Cinderella : Ella DID stand up for herself all the time, so what the heck…?

This board seems to have hundreds of posts saying "Ella never stood up for herself"which don't make any sense, because she did stand up for herself all the time!

I truly have no idea what the "Ella never stood up for herself" critics are going on about.

When I was watching this film (which was months before I'd ever read any of the nonsense posts on this board) I was pleasantly surprised at how well and how often Ella stood up for herself.

Ella did everything she possibly could do to reason with her fake relatives. But their minds were closed to reason. Nothing was going to change that, and that's no fault of Ella's.

What were these critics expecting Ella to do, morph into an Amazon Warrior and give a Matrix-style whupping to everyone who treats her badly?

I know that solutions like that are the going trend for Hollywood films, but having Ella buck the trend and remain as a realistic woman character was much better. If she turned into an action superhero, this film would have jumped the shark.

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What were these critics expecting Ella to do, morph into an Amazon Warrior and give a Matrix-style whupping to everyone who treats her badly?

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Sadly that is EXACTLY what the critics wanted Ella to do.

Why else are there so many comments on "why didn't she just punch her Stepmother?" or my personal favorite "why didn't she just run away?".

The critics like to complain about why she didn't do this or that, but then they don't bother to address the probable consequences that would occur should Ella do these things.

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I know that solutions like that are the going trend for Hollywood films, but having Ella buck the trend and remain as a realistic woman character was much better. If she turned into an action superhero, this film would have jumped the shark.

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Exactly, most people in abusive situations in the real world, DON'T turn into Wonder Woman, or GI Jane.

Even nowadays where women have more options to escape such bad situations it can be hard to leave, (especially if you don't have friends and family to help you) And Ella lived in a time where women's options to live and find work independently were practically zero.

Sometimes you can't just run away, sometimes you have to do as Ella did and wait and tough it out while keeping an eye out for a chance to escape.

True, but don't expect some of the idiots on this board to understand that.

They fail to realise how it's mentioned in the movie why she didn't stand up for herself.

She wanted to protect her house, Lady Tremaine could've sold it and moved at any second, demolished the place etc So Ella took care of the house since there was no staff and did all she could to please her stepfamily

But then she just leaves the house and all her 'friends' behind when she moves into the palace and married the king.

In the novelization, which was based on the screenplay, the story ends with Kit and Ella honeymooning in her childhood home.

Her "friends" live with her in the palace as seen in the film.

We write the story

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en she just leaves the house and all her 'friends' behind when she moves into the palace and married the king.

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I'm sure that she took all her friends with her to the palace.

Her stepfamily was exiled so they won't be there to harm any of them. the King might have retsaffed the place.

well yeah cause she finally has an option. as horrible as lady tremaine treated her, she could have thrown her out on the street and she didn't. i'll suck up the emotional abuse as long there's a roof over my head.

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What were these critics expecting Ella to do, morph into an Amazon Warrior and give a Matrix-style whupping to everyone who treats her badly?

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Probably yes, haha.

I agree Ella did stood up for herself, but I think the naysayers wanted her to actually rebel against her stepfamily and even get back at them. But that's not the intention of the fairy tale.

Yeah, many want some huge 'battle cry' of independence from the lead.

Though Ella was able to have her satisfaction, without just breaking stuff and yelling. In a sense, there's a maturity to her that many these day would frown onsuch as her final words to her Stepmother.

"Thanks, guys." "So long, partner."

- Toy Story 3 (9/10)

Her forgiving her stepmother at the end was more brave then her becoming some Wonder Woman who retaliates. Her stepmother knew that.

I agree, I liked it. I'm bored of classics being messed about with, like in Maleficent. She was pure and kind, but also stood up for herself. What's wrong with that? Can't we have a bit of escapism?

What exactly would mouthing off to her stepfamily have accomplished? She's a penniless orphan girl who's depending on her stepmother's kindness for a roof over her head. If she told her family to eff off she'd end up on the streets at worst or depending on the kindness of someone in town.

Ella's character is about finding the best of any situation. It's like working a job you don't like because you need to pay the bills. Mouthing off to your boss will get you nothing but a pink slip and hard luck trying to find another position. But maintaining a positive attitude about things will make life much easier and more bearable

Exactly. I'm sick of ''Revisionist'' adaptations of classic fairy tales. Want something different?. Write something new, and leave the classics alone.

When did she stand up for herself? I'm not being belligerent. I'm genuinely asking, because it was hard for me to find a good example of that in this movie. That's why I say it's a bad message to send that being kind includes being passive. The only one I can think of is when she runs after her stepmother and bangs on the locked door. I wish that they had shown that she TRULY had no choice but to endure everything, instead of just telling her friend in the market, "It's my home, I don't want to leave" or something like that.

Maybe you should pay closer attention to the film? Ella does stand up for herself. Just because she isn't a sword-wielding feminist, doesn't make her passive.

We write the story

Wow, what a mean response to a perfectly civil question. I said nothing about wielding swords, and you didn't answer my question. I'm amazed at how nasty people get defending this movie. You defend the message of kindness but don't follow it.

If you thought THAT was a ''mean response to a perfectly civil question'', you haven't been on many IMDB boards, have you?.

Nope, been on dozens, and that's how I know it's perfectly easy to have a mature and adult discussion. Also pointing out the complete hypocrisy of people who defend the portrayal of Ella's kindness, but make nasty comments to anyone critiquing this movie

How on Earth was I nasty? It's common sense, deary. Pay attention to a film before making invalid comments about it.

We write the story

Happyphantom9, Ella stood up for herself when she didn't agree to her stepmother's proposal of having her be the lady of the house after Ella married Kit.

Truck or Squad. What side are you on?

Okay, that's one time. But what of the 'all of the time' part OP mentioned there should be more right?

I have to do some mental gymnastics to sorta twist the story to something that I can admire more. A subtle story of how this girl goes through and slowly overcomes her emotional abuse, but the problem that remains is how it's done. Such as it's reasonable for her not to speak up, why she would be spaced out in her mental happy place unable to stand up for herself or open a damn window and call out to the royal entourage. But still she didn't really do anything to get to that part up. She doesn't really stand up for herself she stands up for the prince the same way she stood up for the stag. It's not really for her that she's doing it it's for others.

And her forgiving her stepmother isn't really that new, The Slipper and the Rose did that with a funny outraged, "How dare she!" from the stepmother. But I understand why they would include it but would children understand the purpose of forgiving her family despite all that she's gone through?

Since when was "being passive" a bad thing?

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What were these critics expecting Ella to do, morph into an Amazon Warrior and give a Matrix-style whupping to everyone who treats her badly?

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Nope. I would have liked Ella to actually stand up for herself and actually seem invested at key parts in the film.

When Ella's father leaves on business, her step-mother immediately relocates her to the attic. Ella doesn't even give a single objection or offer an alternative to the attic. She just does what she's told.

We see that Ella is a very accomplished young woman. She can speak French and English. She can read and write. She can dance. She can ride horseback without a saddle, bit and bridle. She's an educated woman. She can cook and clean and sow and mend. She easily could have found a job and a home of her own. It isn't like she was orphaned as a child (like she is in all previous incarnations of Cinderella). She was already an adult.

When Cinderella is orphaned as a child, you can understand why she stayed with her step-family. Where else is she to go? She's a small child. She doesn't understand what it means to have a job or manage a home. She's either just old enough to start a formal education or too young even for that. She doesn't leave when she's older because she's been the victim of psychological abuse for a majority of her young life.

Her reason for staying is terrible too. She stays because her family was happy there and she thinks she parents are still in the house.

Ella also doesn't seem terribly invested in her life. Compare and contrast the two scenes of Ella being locked away by her step-mother. In the 1950s, she's desperate to get out. She helps formulate her own escape. The mice bring her the key but Gus is captured and Jaq can't save him. Cinderella tells the birds to get the dog to sic Lucifer so Gus can be freed. She runs down the stairs begging for an opportunity to try on the slipper. She doesn't even pause when her step-family objects. The shoe is destroyed and Cinderella immediately produces the other shoe. Done.

In this, Cinderella doesn't even seem mildly put out that she's been imprisoned. She's too busy dancing with herself and dreaming of her prince. She never even attempts to escape. The mice are the ones who open the window so her singing can be heard on the grounds. She's been up there for days. She has no idea what will happen to her and she doesn't even seem to care.

Cinderella doesn't have to be Amazon Warrior to be a strong character. She just has to be invested in her own life.

Lizzie

To love another person is to see the face of God! - Les Miserables

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When Ella's father leaves on business, her step-mother immediately relocates her to the attic. Ella doesn't even give a single objection or offer an alternative to the attic. She just does what she's told.

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I'm pretty sure Ella was going to say she was going to move into the step-sister's room (while the step-sisters move into her very large bedroom) but she never got the chance to say it since the LT decided to have Ella sleep upstairs.

It doesn't matter how old a person is but in this fictional time period if you're an adult and you're unmarried and still living in your parents' home and both birth parents are dead-you're technically an orphan. So legally LT is Ella's guardian (since I think Ella is suppose to be 19) until she gets married.

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We see that Ella is a very accomplished young woman. She can speak French and English. She can read and write. She can dance. She can ride horseback without a saddle, bit and bridle. She's an educated woman. She can cook and clean and sow and mend. She easily could have found a job and a home of her own. It isn't like she was orphaned as a child (like she is in all previous incarnations of Cinderella). She was already an adult.

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Yes she is an educated women but do you think Lady Tremaine would a)give Cinderella a character reference or b)let her maid of all work leave? No to both.

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In this, Cinderella doesn't even seem mildly put out that she's been imprisoned. She's too busy dancing with herself and dreaming of her prince. She never even attempts to escape. The mice are the ones who open the window so her singing can be heard on the grounds. She's been up there for days. She has no idea what will happen to her and she doesn't even seem to care

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We don't know what she's thinking OR how many days she been trapped up there with no food, and no water for all we know..so she might not be thinking straight she did try to escape but it was hopeless right after LT locked her in.

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When Ella's father leaves on business, her step-mother immediately relocates her to the attic. Ella doesn't even give a single objection or offer an alternative to the attic. She just does what she's told.

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Although what you said is technically correct, it also omits key information, which causes your statements to be an oversimplification.

Ella didn't object to the relocation because she was trying to follow her mother's advice to be kind and her father's advice to be nice to her step-family even though they are difficult.

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She easily could have found a job and a home of her own.

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The same things I've just said also apply to the statement quoted above. Ella was already in her home. Her step-family were intruders/usurpers to Ella's home. The film explains this more than once.

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She stays because her family was happy there and she thinks she parents are still in the house.

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How is her mother's presence being in the house a "terrible" reason for her to stay? She loves her mother more than anything. That therefore makes it a great reason to stay! And another complementary reason is that it was her family's ancestral home for hundreds of years.

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In this, Cinderella doesn't even seem mildly put out that she's been imprisoned. She's too busy dancing with herself and dreaming of her prince. She never even attempts to escape. The mice are the ones who open the window so her singing can be heard on the grounds. She's been up there for days. She has no idea what will happen to her and she doesn't even seem to care.

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On this point, I'll concede the film is weak. Ella should have banged at the window when the Prince & his entourage came to visit. The narrator's excuse, that she didn't think anyone would come to visit her, so she just ignored the visitors' arrival, doesn't hold up given the fact that any visitor might have helped to free her. Also, she should have opened the window herself rather than have the mice do it. The film's writing could use improvement on these issues. Fair enough.

As for when Ella stands up for herself, here are some examples:

- When she rides into the forest on a horse without her stepmother's permission.

- When her stepmother rips her dress.

- When she refuses to allow her fairy godmother to replace her mother's dress.

- When she goes to the ball despite her stepmother's refusal to let her.

- When she refuses to make her stepmother the Queen.

- When she tells her stepmother than she never was and never will be her mother.

- When she tells her stepmother that no one deserves to be treated as she was.

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The same things I've just said also apply to the statement quoted above. Ella was already in her home. Her step-family were intruders/usurpers to Ella's home. The film explains this more than once.

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But that doesn't mean that she has to stay there. She could have simply left. Found another home, found a job. And yes, women's options were less back then but it would have been better then being abused.


"I will not be strong armed by threats against my laundry"

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The same things I've just said also apply to the statement quoted above. Ella was already in her home. Her step-family were intruders/usurpers to Ella's home. The film explains this more than once.

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Was she? Her father died without a will (I'm assuming so because no will has been mentioned in the film) and Lady Tremaine, as his wife, got everything as I assume the law used to say back there and then. Sentimentally, Ella might consider the place as hers but things weren't like that at all.

She should have taken up witchcraft and / or bought a gun.

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11 92 12

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What were these critics expecting Ella to do, morph into an Amazon Warrior and give a Matrix-style whupping to everyone who treats her badly?

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That's what audiences expect of female characters nowadays, so probably. I agree, it's ridiculous.