Critical Approaches: Cinderella (2015) Trailer Analysis
By Jamey Rowsell - Tuesday, May 09, 2017
Walt Disney, being the producers and distributors for Cinderella, have a well-known wide target market. It can range from 7-year-old children right up to 21-year-old young adults, depending on what the content and the product is. However, for this particular product, Cinderella is aimed at young girls and teenage girls ranging from ages 8-17. Young girls are all connected by the characteristic and trait to believe this film is about true love between a princess and her prince charming, therefore would share the same social category. Teenagers themselves would also be a social category as they are all within a specific age range and share certain characteristics that would be different from younger girls. In terms of the BBFC certificate (British Board of Film Classification), this film is rated U for Universal meaning that it is suitable for all and according to the official website, it should be “suitable for audiences aged four years and over.”
The trailer opens with an establishing shot of a wide field accompanied by blue skies and large green trees, which straight away gives a happy mood to the setting. In the foreground we see a family having a picnic on the grass and enjoying their time together, whilst we can see a manor house in the distance as part of the background. The trees are almost creating a path that opens up towards the house, which could suggest it’s where most of the story takes place and it’s also where they live creating happy memories with each other. In terms of mise en scene, I believe the scenery is quite idealistic and dream like for any family. As soon as the trailer starts playing, we are immediately greeted with some non diegetic sound – a piano instrumental, which was a popular instrument in those old days. As well as this there is a voice over and narrative from who we find out later is Cinderella’s mother, accompanying the shots and instrumental music. It’s also worth noting that the family appear to be sitting in the shade instead of enjoying the sunlight, which could foreshadow dark events that may happen later on. The scene as a whole is very green which all in all symbolises nature, growth and harmony and could perhaps be indicated towards a certain character e.g. Cinderella, as it’s a place where she is growing up in and surrounded by.
The following scene is a medium shot, introducing us to the character of Cinderella’s mother sitting in the field. Instantly I can point out that the setting is extremely colourful and dreamy, she appears extremely angelical and innocent. The main colour standing out is yellow – it being both the colour of her dress and in the majority of the flowers she is arranging – which suggest joy, happiness and an overall burst of energy. We get this confirmation from her facial features and expression as she looks ahead with a huge, carefree smile on her face. Also the fact that she is surrounded by a bed of yellow and lilac flowers indicates she is the source of light and happiness in the family and she holds them all together. The background is particularly dull in comparison – the edges of the grass in the distance almost frame the image and adds a considerable amount of attention to her character. The next shot (which we find out is the reason she was sitting there with a smile on her face) is a low/over the shoulder angle, making us as an audience feel as if we are there in the moment experiencing it with them. We are looking up at a young Cinderella in the arms of her mother, showing her importance to the film. The fact that she is smiling and laughing shows the relationship she has with her mother and how much they love each other. The blue sky in this shot is very bright and again, suggests an idealistic fairy-tale where everything is always bright and happy. 
Now we have a close up shot of Cinderella’s mother (which is shown throughout the course of the trailer) accompanied by a narrative of her speaking wise words to her daughter and giving her lifelong advice. The fact that this clip is shown throughout the trailer and not just once shows the importance of her mother to Cinderella’s life, we know they had a close relationship with each other and could perhaps show why Cinderella is as kind and forgiving as she is. Lighting appears much darker in this scene compared to how we saw her in so much light previously, suggesting something dark and gloomy is about to happen. Although this scene is darker, we can still see an element of light reflecting from her face showing that she will always illuminate such light. We are positioned at a high angle, looking down on her as she speaks and this could show that she is becoming less important to the story and to Cinderella’s life. The next shot incorporates a fading transition as we see Ella as a young girl walking across the field with her father, which then fades into her and her father walking in the same position but with her as a young adult – showing that nothing much has changed with their love for one another or where they once lived. It also suggests that it is just them two and the idealistic family notion is gone, however the brightness of the scene is a sign of hope for them and their future. Interestingly, we can see some of the flowers still planted in the grass from when her mother was arranging them. 
A low angle/track camera movement is what we see next as a new character is introduced to us. The camera follows the step-mother at a low angle as she steps out of the carriage, we are immediately looking up at the back of her demeanour –
Shot/reverse shot is an editing technique used next between Cinderella and the prince – having just met for the first time in the forest. We see them close up and looking longingly at each other, which could foreshadow a later romance between them both and this is the point where the target audience could possibly understand where the happy ending will come from. The light breaking through the trees in the background could suggest that there is freedom and they will find 
At this point the music appears to be getting faster and louder; showing the significance to the events waiting to happen whilst also adding intensity to the audiences’ mood. The next few shots show Cinderella receiving a magical new gown from her fairy godmother, which confirms the notion of an idealistic story as all of her dreams are coming true. We see the wand
After a few seconds of complete magic, we are now greeted with a high angle/over the shoulder shot of Cinderella looking over at everyone dancing at the ball – showing her sudden significance. The huge sparkly chandeliers show the prominence of the event and light up the whole room; she is back in the light again where she belongs and where she was in her
Disney have a well-known variety of typical codes and conventions that they love to incorporate into each and every one of their films. Some examples may be a plot involving a relationship (true loves first kiss) and/or family conflict, usually a lesson is to be learnt, and there’s typically always a happy ending. These conventions are perfect examples as it’s also what we see in the Cinderella trailer. We see Cinderella interacting with a Prince – stimulating the idea of a later romance and true loves kiss, and we can also tell there is some sort of family conflict between her and her step-mother. She learnt a very valuable lesson from her mother (which we heard at the beginning of the trailer), to “have courage and be kind” and we can see Cinderella applying this to all of her actions. Lastly, a happy ending – which we’re not entirely sure of from the trailer but can guess it happens nevertheless.
All of the points I have made above show significantly how Disney have selected content to meet with their chosen target audience. They have incorporated typical codes and conventions that young girls and teens expect to see from this type of film and apply it effectively, as well as sticking with the theme throughout. Comparing this to another trailer from a different genre – The Avengers: Age of Ultron for example – is interesting as they both grasp the young audiences contrarily. The Avengers have a young target audience, with ages ranging from 8-18, more towards young boys rather than young girls. When watching the trailer, it’s hard to tell what the story is about (everything is sort of a mystery) yet it’s obvious that the conventions of a typical superhero/action film are there. We see comic book strips, characters in costume, superhero style typography and action packed scenes. So although this is a complete different genre to Cinderella, they both capture their audiences in different ways and by using diverse techniques.
