YMMV / Cinderella (1997)

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Cinderella at one point states that her stepmother changed and became bitter and cruel after her father's death. Was she genuinely dealing with grief over the loss of her husband or did it merely grant her the opportunity to reveal her true nature?
• And You Thought It Would Fail: Blockbuster and Walmart doubted that the VHS could appeal to non-African-American shoppers, and only promoted it after Disney threatened to delay shipments of their animated videos otherwise. The musical ended up selling 1,000,000 tapes in its first week, then went on to become the most profitable TV movie yet.
• Awesome Music: Whitney Houston steals the show with "It's Possible". It helps that the song was given modern R&B-style beat, which not only complements Houston's iconic voice, it gives her rendition a unique identity that differentiates from the more "Broadway-esque" renditions of the previous versions.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Lionel is a delight. There's even a stage adaptation, the "Enchanted Edition," that includes him in it, and if the actor playing him pulls it off, he can easily steal the show.
• Fan Nickname: Brandy Cinderella
• Narm: "The Prince Is Giving a Ball". In the original and the 60's remake, the song is about many of the local girls conniving to win the prince. In the 90's remake, to give Jason Alexander more to sing and probably out of political correctness, the girls' verses are mostly replaced with the steward Lionel's long shopping lists of food, decorations, etc., literally making the song about preparing for a ball.
• Older Than They Think:
  • As progressive as the script appears to be, in reality it is closer to The '50s script than it would like to admit. A lot of aspects that weren't in the 1965 version (e.g. the Fairy Godmother's more youthful looks and sassier personality, Cinderella's Character Development from a passive dreamer to a more self-respecting, proactive person, one of the Stepsisters having an annoying snorty laugh, the lines "Everything starts with a wish" and "I want a chance at him!", the more comic portrayals of the King and Queen, and the stepfamily joining in singing "A Lovely Night" with Cinderella) weren't actually new in 1997, but come from the original 1957 version.
  • The script also features a few elements in common with the 1965 version as well (e.g. Christopher and Cinderella having a Meet Cute moment before the ball where she explains the meaning of her nickname, the stepmother being genuinely cruel and abusive rather than simple comedic relief, each stepsister having a specific Character Tic their mother tries to train out of them, and Christopher recognizing Cinderella before she tries on the glass slipper.)
  • Brandy is sometimes credited as the first black Cinderella on screen, but she is actually at least the fourth: Cleo Laine was in the BBC's Cindy-Ella (1966), Charlayne Woodard in Cindy (1978), and the biracial Jennifer Beals in an episode of Faerie Tale Theatre (1985). There was also Della Miles in Sisterella (1993), albeit in a filmed stage show, which technically makes Brandy the fifth.
• She Really Can Act: Brandy's resume as an actress was limited to say the least before this film, but her version of Cinderella is considered one of the all-time greats among adaptations of the fairytale.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: The Stepsisters, as in the '57 and '65 versions too. The '97 version tries to adjust this by making it clear that it's not the girls' looks that are driving men away, but rather their vapidness, bad personalities, and generally unpleasant nature—but still, it's hard not to feel sorry for them, given how their mother has literally trained them to believe that marrying for love is a ridiculous idea. Plus, they have a few Pet the Dog moments, such as happily dancing with Cinderella during "A Lovely Night" and at the very least treating her like a person instead of hired help, as earlier versions did...but they still get locked out of the palace in the ending, despite their mother being the real villain of the piece.
• Vindicated by History: While the film became the most-watched TV musical in US TV history, it was initially met with a mixed reception from critics, who were divided over Disney's feminist approach to the titular character, as well as the acting performances of Brandy and Houston. In later years, it has been reappraised as one of the best film adaptations of the fairy tale, along with being considered to be a groundbreaking film due to its diverse cast.