Disney+'s "Godmothered" Trailer Suggests There's More Than One Way to Live a Fairy Tale Life

The new "magical holiday comedy" movie from Disney+ seems to be trying very hard to be a modern take on the Disney idea of "a fairy tale life" or what happily ever after can be. It certainly feels like it's inspired by one of Disney's most self-aware films, Enchanted, but we're yet to be convinced that Godmothered can top it.

Here's the description:

This holiday season, be careful who you wish for. Watch the new trailer for Disney’s #Godmothered, a magical holiday comedy starring Isla Fisher and Jillian Bell, streaming on #DisneyPlus Dec. 4.

Set at Christmas time, “Godmothered” is a comedy about Eleanor, a young, inexperienced fairy godmother-in-training (Jillian Bell) who upon hearing that her chosen profession is facing extinction, decides to show the world that people still need fairy godmothers. Finding a mislaid letter from a 10-year-old girl in distress, Eleanor tracks her down and discovers that the girl, Mackenzie, is now a 40-year-old single mom (Isla Fisher) working at a news station in Boston. Having lost her husband several years earlier, Mackenzie has all but given up on the idea of “Happily Ever After,” but Eleanor is bound and determined to give Mackenzie a happiness makeover, whether she likes it or not.

And the trailer:

The premise has a lot of potential, but what the trailer suggests about the movie doesn't show it exploring that a whole lot of that. Trailers are now more difficult than ever to get a true feel for what they're advertising, especially from big companies who are very set on marketing to a demographic, That demographic here is the princess culture following. While the trailer seems to want to show itself to be subverting Disney tropes as much as Enchanted did (and still does, despite being thirteen years old) we're not seeing a whole lot of evidence of Godmothered being any more relevant or socially aware than Enchanted was. 

While Godmothered begins with a nice diversity of fairy godmothers, despite the glitter-and-fantasy-troped surroundings, as soon as the Godmother of the title, named Eleanor, leaves the fairy world (a magical world called "The Motherland"??) and enters the real one, we're smack in the middle of a very white, comfortably upper-middle-class, Hallmark-feeling set of situations and scenes, including the bumbling not-so-smart fairy godmother who needs a dose of self-awareness in order to be able to bring HAE to her charge.

We're hoping we're wrong about this. 

One little glimmer of hope is that the Director is Sharon Maguire of Bridget Jones' Diary, a film which could easily have fallen into all the typical rom-com traps and been a nice-but-very-average movie, but instead rose above that to have a lot to say at the time. Unfortunately, unless Maguire had a strong and unique vision for this movie from the outset, we don't quite see this doing the same, as it's been fast-tracked from September 2019 at first mention to being released next week on December 4th - that's incredibly fast for a feature-length project, especially one that is aiming to break the mold. Perhaps we've just gotten a substandard trailer though, and there actually is some hidden magic here. We've known talented writers to put together works of insightful and delightful genius very quickly, so perhaps one of those scripts made it through the Exec-machine intact and was supported by a visionary producer. We shall see.

Why do we care? 

The world could really use a feel-good, insightful Enchanted-like movie to add to the holiday viewing line-up and folks are clearly searching for solid doses of uplifting and hopeful viewing. To have a solid movie that also gives people cause to reflect and rethink things, in a positive way, would be the tonic so many need right now.

On a deeper level, an exploration of "fairy godmothers no longer being needed" and one in training aiming to prove the world still needs them (and magic) speaks directly to the disillusionment currently at an all-time high. We've overdosed on "real" stories in the efforts to separate fact from fiction and to consolidate fractured narratives into something that makes sense. Attraction to the bizarre has not only started to feel understandable, but we're seeing more that people giving into nonsense feels cathartic. It lets the steam out before we pop. The problem with this is that it's very temporary and is a coping strategy at best, not a way forward. When a response doesn't allow for resolution, hope, or a sense of peace, but instead reinforces chaos, chaos is king. When chaos reigns and takes over our stories it becomes harder and harder to have a strong vision for a better future and for creating a way to get there. Escapist fantasy is useful because we know - we give it permission - to remove us from reality to tell us a story to explore ideas and possibilities. Without the pressure of our upsetting reality dominating the story, we can get a clearer idea of concepts, of ideas, of ideals, and of possibilities not usually visible from our regular point of view, and it is not a threatening thing to consider. It's a fantasy and isn't asking to replace reality like alternative narratives do, only to reflect on it. Stories of wonder and fantasy free us to see possible choices - and that's empowering.

Let's all cross our fingers that the saccharine impression of the trailer (although it's clearly trying to avoid that very thing) isn't a true reflection of what the movie really is. 

Godmothered premieres on Disney+ on December 4, 2020.

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For those wanting more insight into what this film will be here are some excerpts from the Disney Live-Action Production Notes Media Kit (sections in bold are our emphasis)

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Fantasy faces a hard reality in Disney’s "Godmothered" – a hilarious Christmas comedy that turns the traditional fairytale completely on its head. When an offbeat fairy godmother forces herself on a reluctant human protégé, they’ll both discover life isn’t as simple as “happily ever after. “ Eleanor is an apprentice fairy godmother, highly enthusiastic and eager to learn the tricks of the trade, but not quite there yet. All her life she has lived in The Motherland, the Gothic fantasy other-world where fairy godmothers come from and where they are raised and trained and have existed for a thousand years. There, she has been taught by her imperious headmistress Moira (Emmy winner Jane Curtin), who literally wrote the book on “godmothering,” all the very traditional fairy tale notions of what girls aspire to—going to balls in beautiful gowns, marrying Prince Charming and also things like turning pumpkins into carriages and mice into footmen. Mackenzie is a world-weary widow who lives in Boston with her daughters Jane (Jillian Shea Spaeder) and Mia (Willa Skye) and is exhausted from trying to juggle all the responsibilities of motherhood with a high pressure and mostly unrewarding job on the number four local news program... Eleanor’s and Mackenzie’s worlds collide one day when, due to a lack of demand for fairy godmothers, The Motherland is in great danger of shutting down, with everyone to be retrained as tooth fairies. Desperate to find something that will validate the need for fairy godmothers to continue to exist, Eleanor finds a letter from Mackenzie asking for help, unaware that she sent it decades ago. With the help of her roommate, Agnes (Oscar® nominee June Squibb), Eleanor is transported from The Motherland to 21st century Boston, in order to find Mackenzie and use what she has learned from Moira to bring happiness to her life... (Director) Maguire explains, ”There’s this conflict between Eleanor’s expectations and what she thinks being a fairy godmother is and what she thinks magic is like. But then when she’s confronted with the real world, all her expectations come crashing down in a very funny way.” The director continues, “There are all the tropes of the Disney legacy….magic, there’s wands, fairy godmothers and woodland creatures, but we also get to subvert that legacy for comedy. Eleanor is untrained in magic, so none of her spells go according to plan and Happily Ever After is delivered in a very different way than we’ve come to expect in previous Disney movies.” From her first encounter with the much-older-than-she-expected Mackenzie, it is evident that this assignment is not going to be easy for Eleanor. 

There’s poignancy and truth when Eleanor is forced to realize that all her old-school concepts about what will make Mackenzie happy are false, and presumptuous on her part. Maguire says, “When Eleanor finds out why Mackenzie doesn’t believe in ‘happily ever afters,’ she doesn’t know what to do with that and that’s great because it sends her back to zero in what she does with her magic and she has to learn what ‘happily ever after’ really is.” This is one of the film’s key messages: That in today’s world, unlike in traditional fairy tales, ‘happily ever after’ doesn’t mean marrying a prince and living in a castle. It’s completely subjective. Says Springer, “That notion of redefining what ‘happily ever’ after might mean in a way that’s more practical and real in our regular lives. That sometimes you have to take control of your own fate and become your own fairy godmother and find that happiness.” 

Portlandia's Carrie Brownstein to Direct 'Fairy Godmother'

We have to agree with the writers at iO9. This movie, that we had relegated to the don't-even-bother corner did just get way cooler!

Yes, that’s Carrie Brownstein of Portlandia fame, who in addition to being a comedy god is also an acclaimed author and a rock star. She could probably pick any project to make her feature-film directing debut, but something about Fairy Godmother must’ve appealed. According to Deadline, the script by blogger and playwright Chiara Atik sparked a bidding war last year, and it offers a spin on the classic fairy godmother story: 

'When sought after Fairy Godmother Faye is hired by a mind-bogglingly gorgeous teenage client, Kenzie, to find her true love with the hottest prince in the land, Faye finds herself facing an unfamiliar challenge when the prince starts falling for her instead.' (iO9)

Hm. Unless the description isn't disclosing some fabulous take on this, Carrie Brownstein really is the only thing keeping this movie from the 'likely to ignore' pile. We must have faith in the Brownstein and believe... (clap hard!)
                

"Find the One" (aka When Animated Princesses Look for A Bra They Probably Do It Like This)

Ok, I admit it: I rolled my eyes when I first saw news about this campaign  of a fairy godmother helping animated girls find "the one true bra". I was not, however, expecting a whole musical!

Take a look:

Lingerie brand Triumph's sales division and marketing folks (Northern Europe) had this to say about this, quite involved, campaign. The key word to watch for here is "transform" - and I'll admit, they kind of have a good point:

A fairy godmother helps the girl find the perfect bra ("the one"). Ferguson (Triumph & Sports Illustrated model) is then seen (edit: transformed into a real girl) in a changing room, looking in a mirror at her bra as she whispers, "I found it." 

Eszter Szijarto, the head of brand marketing at Triumph, said: "It is really important for us to find new ways of bringing to life the bra finding journey so that we continue to inspire customers to go for a bra fitting. 

"By transforming our model, Hannah, into a cartoon we are treading new ground and by doing so, we aim to create a compelling visual experience that captures the magical feeling of finding the right bra that transforms your life – ‘the one’." 

"Women easily identify with animated characters, which explains the success of animated fairy tales all over the world. 

"Also, the perfect bra and Prince Charming have a lot in common: almost every woman dreams of finally finding the right one."

There's more information HERE.

I want to note - that's a very nice use of the frog prince motif too. Though we never see him transform, he subconsciously reminds the viewer this is all about transformation, right the way through (though the message might have been slightly clearer had we seen the animated girl actually transform into a real one). 

What do you think? Will this encourage girls and women to not settle on their undergarments but to get the right fit? I think at, the very least, it will do a good job of helping mothers of Frozen fans take their daughters bra shopping with a less self conscious atmosphere. 

(This is turning out to be such an eclectic fairy tale news day!)

"Maleficent" Clip: Fairy Godmother

Sun Princess

Beautiful, a faery’s child;

Her hair was long,

her foot was light,

And her eyes were wild.

~John Keats

Oh Aurora, bless your little heart... I do hope we get to see that Maleficent encouraged your "wild side" just a bit.  

Such naivety does not become a ruler-to-be.

Did you see Maleficent's face at the end? Perfect.It's how I often feel when I see fairy tales brought to life too...

Cinderella Gets a Fairly-Odd-Mother

Helena Bonham Carter in an outfit I always thought of as "Cinderella's Fairy Godmother giving the dress a test-run"

And we like it! From Slashfilm late yesterday:

Kenneth Branagh‘s live-action Disney film, Cinderella, has just found its Fairy Godmother. Helena Bonham Carter will play the iconic role helping the title character (Lily James) fall in love with the prince (Richard Madden) in spite of the Wicked Stepmother (Cate Blanchett).
The film has yet to be given a release date, but late 2014, early 2015 seems likely. It was written by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada) and Chris Weitz (Twilight: New Moon).

This live action fairy godmother will apparently play a much bigger role than the bibbidi-bobbidi-bumbling character in Disney's animated version of Cinderella. Ms. Carter will have screen time masquerading (undercover?) as a beggar woman "who watches over*" Cindy (shades of The Slipper and the Rose?) before she reveals her magical self . Sounds like we're going for a "things are not what they appear to be" theme on this movie. Which could be a lot of fun if they play with that smartly (without going camp).

Looks like an stars-all-round cast with the stepsisters being played by familiar faces too. They are Sophie McShera (Downton Abbey) and Holliday Granger (The Borgias). 

I also found some cool insights from Hero Complex on the film as well as some curious insider quotes, illustrating the way the fairy tale is being considered by the creative team:

Gustav Dore's illustration for Perrault's Cinderella

Though the fairy godmother in the 1950 animated feature was a grandmotherly dumpling, Bonham Carter’s casting would suggest that the updated “Cinderella” might be embracing a darker tone; the actress is known for playing offbeat, exaggerated roles, including the villainous Bellatrix Lestrange in the “Harry Potter” films, the twisted Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd” and clownish thief Madame Thénardier in “Les Misérables.”

...It’s too early to say whether the film will follow in the whimsical, color-saturated footsteps of “Alice in Wonderland,” or whether it will take a more classic approach, but producers have said they want the film to feel “modern.”

“We were thinking of titles and characters that we hadn’t really seen done in a modern, live-action way, and we were kind of stunned that Cinderella hasn’t really been done that way, as a traditional, loyal telling of the story,” producer Simon Kinberg told Hero Complex.

My Fairy Tale News Hound ears just pricked up: go back and read that underlined part again. Traditional? Loyal? Are we talking being faithful to Perrault's telling then? (He was the writer that added a fairy godmother to the Cinderella tale.) *makes note to hunt for more clues* There are a couple more tidbits:

"Oh my..." (Helena Bonham Carter's Oscar shoes)

Kinberg and McKenna together hatched the plan for a live-action update, hoping that Cinderella’s status as an “iconic character” would help the film.

“It’s a funny thing ’cause her name, a little bit like Sherlock Holmes or Star Wars or these other franchises, it’s one of those names that people all around the world know the name and intrinsically know the story,” said Kinberg. “It’s just an identifiable, very rootable underdog story.”

You know what? I just got interested. One of my favorite interpretations of a fairy godmother was from The Slipper and the Rose in which the fairy godmother had many fairy tale godchildren, a sort of enchanted apothecary kitchen with the all-important fairy tales datebook, was very overworked - especially as her magic backfired if she ever tried to use it for herself, like to make a cup of tea - yet was still smart and able to nudge things toward happily ever afters. Notice I said "nudge". She still squarely put most of the work on the "kids" shoulders; something I really appreciated, even as a kid.

I always liked those dubious mentors who seemed to be an enemy but were really helping heroes toward their destiny (like Snape, or the crotchety old fairy at the well who tested different daughters and only revealed her true nature as they passed - or failed - the test). I have to wonder if Carter's godmother will include shades of these delicious characters. Either way, I'm hoping she'll get to be her chameleon-like character and transform on screen. Although her roles and performances aren't always my flavor of quirk she's so very talented. One of my favorite roles was also under Branagh, in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and I'm curious to see what she does with this time, especially if there's a dual personality... Hmm. A schizophrenic fairy godmother who seemed against (but was for) the hero would be very interesting!

The production is set to start shooting in pumpkin season, aka Autumn, (of course!) in London.

Additional sources: *The Hollywood Reporter , USA Today