Phadua Avila

October 30th, 2019

Lisa Griffin

Aurora or Cinderella?

Have you ever read a book and then watched the movie and realized that they both have

similarities and differences but where both inspired over the same story base? The fairytale of

Cinderella by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and the movie Cinderella, which was directed by

Christian Duguay, are both based on the same story but have changed as the story goes along.

The differences between the story and the movie are that the father takes different roles as the

story goes along, Cinderella meets the prince in a different way, and they both take place during

different eras. During the story, the father is part of the story, but in the film, Aurora’s father

passed away. Also, both Cinderella's meet their prince in different romantic ways. At last, these

two stories took place in different eras, which gave these two stories their little special touch.

The story is about a wicked stepmother and two jealous stepsisters who keep her enslaved and in

rags, Cinderella stands no chance of attending the royal ball. When her fairy godmother appears

and magically transforms her reality into a dream come true, Cinderella enchants the handsome

Prince Charming at the ball but must face the wrath of her enraged stepmother and sisters when

the spell wears off at midnight. The timeless classic gets a fresh spin in the Cinderella film that

was created by Christian Duguay. This story was based in Italy and a modern world. Aurora is,

the name of the girl that is supposed to be Cinderella, a young, talented pianist living in poverty,

who finds a world of romance and magic in the bustling streets of 1950's Rome.
 These stories have a lot in common but have many differences as well. In the story, the

father is still part of the story, but in the film, the father dies. In the story, the father answered,

“There is only a deformed little Cinderella from my first wife, but she cannot possibly be the

bride,” (Grimm 4). This quote shows that Cinderella’s father was still in her life but wouldn’t see

her as anything else than a deformed daughter from his first wife. On the other hand, in the film

the father was a concertmaster, he showed Aurora how to play the piano because her mother was

a talented pianist, so her father decided to show her how to play, but when she was young, the

father died of a heart attack.

Aurora meets her prince is quite different from the story. In the film, Aurora listens to a

conversation that was happening on the other side of her backyard wall, so she decided to climb

up the wall, but her rude sisters pushed her over and she fell into the neighbor's house. Then she

was walking and a young man approached him and asked her if she was lost because the house

had a maze in their backyard. Aurora said yes, so the young man showed her the way but then

disappeared and Aurora was terrified, lost and alone. Suddenly, another young man showed up,

this man, who was the other man’s brother was an incredible writer and he showed her the way

out of the maze and when it was time to leave, he kissed her on the cheek and a book called “The

Happy Prince.” This was just the beginning of their story, (Christian Duguay, Cinderella).

Meanwhile, in the story, “The prince approached her, took her by the hand, and danced with

her,” (Grimm 3). This clearly shows that the prince was the one who made the first move.

The story and the film were both from different eras. According to the film, the

Cinderella film was adapted to occur in the 1950s, which was set in Rome, Italy. On the

contrary, the sources seem to show that the Cinderella story was from the late 1700s or early
1800s. Like the way that this story is detailed, it doesn’t seem to describe where this story

occurred.

These two different Cinderella stories have a lot in common but also have many

differences. During the story, you can tell how the father is part of the story, but in the film,

Aurora’s father passed away due to a heart attack. Also, both Cinderella's meet their prince in

totally different ways. At last, these two stories took place in different eras, which gave these two

stories their little touch. It’s interesting how a story can be based on another story, but the author

can adapt it to different eras and change different details from it, but still have the same message

of the original story. I believe that this adaptation was made so that we as a person living in a

modern world could relate to it a little bit more and so that the scenarios feel more real and not so

much a fairytale.