Disney’s newest film Cinderella came to theaters on March 13. The live-action version of the 1950 original brought excitement to disney fans of all ages, from my 18-year-old self to the little girls wearing Cinderella costumes behind me. And I think I can speak for all of us when I say that it was a great movie.

Screenplay writer Chris Weitz created a perfect balance of old and new in the film by adding character development and keeping the disney magic feeling by including many nods to the original film. Along with the beautiful story, the new movie contains impressive set and costume designs that only add to the magic of the movie.

The set and costume designers created a beautiful movie that I could not look away from. Just by watching a scene I could tell how much thought was put into every inch of the set. From the fabrics on the furniture to the shadow of a plant on the wall, the details of the sets added to the beauty and Disney magic of the film. The costumes were equally impressive. Both Cinderella’s work dress and her huge ball gown were fun to look at. The accuracy of the set and costume design of this movie give it a perfect feeling to meet every Disney fan’s expectations.

There are not many differences between Disney’s live-action and animated versions of the Cinderella story. The most obvious change is that the new film is not a musical, but I think this is for the better. The new version is all about adding to the story and making it seem more real, allowing us to see the story as it actually could have happened. This goal would be very hard to achieve if the grief experienced by Cinderella was interrupted by singing mice every 20 minutes. What did add more reality to the story was the all-around addition of character development. In this version, we get to see the development of Cinderella’s happy childhood and close relationships with her parents as well as a (pretty weak) reason for her stepmother’s cruelty. Along with a better view of Cinderella’s inner goodness, we get to see a lot more of the prince in this version. After rewatching the 1950 version, I noticed that Prince Charming literally only speaks when he is chasing after Cinderella, and the only other time we hear his voice is during the song So This is Love. Adding a development of the prince and his relationships with both Cinderella and his father removes some of the ridiculousness of Cinderella’s sudden marriage. The new additions brought to the story really bring the classic story to life and make the situation much more reasonable.

A huge part of the movie that I appreciated was the obvious respect and consideration of the original film that the creators had. Disney knew that many people grew up with Cinderella teaching them that dreams can come true and they were not about to ignore the inspiring original film. This resulted in multiple nods and references to the animated version. They included the iconic pumpkin carriage and magic words “bippity boppity boo,” the trouble between the mice and the stepmother’s cat Lucifer, and a transformation of Cinderella’s dress that gave this Disney fan chills. After rewatching the original, I noticed that even the attic where Cinderella lives and the fountain that she cries at after having her dress torn up by her family match in both films. Along with these iconic and detailed parallels between the two films, Disney, as always, includes an inspirational lesson in the film. Although the original film teaches that dreams can come true, the new film (almost annoyingly) repeats the message that we should “have courage and be kind.” This message combined with the nods to the classic film top off the Disney-esque feeling of the film, satisfying Disney fans everywhere.

The new live-action film Cinderella achieves what Maleficent couldn’t: It brings a classic story to life without losing the Disney feeling. The addition of character development, nods to the original and beautiful sets and costumes all work together to create a film that has both artistic and Disney merit. In every way, Cinderella impresses audiences, represents Disney and inspires regular viewers and fans alike.