very nice. the best thing about this Disney re-make was Brandy. not to make a corny pun, but she filled Julie Andrews shoes (or slipper)very nicely. which for anyone who admires the original performance was not an easy task. especially considering ms.Andrews considerable vocal talent. of course Brandy does not have as accomplished a voice as Julie, but she does a nice job in this and has plenty of cute, wholesome charm. a must for Disney films.
I've always felt that the made for TV Disney musicals were very underrated. i loved 'Geppetto','Once Upon a Mattress', and the musical version of 'Pollyanna'. this Disney version of Rodgers and Hammerstein CBS-TV has a lot to offer. especially for children and families.
the budget here looks very lavish for a TV movie and has some really attractive color scheming, which was something that was always lacking in earlier TV movies from the 70's and 80's.and the FX effects here are excellent, a decided improvement over the first, but the first was a live broadcast and this wasn't.
the songs are reworked to some success and even some of the new ones are nice enough, if not up to the standard of the original. and the interracial casting surprisingly doesn't make any difference. after all, it's supposed to be a comic fantasy and not a realistic depiction of history.
even some of the new lines are funny. it's very amusing when Bernadette Peters tells her daughter's, "ladies hide who they are until after the wedding". and there's a funny moment when stepsister Minerva has to be restrained from jumping the Prince's bones while screaming "i wanna chance at him!". as amusing as the two actresses here are as the stepsisters, they can't compare to the comic genius of Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley in the original.
whatcanyasay. Brandy iz adorable and precious here. ooky pooky. and Paolo montalban (any relation?), is very sexy and handsome in a very contemporary way. and he sings well too.
the only real problem i had with this is i wish they had tried to do an original, contemporary musical with pop songs instead of dragging out the old R&H musical from the 50's. don't get me wrong, i love the old R&H musical but it was what is was and it might have been fun to see something new.
i'm sure this movie will appeal to Disney fans and young girls. there's a lot of sincere charm here and amusing fun. and considering it was one of the very first 'Wonderful World of Disney' TV musicals,somewhat of a classic. at least i enjoyed it.
one footnote here. i watched this on BET and not only did they butcher the film, they packed it so full of commercials it was insulting and almost unwatchable. the only reason i watched it until the end is that i don't own this on DVD. i suggest to anyone who might read this, if BET shows it again don't watch it. rent it on video or wait till it comes out on the Disney channel or something. BET really S--ked for doing that. BET ALWAYS does that. BET is a good concept gone bad. it's not the programming on BET that is bad, it's ALL THE D-MN commercials all the time. but BET really ruined this and this cute little movie deserves BETTER THAN BET.
I've always felt that the made for TV Disney musicals were very underrated. i loved 'Geppetto','Once Upon a Mattress', and the musical version of 'Pollyanna'. this Disney version of Rodgers and Hammerstein CBS-TV has a lot to offer. especially for children and families.
the budget here looks very lavish for a TV movie and has some really attractive color scheming, which was something that was always lacking in earlier TV movies from the 70's and 80's.and the FX effects here are excellent, a decided improvement over the first, but the first was a live broadcast and this wasn't.
the songs are reworked to some success and even some of the new ones are nice enough, if not up to the standard of the original. and the interracial casting surprisingly doesn't make any difference. after all, it's supposed to be a comic fantasy and not a realistic depiction of history.
even some of the new lines are funny. it's very amusing when Bernadette Peters tells her daughter's, "ladies hide who they are until after the wedding". and there's a funny moment when stepsister Minerva has to be restrained from jumping the Prince's bones while screaming "i wanna chance at him!". as amusing as the two actresses here are as the stepsisters, they can't compare to the comic genius of Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley in the original.
whatcanyasay. Brandy iz adorable and precious here. ooky pooky. and Paolo montalban (any relation?), is very sexy and handsome in a very contemporary way. and he sings well too.
the only real problem i had with this is i wish they had tried to do an original, contemporary musical with pop songs instead of dragging out the old R&H musical from the 50's. don't get me wrong, i love the old R&H musical but it was what is was and it might have been fun to see something new.
i'm sure this movie will appeal to Disney fans and young girls. there's a lot of sincere charm here and amusing fun. and considering it was one of the very first 'Wonderful World of Disney' TV musicals,somewhat of a classic. at least i enjoyed it.
one footnote here. i watched this on BET and not only did they butcher the film, they packed it so full of commercials it was insulting and almost unwatchable. the only reason i watched it until the end is that i don't own this on DVD. i suggest to anyone who might read this, if BET shows it again don't watch it. rent it on video or wait till it comes out on the Disney channel or something. BET really S--ked for doing that. BET ALWAYS does that. BET is a good concept gone bad. it's not the programming on BET that is bad, it's ALL THE D-MN commercials all the time. but BET really ruined this and this cute little movie deserves BETTER THAN BET.