TV & Movies

The Best Cinderella From Your Childhood Is Coming To Disney+ So Soon

Who's down for a virtual watch party?

by Candace Cordelia Smith
'Cinderella'/'Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.' Disney+
'Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.' Disney+

Nothing's impossible for Disney+. The streaming service will finally offer Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella beginning at midnight on Feb. 12. The 1997 adaptation, which first premiered on ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney, stars Brandy as Cinderella and the late Whitney Houston as her fairy godmother. It's arguably one of the most entertaining of the story's iterations, so it's no wonder fans are delighted to hear they no longer have to search sketchy online sets or dig up their old VHS tapes and DVDs to watch it.

Disney's Cinderella is nothing short of groundbreaking, particularly due to its multi-racial cast. Brandy was the first African-American to portray Cinderella onscreen, and she essentially paved the way for other Disney characters like The Princess and the Frog's Tiana. Filipino actor Paolo Montalban played the movie's prince, which remains significant as Asian men continue to be typecast in stereotypical roles. The star-studded cast of Cinderella also showcased a number of recognizable faces, including Whoopi Goldberg as Queen Constantina, Victor Garber as King Maximillian, Bernadette Peters as the evil stepmother, and Jason Alexander as Lionel.

And as if anyone could forget, the Robert Iscove-directed musical brought forth a number of unforgettable songs, like the Houston and Brandy-sung "Impossible/It's Possible" and "Ten Minutes Ago." Playbill reported in 1997 that an estimated 60 million people watched "all or part" of the TV movie the night it aired. That number has undoubtedly increased in the past two decades and will continue to climb as old and new fans fall in love with the colorful retelling.