Netflix has released its first Steps trailer, and it's caused quite a stir. The upcoming animated movie is a satirical reimagining of Cinderella with a star-studded cast. But for some people, it's playing too fast and loose with the traditional tale.
Some people writing on X have even called the movie a "satanic inversion" of Disney's classic because it presents the traditionally evil stepsisters as misunderstood. But are creative reimaginings what fairy tale tradition is all about?
Soundtracked by Charli XCX’s Mean Girls, the Steps teaser above provides our first taste of what to expect from the movie. Billed as loose satirical, musical comedy take on Cinderella, it's being produced by Netflix Animation Studios with Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions.
It's directed by Student Academy Awards gold medal winner Alyce Tzue (Student Academy Awards and John Ripa, co-director of Raya and the Last Dragon. Stars include Ali Wong, Amanda Seyfried, Stephanie Hsu, Daniel Radcliffe and Bette Midler,
Critics argue that the comedic approach risks trivialises a classic fairy tale by turning it into a parody. Many are particularly upset about the characterisation of Cinderella’s “evil” stepsisters, now named Lilith and Margot, as kind-hearted but misunderstood,
"You guys are destroying childhood memories with this one," one person writes on X. "Coming soon, a Netflix series about how Buffalo Bill was just misunderstood.?" someone else predicts.
"Peak wokeness. Invert reality. Good is evil and evil is good," another person writes.
Let's remember that the "reality" of Disney's 1950 Cinderella involved talking animals, a fairy godmother and a pumpkin that turns into a carriage, The 3D animation isn't doing much for me, personally, but fairy tales have always been subject to flux. Due to their inheritance from oral tradition, there is no definitive version.
The original Cinderella story is far older than Disney with roots in ancient Greece, Egypt, and China. Disney largely followed Charles Perrault’s 1697 French version, Cendrillon, but it softened some of the darker elements and it changed how the story ends for the step sisters leaving things hanging whereas Perrault had Cinderella forgive them and marries them off. Disney did actually make two direct-to-video Cinderella sequels that give one sister, Anastasia, a redemption arc.
Other versions of Cinderella were much darker. In an earlier Italian version, Giambattista Basile's La Gatta Cenerentola, the heroine kills her first stepmother. In the Brothers Grimm's version, Aschenputtel dated to 1812, the stepsisters slice off their own toes to try to fit the slipper and end up having their eyes pecked out by birds.
In short, Cinderella has been retold countless times. By flipping the perspective, Netflix can differentiate Steps from previous adaptations and possibly find something new to say with it.
Modern audiences have actually responded well to narratives that humanise “villains.” Just looked at Wicked and Maleficent. There's an appetite for stories that question moral binaries.
By recasting the sisters as complex characters, Netflix challenges outdated tropes and opens space for more nuanced storytelling. Whether it takes full advantage of that space remains to be seen.
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