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With ‘s recent casting as Ariel in The and Princess from The Princess and the Frog as the first animated Black princess, Disney is bringing greater diversity in movies. However, there was a Cinderella adaptation that was ahead of its time in this regard, and its fans (and star) have got to ask; where is 1997’s + release?
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Brandy doesn’t know why 1997’s Cinderella isn’t on +
For those who don’t know, Brandy is a singer-songwriter who was huge in the 90s. She starred as the title in Cinderella, and was one of two leads alongside Whitney Houston as the . Whoopi Goldberg also supports as the Queen.
Brandy was recently asked by Rolling Stone why the wasn’t on + already, to which she was clueless:
‘I absolutely don’t have any insight into that! I have no idea why isn’t it on +. It should on there because it’s Whitney Houston alone. You know what I mean? All by itself, just because it’s Whitney Houston. So, I don’t know. But I mean, Double Platinum, the that I did with Diana Ross, just was released on Netflix. That’s hope that maybe can come on up and scoop up Cinderella. That would be awesome, I would love that.’
It’s worth noting that Cinderella was produced by Walt Television, and is thus presumably fair game for +. Why hasn’t released it is unknown, but hopefully the company releases this diverse reinterpretation of the in the near future! (I mean, Whitney Houston as the ! More people need to see that.)
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1997’s Cinderella should sit alongside the and live action remake on +
Featuring the first is nothing to sniff at, but the rest of the cast is equally diverse. The is played by a Filipino actor (Paolo Montalbán) while his father is a white man (Victor Garber), and his mother is a (Goldberg).
Tony award winner Bernadette Peters plays the other iconic , her w. are also pivotal to the , and are played by a white female (Veanne Cox) and a black female (Natalie Desselle-Reid) respectively.
The was praised not only for its diversity, but its reinvention of the , who was made to be a stronger , as opposed to her original and depiction. Every little or boy can look up to Cinderella and see a strong woman more similar to the 2015 .
Cinderella 1997 is as charming as the himself, and we’d love to see it on +. It tells the in a classic way while introducing a revolutionary multi-ethnic cast, twenty years ahead of Black Panther’s groundbreaking diversity.
Hopefully, this is one that + can add to its new playlist soon, as this is pure .
Related: Jodi Benson (original Ariel) defends Halle Bailey’s casting in The Little Mermaid
Have you seen the 1997 ? Should Brandy sit alongside , , and the other leads? Let us know in the comments below.