The timeless fairytale of Cinderella inspires viewers to dream of their own happily ever after. From the gorgeous dresses to the beautiful scenery, the new live-action Cinderella does not disappoint.

The story begins with Ella’s heartwarming young family loving one another. The relationship between father (Ben Chaplin) and daughter (Lily James) is absolutely adorable. The delightful home they live in is beautifully decorated and has a very homey feel. But all becomes bittersweet when the family is torn apart by the death of the mother (Hayley Atwell). In the last moments before she dies, the mother gives her young daughter some advice she says will take her far in life: “Have courage and be kind.”

After the mother is out of the picture, the stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and stepsisters Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera) waltz in. Unlike the original Cinderella, these stepsisters are far from ugly. While some of their dresses are a little bit gaudy, the girls themselves are gorgeous. Their personalities stay true to the original, as does the malicious behavior of the stepmother.

What caught me off guard was the fairy godmother. Not only was she played by Helena Bonham Carter, (who in my mind is permanently the terrifying Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter) but is overly sparkly. Her dress is HUGE. When she and Ella go into the greenhouse to get a pumpkin, the fairy godmother barely fits through the door because of all the white layers. Carter’s portrayal of the fairy godmother made it seem like she was thrown into the story and  didn’t really know what was going on. It was probably a good thing that she was only there for a few minutes.

The best part of the movie is, without a doubt, Cinderella’s dress for the ball. Created by the talented Sandy Powell, the bright blue dress looks like the graceful flow a waterfall with every little movement Cinderella makes. Layers upon layers of different shades of blue swirled as she danced with the prince (Richard Madden). The dress stole the show. That was all anyone was watching.

And though Cinderella’s dress was the best, the others at the ball were exceptional as well. The stepmother’s dress fit her personality perfectly; it was green, sophisticated and elegant. The dress represented the stepmother’s “green with envy” attitude toward Cinderella’s unwavering kindness hidden under a semblance of high class mannerisms and elegance. Even the nameless partygoers had magnificent dresses, which created an exquisite background for Cinderella and the prince’s dance.

Prince Charming actually has a real name in this story. Straying a little from the plot, he and Ella first meet randomly in the woods which is when he introduces himself as Kit. Kit also fails to mention that he is a prince, creating a little more drama later in the story.

The only unsatisfying part of Cinderella was the cheesy and out-of-place dialogue. When Cinderella first meets the prince, she shares the bit of advice her mother gave her “Have courage and be kind.” From this point on in the story, both Cinderella and the prince made wise little quips to themselves or to the people around them. Sometimes it was meaningful and inspiring. Sometimes it was just awkward. After “Have courage and be kind” was said the second time, it was repeated over and over and over in every even slightly important scene. Just in case the audience didn’t get it. “Have courage and be kind.” Do those two things even really go together?

Despite the weird dialogue, Cinderella was a beautiful remake of a Disney classic. Though there was nothing new to the story, the familiarity of it is sure to inspire little girls everywhere to be princesses when they grow up. But mostly so they can have a dress as dazzling as Cinderella’s.