretends to honor the new king's wishes by attending the royal guard as they search for the mystery
princess.

The last house in the kingdom to be visited by the royal guard is Ella's but she is still locked in her
room when they arrive. Lady Tremaine shows the Captain and the Duke into the house, where
Anastasia and Drisella unsuccessfully try on the intact glass slipper. The men prepare to leave, but
are halted by the sound of singing from an upstairs window. Ella, in an attempt to keep her spirits
up, is singing the lullaby her mother sang to her as a child. Lady Tremaine and the Grand Duke
attempt to send the guards quickly on their way, but are shocked when one of the uniformed soldiers
reveals himself to be King Kit in disguise. Kit orders the Captain to find the source of the singing.

Lady Tremaine has no choice but to lead the Captain upstairs to Ella, but initially refuses to let Ella
leave. The Captain reminds her that it is on the order of the King that Ella come downstairs. Lady
Tremaine makes the shockingly false excuse that, as Ella's mother, she is only doing what is best for
the girl. Ella angrily asserts that Lady Tremaine is not, and never will be, her mother. Ella follows
the Captain downstairs.

In the drawing room, Kit and Ella face each other as they truly are: a young king and a kindhearted
farm girl. They promise to accept each other as they are. At last, Ella tries on the glass slipper,
which fits perfectly and confirms her identity once and for all. Anastasia and Drisella, realizing their
stepsister will soon be queen, make hasty apologies for their behavior, but Lady Tremaine is frozen
with rage on the stairs. Before leaving the house with Kit and the guards, Ella offers her stepmother
forgiveness.

With their wicked plans found out, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, Drisella, and the Grand Duke are all
banished from the kingdom. Ella and Kit are married, excitedly embarking on their new life
together, with portraits of their respective late parents hanging side by side in the palace. The fairy
godmother recounts how they went on to be kind, just, and beloved rulers, and that Ella continued to
see the world not as it was, but as how it could be.