Top 10 Behind the Scenes Facts About Cinderella (1997)

“Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella” was made as a TV movie that aired on ABC after being produced by Walt Disney Television. In a surprising move for a television production, however, the film was given a budget of $12 million, making it one of the most expensive TV movies ever made to this day. Despite that, production went over budget and by the time they reached the final days of filming, they were completely out of money to pay extras and other expenses. Luckily, Whoopi Goldberg believed in the project so much that she and some of the movie’s executive producers paid out of pocket to ensure the movie could be finished.

Victor Garber played King Maximillian in “Cinderella,” but it wasn’t exactly his most high-profile film to be released in 1997. He’s known by many for his role as ship designer Thomas Andrews in “Titanic,” which came out in the same year. It turns out he filmed “Titanic” first, and while on set for “Cinderella” talked about how he had just finished working on a movie
that shot in “a big water tank in Mexico.” It’s not often that an actor makes two such iconic movies in a single year.

In 1997, Jason Alexander was best known for his hugely successful role as George Costanza on a little show called “Seinfeld.” In fact, he took a pretty serious pay cut when accepting the role in this TV movie. When he was cast in “Cinderella,” however, he already had an eye on the future and wanted to make sure he didn’t end up being typecast moving forward. He asked the writers to ensure that his character, the prince's valet Lionel, didn’t do or say anything that George would. The writers had already penned a few easter eggs that made reference to Alexander’s popular “Seinfeld” character that had to be removed from the script.

The costume department worked hard to create costume jewelry for Whoopi Goldberg’s character, Queen Constantina, but Goldberg insisted that she wear the real thing. She got in touch with Harry Winston and convinced the famed jeweler to lend the production approximately $60 million worth of baubles for the ballroom and wedding scenes. Some of the jewels included a $9 million, 70-carat diamond ring, and a $2.5 million necklace. Understandably, Harry Winston sent armed guards to ensure all of the valuables made it back safely.

Bernadette Peters plays the Evil Stepmother, a role that was difficult to cast because most of the white actresses considered weren’t comfortable being mean to a black Cinderella. Peters was up to the challenge, but another problem presented itself. The filmmakers had one of the most gifted singers ever to grace Broadway, but no song for her. You see, the 1997 version of “Cinderella” is based on Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, which lacked a Stepmother song. To remedy the issue, they actually borrowed a song from another musical for her to sing: "Falling In Love With Love" from “The Boys From Syracuse.”

Because songs were taken directly from the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage production, they weren’t penned with a black Cinderella in mind. Therefore, some of the words had to be changed to reflect Brandy’s appearance. In the song “Stepsisters Lament”, for example, the lyric originally read, "Her cheeks are a pretty shade of pink, but not any pinker than a rose is” and "Her neck is no whiter than a swan." In order to be more accurate, they were altered to "Her face is exquisite I suppose, but no more exquisite than a rose is" and "Her neck is no longer than a swan" for the film.

According to Executive Producer Debra Martin Chase, finding the perfect Prince Charming was apparently as hard as finding the owner of the glass slipper. While a number of well-known actors auditioned, including Marc Anthony, Wayne Brady, Taye Diggs, and Antonio Sabato, Jr., they weren’t able to find the right actor to portray Prince Christopher. It was only when Paolo Montalban arrived at the audition late and blew them away with his singing abilities. It turns out he was the last actor to audition, and the one who made the best impression.

In 1978, an urbanized retelling of Cinderella was created as a TV movie called “Cindy” which featured an all-black cast, but the 1997 version was the first time that colorblind multi-racial casting was used to tell this beloved fairy tale. While colorblind casting is used frequently in both film and television, what the producers of “Cinderella” did was unique in the fact that they had actors of different races portraying family members without race ever being discussed. One of the reasons this choice was made was to interest children of many ethnicities, which proved to be successful.

In the early ‘90s, Whitney Houston expressed interest in portraying Cinderella in a screen adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, but the project wasn’t greenlit and ended up being delayed for several years. By the time ABC expressed interest, Houston felt she was no longer the right fit for the role because of her age and the fact that she was a wife and mother, and instead suggested that Brandy play the part. Houston ended up taking on the role of Cinderella’s fairy godmother, which in the end was the perfect way to display her talents.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

It Wasn't an Overwhelming Critical Success
Critics Didn't Love the Film as Much as Audiences Did

Whoopi Goldberg Really Sings
She Isn't Known for Her Vocal Talents, but They Were on Display in This Film

When it came to casting the title role for this 1997 film, other performers were considered before Brandy was confirmed for the role. A Disney executive even suggested that Jewel play the part. At the time, Brandy was known for her music career and this was her first film role. Despite the film “Cindy” being released in the ‘70s, Brandy is considered to be the first black actress to portray Cinderella in a traditional rendition of the story that Disney fans know and love. It proved to be a groundbreaking move that set the stage for more diversity in Disney productions moving forward.