Cinderella 1997

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Cinderella ★★½ Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella 1997

Disney does some multiracial casting in this lavish, latest TV version of the fairytale. Norwood is sweetly sincere in the title role, with Houston as her divalike Fairy Godmother. Peters camps as wicked stepmama, Goldberg's the Prince's mother, and the Prince is handsome newcomer Montalban. And Alexander gets the role of comic relief as the princely confidante, Lionel. The Rodgers and Hammerstein score, written for the 1957 TV version, has been augmented with other Richard Rodgers tunes. The Sweetest Sounds; Impossible; Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?; Falling in Love with Love. 92m/C VHS, DVD . Brandy Norwood, Whitney Houston, Paolo Montalban, Jason Alexander, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg, Victor Garber; D: Robert Iscove; W: Robert Freedman. TV