One step-sister has been refashioned as half of a secondary couple, and the King and Queen have been dispatched in favor of a wicked stepfather figure for the Prince.

WSJ: Cinderella: That Flexible Fairy Tale

Happily, the leads carry the day: James Marsden as a prince of grinning vanity, Susan Sarandon as the wicked stepmother (although the climax turns her into something else, again unnecessarily), and, above all, Amy Adams, who, in the role of a would-be princess, finds true momentum, not just sappiness, in the farce of innocence.

NEWYORKER: Enchanted

In the first edition, Rapunzel, imprisoned in the tower by her wicked godmother, goes to the window every evening and lets down her long hair so that the prince can climb up and enjoy her company.

NEWYORKER: Once Upon a Time