Characters featured in the 2015 Live-Action Adaptation of Cinderella.
open/close all folders
Main characters
Cinderella
Ella / Cinderella
Played By: Lily James
The titular character, a beautiful, kind, optimistic young girl who, after her parents die, becomes a scullery maid under the thumb of her stepfamily. But then, a young man called Kit changes her life forever.- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Her grief from both her parents' deaths and cruel treatment by her stepmother and stepsisters is much more clearly wearing on her than in the animation.
- Adaptational Name Change: Cinderella's name was originally Ella, while "Cinderella" was her nickname, as it was in the original fairytale.
- Always Someone Better: Prettier, smarter, kinder and a better singer than her sisters. It's implied this is partly why Lady Tremaine abuses Ella, she's jealous of how Ella is better than her own daughters.
- Animal Motif: Butterfly appeared in her transformation and the paper butterfly given by her father.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Her stepsisters think of her as this because of her ability to talk to mice.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's a golden-haired, kind-hearted and innocent scullery maid who becomes a princess.
- The High Queen: Becomes this instead of a Princess.
- Leitmotif: "Lavender's Blue" is used as a theme for her, particularly in the second half of the film. She later sings the song in full when the royal company bearing the glass slipper comes to her home.
- Nice Girl: Even with all she goes through, Ella never loses her kind spirit.
- Odd Name, Normal Nickname: Inverted. Her given name is Ella, but like in the other adaptations, her stepmother and step-sisters give her the mocking nickname "Cinderella" because her chores leave her covered in cinders.
- Survival Mantra: "Have courage and be kind." Her dying mother urges her to always remember this, and it becomes her key to enduring her stepfamily's abuse without becoming bitter or losing hope.
- True Blue Femininity: This is Disney's Cinderella after all. Ella wears a beautiful blue dress when she meets Kit again at the ball.
Prince Kit
Kit / Prince Charming
Played By: Richard Madden
The Prince (later King) of Cinderella's kingdom.- Ascended Extra: Has much more involvement in the plot than his animated counterpart.
- Exact Words: He describes himself when first meeting Ella as working in the castle as an apprentice. Which is technically true. He just doesn't specify that the trade in question is the role of King.
- Humble Hero: He's the Prince of a kingdom but never thinks of himself as above or more important than anyone.
- Daddy's Boy: Has a very close and loving relationship with his father, the King.
- The Good King: Becomes this.
- Named by the Adaptation: His name wasn't revealed in the animated movie.
- Nice Guy: As one would expect from the original Prince Charming, Kit is kind, humble, sincere, loving, charming and a good ruler.
- Nice to the Waiter: He is always very polite and modest, treating the staff of the castle as equals and sharing an especially close relationship with the captain of the guard.
- Prince Charming: But of course. Kit is a Prince and as kind and loving a person as you could ever meet.
- Wise Prince: He's a Prince with a good head on his shoulders who wants to be the best King he can be for his kingdom.
Cinderella's family
Cinderella's Parents
Played By: Ben Chaplin and Hayley Atwell Other Languages
Cinderella's parents.
- Canon Foreigner: Cinderella's mother wasn't seen in the original film, only mentioned as having owned the dress Cinderella plans to wear to the ball.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the original film, Cinderella's father apparently died at home; in the prologue, young Cinderella is shown crying at his bedside while Lady Tremaine and her daughters look on. Here, he dies while away on a business trip, and a farmer brings Ella and her stepfamily the news. He also dies later in this film, as in the original, Cinderella and her stepsisters were still children at the time, but here they're young women.
- Good Parents: Cinderella's mother encourages her imagination, while her father brings her gifts from his travels.
- The Lost Lenore: Ella's father mourns her mother's death for the rest of his life, even after he remarries. Lady Tremaine is all too aware of this and vents her jealousy on Ella.
- Nice to the Waiter: After the doctor breaks the news that Ella's mother is dying, her father acknowledges the doctor's sadness as well as his own, saying, "This must have been very difficult for you." Ella remembers this, and years later, she says the same thing to the farmer who brings the news of her father's death.
- Victorian Novel Disease: This is what claims Ella's mother; an unspecified disease that causes coughing and Fainting, and which the doctor can do nothing to cure.
Lady Tremaine
Lady Tremaine
Played By: Cate Blanchett
Was once as happy as Ella was, until her first husband died. Now she's determined to make Ella's life a living hell.- Adaptational Nice Girl: 'Nice Girl' may be an exaggeration, but rather than just making her a pure villain, here she is given a backstory to explain her cruelty towards Ella, after the death of her first husband, Sir Francis Tremaine.
- Age Lift: In the animated film, Lady Tremaine had gray hair and wrinkles, making her one of Disney Animation's many Evil Old Folks. In this version, she appears to be much youngernote and has red hair.
- Broken Bird: She claims her first marriage was happy and that she was once as idealistic as Ella, before life took a harsh turn for her. Part of the reason why she abuses Ella is because she can't stand seeing her stepdaughter still hopeful and compassionate in spite of her life's hardship.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: As awful as she is, she genuinely loved her first husband and is still devastated by his loss years later.
- Freudian Excuse: She became bitter after her first husband died. It's also heavily implied that she grew up under a similarly abusive mother herself.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: For once, she wants to exploit her connection to Ella to make herself the Queen Dowager. Although, when that plan fails, she'll settle for a countess.
- Grande Dame: A younger variation.
- Hypocrite: One of the reasons for her resentment is that Cinderella's father obviously preferred his first wife, but during her Motive Rant Tremaine makes it clear that she likewise prefers her first husband, describing him as the one she married for love while Cinderella's father is the one she married for money.
- Pragmatic Villainy: In contrast to most versions, at one point Lady Tremaine is perfectly willing to let Cinderella marry the prince... if she makes Tremaine head of the royal household. Ella is unwilling to expose Kit to Tremaine's manipulations, so she gets locked in her room.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Debatable. She appears cold, angry and dismissive towards Ella and, at times of discipline, her own daughters, but one might feel sorry for her, as she is apparently still in mourning for her husbands and takes it out in abuse to make life miserable for Ella.
- Shadow Archetype: The film repeatedly emphasizes that Lady Tremaine is what Cinderella could have become had she let her grief get to her.
Supporting characters
Sir Francis Tremaine
Sir Francis Tremaine
Onetime master of the trade guild, deceased husband of Lady Tremaine, and father of Anastasia and Drizella.- Canon Foreigner: He isn't mentioned in the original film, but it's speculated that in said film, Lady Tremaine married him for his money and killed him once he outlived his usefulness. In this film, however, his death is why Lady Tremaine is so cruel.
- The Lost Lenore: A male example; Lady Tremaine refers to him as the light of her life and was devastated when he died.
- Posthumous Character: Long dead by the time the film begins.
Anastasia and Drizella
Anastasia and Drizella
Played By: Sophie McShera (Drizella) and Holliday Grainger (Anastasia)
The daughters of Sir and Lady Tremaine.- Adaptational Nice Girl: Not as mean as they are to Ella as they are in the animated film, and they're also forgiven by her at the end. Their treatment of Ella seems due to them being easily influenced by their mother, rather than out of genuine malice like Lady Tremaine.
- Disappeared Dad: Their father, Sir Francis Tremaine, died prior to them being introduced.
- Easily Forgiven: Cinderella forgives them at the end.
- Gold Digger: They only want the Prince's riches, not caring about getting to know him as a person.
- Sibling Rivalry: Frequently get into spats and constantly vie with each other for luxuries. Despite this though, they seem close.
Fairy Godmother
The Fairy Godmother
Played By: Helena Bonham Carter
A sorceress who gives Ella some unexpected help.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Where the animated Fairy Godmother is a chubby elderly woman in a simple hooded cloak, here she's a slender, attractive middle-aged woman in an elegant gown.
- Adaptational Ugliness: Her beggar disguise.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: She introduces herself as "your hairy dogfather" before correcting herself.
- Expy: Can be seen as one to the Enchantress from Beauty and the Beast, especially the remake. Both start as an old beggar who test the main character's morality, only to reveal themselves once they do. One has to wonder if the two are in cahoots.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has blonde hair and is a kind spirit who helps Ella finally achieve the happiness she deserves.
- Narrator All Along: She narrates the film.
- Showing Off Your Powers: The Fairy Godmother reveals herself to Cinderella with a flashy transformation, throwing her glowing staff up in the air before catching it, changing her from an old woman into her fairy form.
King Frederick
King Frederick
Played By: Derek Jacobi
The king and Kit's father.
- Arranged Marriage: He tries to get his son married to Princess Chelina of Zaragosa. He also implies to have gone through this with his wife, as he says she was a princess before she married him, although it was evidently a Perfectly Arranged Marriage where he fell in Love at First Sight.
- Death by Adaptation: While in most versions of the story, including Disney's animated film, the king is alive and well to the end, here he's terminally ill from the start, and eventually dies soon after the ball.
- Face Death with Dignity: He knows he is dying and accepts it gracefully, only wanting to see his son married before he dies.
- The Good King He's a wise and fair ruler who only wants what is best for both the kingdom and his son.
- Good Parents: Although they disagree about whether Kit should marry for advantage or for love, the king clearly loves his son very much, and vice-versa. On his deathbed, he finally gives Kit permission to marry the girl he chooses.
- Named by the Adaptation: His name is King Frederick in the novelisation.
- Your Days Are Numbered: He suffers from an illness that he knows is terminal. This is why he's anxious for his son to marry, both to secure his kingdom's future and so his son won't be left alone when he dies.
The Queen
The Queen
Kit's deceased mother.
- Arranged Marriage: Implied to have gone through this to King Frederick, although they did genuinely love each other.
- Posthumous Character: Only appears in a portrait, since she died long ago.
Princess Chelina
Princess Chelina of Zaragosa
Played By: Jana Pérez
- Arranged Marriage: The King and the Grand Duke both want Kit to marry her for political advantage. The King eventually gives Kit permission to Marry for Love instead, but the Grand Duke isn't so easily dissuaded.
- Canon Foreigner: She doesn't appear in the original film.
- Princesses Rule: Implied, as Zaragosa is historically a principality and we don't see Chelina's parents.
Lizard Footmen
Lizard Footmen
Played By: Tom Edden
Lizards transformed into Footmen by the Fairy Godmother.- Canon Foreigner: They did not appear in the original animated film, they appear in the live action as new characters and as an Expy to the character of Bruno, who was Adapted Out.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Ella's lizard friend is simply named "Mr. Lizard".
- Expy: They are a replacement for Bruno, who was Adapted Out.
- Glamour Failure: As Fairy Godmother's spell wears off during the chiming of midnight, their true reptilian appearance begins presenting itself.
- Humanity Ensues: The two lizards are transformed into footmen by the Fairy Godmother to take Ella to the royal ball and the spell will only last until midnight.
- Lizard Folk: The lizards transformed into footmen by the fairy godmother retain a number of reptilian traits (such as long tongues).
- Morphic Resonance: The Lizards that the Fairy Godmother transforms into humans all retain some lizards-like attributes (green skin and pointy teeth), with their clothing also reflecting said animal's colors.
- Nice Guy: Mr. Lizard is very nice to Ella.
- Overly-Long Tongue: The lizard footmen have these, as shown when one uses said tongue to catch a fly while waiting for Cinderella.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Lizards Footmen are like that in the film.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Very inverted; the Lizards are very kind and helpful with Ella, especially with Mr. Lizard.
