How Whitney Houston and Brandy’s Cinderella Changed the Way We Think About Movie Musicals

Mary Siroky
·6 min read

The post How Whitney Houston and Brandy’s Cinderella Changed the Way We Think About Movie Musicals appeared first on Consequence.

In 1997, Whitney Houston materialized on our television screens in a shimmering, golden gown fitting for the peerless superstar and told us all something very important: “It’s possible.”

For many millennials, members of Gen Z, and parents of both, Wonderful World of Disney‘s spectacular interpretation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella quickly became a staple. The telecast aired in 60 million households, making it the most-watched television musical in decades, and earned a second life on home video when it became the highest-selling home video release of any made-for-television film to date.

In the 25 years since Cinderella, the project, which was co-produced by Houston, has taken on an almost mythic quality. Many things about the production felt revolutionary: The first Black woman to play Cinderella arrived with a dazzling, timely performance by Brandy. Her prince, played by Filipino-American Paolo Montalban, is presented as the child of Victor Garber and Whoopi Goldberg. The cast is rounded out by an equally diverse array of performers, including Broadway icon Bernadette Peters and Jason Alexander (in the full swing of Seinfeld‘s heyday). And, of course, Houston anchors the cast with her appearance as the Fairy Godmother, also the first time the role had been played onscreen by a Black woman.

At the time, this was framed as “color-blind” casting, but a recent interview on The Root with the film’s executive producer Debra Martin Chase reframes many of these decisions simply as diverse. They were intentional in their casting choices, weaving together a portrait of characters with which viewers from so many different backgrounds could connect.

Children of the ’90s might have had a passing moment of head-scratching at how a Black queen and white king may have produced an Asian son, or how one silly stepsister could be Black while the other was white, but the reaction from most young people watching was that it simply didn’t matter. The tapestry of 1997’s Cinderella was so rich, so vibrant, and so welcoming that we all moved past it. Most of us, even, would have given anything to be part of it ourselves.

There have been many interpretations of the classic tale of Cinderella, including Disney’s own 1950 animated version and a 1957 television adaptation starring Julie Andrews. In many ways, 1997’s take is incredibly faithful to the version that preceded it by 40 years: The orchestration is lush and full, in places lightly peppered with keyboards and drum beats that provided the barest hint of modernity. Many moments, like Cinderella and Prince Christopher embracing after a dance, are almost painfully romantic in a classical sense.

In other places, though, the film challenged longstanding beliefs about how the character of Cinderella ought to be presented. While always a dreamer, 1997’s title character is more three-dimensional, imbued with stubbornness and perseverance while retaining her tenderness. She cries, she mourns, and she’s hopeful for a brighter future for herself.

And never forget: In her first conversation with the prince, Cinderella posits that rather than be dolled up like a princess in a traditional sense, a woman should be “treated like a person, with kindness and respect.”

With sets reminiscent of soundstages, energetic choreography, and room for comedy and levity (Garber’s dynamic with Whoopi Goldberg is wonderful), the musical takes its time with the characters but doesn’t feel overstuffed. Houston’s take on the Fairy Godmother, meanwhile, is cheeky and funny, and so, so magical. “If impossible things are happening every day, then why shouldn’t I have impossible hopes and dreams? Even something as impossible as going to the ball?” Cinderella asks.

“Then go to the ball, Cinderella, go. No one’s stopping you but you,” Houston’s Fairy Godmother replies.

In behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Cinderella, Brandy recounts the call she got from Houston, who hand-selected her for the title role. Houston was already a bit of a fairy godmother in the younger’s life, Brandy explains — when she was singing in her church choir, as Houston did growing up, too, she was the idol the younger was striving to emulate.

In fact, so many moments in the film’s exchanges between Brandy and Houston, as scripted as they may have been, feel more like the two simply conversing with each other. When Cinderella trembles at the thought of her stepmother finding out she attended the ball, her Fairy Godmother scoffs. “You want to know what her problem is? She can’t handle how fabulous you are.”

For those who remember watching the film on television (and then, for anyone like this writer, many more times after that through the years), watching Houston’s radiant performance now is painfully bittersweet. She’s nothing short of incredible in the film, from the first moment she appears during the opening credits to the very last note as the closing fanfare rings. The film is a reminder not only of her great talent, but of her skill as a producer — she went on to produce The Princess Diaries and Cheetah Girls franchises, lest we ’90s kids forget.

Onscreen in this film, though, Houston is otherworldly. While the story closes out with a wedding between Cinderella and the prince, it was clear that the film needed Houston to bring things home with one more song. The answer was found in another Rodgers & Hammerstein creation, the little-known “There’s Music In You,” originally written for a 1953 film titled Main Street to Broadway.

By interpolating themes from other parts of the score, the closing number wove seamlessly into the film and is now recognized as part of the Cinderella story in stagings of the Rodgers & Hammerstein story. “Move a mountain, light the sky/ Make a wish come true/ There is music in you,” the Godmother sings.

In the years that have passed since the musical first aired, there have been a number of wonderful movie musicals, but you’d be hard-pressed to find one that checks all the boxes the way Cinderella does. The wealth of talent, the stellar source material, and the thoughtful casting remain a benchmark any musical fairytale should strive to reach.

“It all begins with a wish,” Houston told us. In the world of these 88 minutes, everything does seem possible — a plain, yellow pumpkin can become a golden carriage, and a plain country bumpkin and a prince can join in marriage. Perhaps most magically of all, the reminder that impossible things can happen every day feels just as real and tangible now as it did back in 1997, thanks to its stars and a healthy heaping of wishes and fairy dust.

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella is streaming now on Disney+. In addition, to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary, ABC is airing Cinderella: The Reunion, A Special Edition of 20/20 tonight (August 23rd) at 8 p.m. ET. The reunion special will bring together members of the original cast, including Brandy, Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters, and Jason Alexander. ABC will then air Cinderella in full.

How Whitney Houston and Brandy’s Cinderella Changed the Way We Think About Movie Musicals
Mary Siroky

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