Cinderella 2021’s Ending Explained

Amazon Prime’s Cinderella ending makes major changes to the classic fairytale, which could have implications for future stories. The latest take on the classic Cinderella story is a major departure from Disney’s 2015 version, which was a beautiful but simple retelling of the animated film, with a mix of pop-song mashups, an ‘evil’ stepmother with a backstory, and a Cinderella who wants to run a business.

This isn’t the first movie to add a twist to the tale, with films such as Ella Enchanted (2004) putting their own spin on Cinderella’s story, but it’s one of the few adaptations that keep the time period but doesn’t end in marriage. The story still centers on Cinderella, although she is referred to as Ella (Camilla Cabello) throughout (and the film includes a dig at the obviousness of the ‘cinder’ addition to her name). Ella also still lives with her stepmother Vivian, who is attempting to marry off Ella and her two daughters, ideally to a Prince.

The Cinderella film does add some depth to the classic tale, though, as Ella has no interest in marriage, but in dressmaking. The Prince, too, would rather have fun than settle down. The addition of new characters, like Princess Gwen, adds interest to the tale, and while it may initially seem like an unnecessary addition, Gwen will become a major part of the updated ending, even if Cinderella‘s ending falls flat and led to some less-than-positive reviews.

How & Why Cinderella Changed The Fairy Tale

While the central love story between Ella and the Prince remains, almost everything else shifts to try and create a fairy tale with a more inspiring (and less marriage-centric) ending. The biggest difference lies in having Ella become the personal dressmaker to the visiting Queen Tatiana and leaving to travel the world – a fairly heavy-handed lesson for the audience about women pursuing their dreams as entrepreneurs. The ending is clearly intended to show Ella as a positive role model, a young woman who refused to bend to the expectations of her family, and instead used her passion and creativity to live as an artist.

However, Cinderella did also cater to fans of the traditional fairytale ending, by having Prince Robert choose to step down as the heir to the throne and follow Ella on her travels. On the surface, this strengthens the message, showing that Ella can have love and her own business, just by sticking to her creative guns. However, the love story between Robert and Ella actually complicates this positive note, as Ella is only able to connect with Queen Tatiana and get the job of her dreams because Robert was able to facilitate a connection (by giving Gwen her dress to wear and then bringing her to the ball to meet the rich guests who would be potential customers). It’s unlikely that the intended audience would read this deeply into the story, but it’s worth noting that Ella still doesn’t make it on her own, but because a Prince falls in love with her… even if it’s because of her attitude, not her beauty.

The second major change Amazon makes to Disney’s version of Cinderella’s story is the addition of the brilliantly smart Princess Gwen. For much of the film, she appears as a foil to her brother, devoted to policy and change, but denied a (literal) seat at the table of government. Her ending, crowned as the heir to the throne, is a triumphant one. The kingdom has decided that desire and ability to rule should be more important than gender, which fits with the movie’s clear push for a more feminist interpretation. It’s a positive change, for the most part, and although it does feel somewhat rushed, it emphasizes a secondary theme that people can change.

What Will Happen To Prince Robert Now?

Issues of practicality are not often covered in fairy tales, and Cinderella is no exception, leaving the question of how Robert’s romantic abdication will actually work. The ending provides nothing more than an announcement that Robert and his “new love” will go travel the world, and that Gwen will take up the throne. However, this leaves audiences with a fairly big question mark over their future in terms of position and finance.

Ella herself will become part of Queen Tatiana’s court, and this will presumably provide her with a means of living, but it’s not quite clear how Robert will be tagging along. His break with the line of succession is a (surprisingly) amicable one, so perhaps he will continue to have his lifestyle funded by the crown as he follows Ella. It may even be significantly less expensive than days of partying and ‘drunk hunting’ described in the early scenes of the movie. However, as Ella and Robert don’t want “labels”, his position, finances, and even relationship to her is maddeningly vague.

In a world where a woman is not allowed to own a business in the market (and Ella is laughed out of the square for trying), an unmarried couple would definitely not be allowed to travel together as a couple! Of course, this is part of the modern take on the tale, which introduces limitations for Ella as plot devices, so she can break through them. When it comes to historical accuracy, Cinderella repeatedly ditches it in favor of modern twists, so it can be assumed that Robert will still be funded as a member of the Royal Family, become a part of Tatiana’s court, and there will be no fallout to their unmarried relationship.

Cinderella’s Biggest Loose Ends

The movie leaves several other questions unanswered, preferring a big production number to a clean wrap up of every element of the story. One of the big improvements that this version of Cinderella makes is giving the stepmother, Vivian, a backstory: she once had creative dreams of her own, but her husband left her for pursuing them, which explains her bitterness about Ella’s. It’s not a backstory with a lot of depth, but it’s significantly more than most takes, which simply paint her as ‘bad’ because she is, or because she is jealous of Cinderella’s beauty. However, Vivian doesn’t get much of an ending in the movie. She is seen in the final big song in Cinderella, letting loose and singing along with Ella, with the stepsisters in the background, and that’s about it.

This scene suggests that Ella’s story has changed Vivian, allowing her to embrace her own creativity and find hope once more, but it would have been nice to see a little more to it. Like the King’s own sudden change in priorities, Vivian switches from angrily marrying Ella off to an odious neighbor to belting out a song next to her is incredibly fast, and not particularly well set up. However, it’s possible to simply take it at face value, and assume that she will return home with her daughters, and encourage them to pursue their own dreams The odious neighbor may also be dismissed, as Ella’s new (albeit unlabeled) role will provide financial and social security for her family, assuming she is kind to them.

The other loose end remaining is that of the mice, brought to life by comedians James Cordon, James Acaster, and Romesh Ranganathan whose comedy makes for some of the more genuinely funny moments in Cinderella. In the end, though, they are simply left behind, while she runs off to travel the world. These mice are, admittedly, significantly more wild than many previous versions, and it can be assumed that they continue to secretly live in the house cellar, and scavenge for themselves.

How The Ending Sets Up Cinderella 2

One of the best elements of the ending is that it does an excellent job of paving the way for a sequel. Because none of the characters are given a truly concrete ‘ending’ to their story, a sequel could focus on almost any of the main characters.

Princess Gwen as a ruler may be an interesting direction, but it’s the least likely, given that she is one of the least developed characters in the original film. A look at Vivian and her daughters is also possible, although somewhat unlikely as they were also fairly one-dimensional as well. A Vivian prequel in the style of Maleficent or Cruella may prove popular, but difficult to sell when the bigger plot points are explicitly covered in this film. The most obvious choice for a sequel is one that sticks to the star power of Camilla Cabello and follows her journey across the seas and her continuing love story, something that has potential in terms of showcasing personal growth, including Ella’s struggles now that she has achieved her seamstress dreams and Robert’s coming to terms with his new, less princely role in life.

However, at the moment there is no sequel confirmed, and while the story may lead into one, the reception to the film does not. Response to the film was decidedly lukewarm, which would be a major deterrent to Amazon Prime making a follow-up – or to the cast returning. In addition, few Cinderella stories get sequels, and there is no source material to draw from. Creating an entirely new story is a very different undertaking to an adaptation, and Cinderella may simply not have been a big enough hit to make it worthwhile. Thankfully, a sequel is also not necessary, thanks to the ending. Despite a few loose ends, this take isn’t complicated enough to really require explicit ‘happy endings’ for every character. It can simply be assumed that, as always, they all lived happily ever after.

About The Author

Rose Graceling-Moore
(1516 Articles Published)

See also  Resident Evil 2: How To Find The Hidden Rebecca Picture

Rose Graceling-Moore has been writing about film, TV and comics since 2013, when she began writing for a local print magazine in Vancouver, BC. Since then, Rose has written for Horror Honeys, Moviepilot and Quirkbooks as well as Screenrant, increasingly focusing on comic books and live-action comic adaptations, as well as diversity and representation on screen. Rose also co-hosted the DC Movies Podcast, and has guested on other nerd and entertainment podcasts over the past five years.

Rose’s love of comics began all the way back in the early ‘90s, when she discovered the X-Men while living in Africa (where there wasn’t a whole lot to do but read!), and since then has had an on-again, off-again love affair with not just Marvel, but DC and indie comics as well. You can follow her on Twitter: RoseMooreWrites for tweets about comics, movies, and more.

More From Rose Graceling-Moore