Netflix is about to give Disney a run for its money with its upcoming animated fantasy feature. Netflix Animation Studios has become a strong contender in the space, having released 18 feature films since 2018, when it stopped commissioning external studios, including DreamWorks Animation Television, to create its original animated content. Netflix has come a long way from 2019’s Klaus, releasing acclaimed hits like Terminator Zero and Blue Eye Samurai. After offering its unique take on a Disney classic with Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Netflix now has its sights set on another Disney fantasy, wildly reimagined with an all-new, star-studded cast.
The Cinderella story has been adapted hundreds of times, and a handful retell the tale from unusual perspectives, like The Ugly Stepsister, a body horror thriller about the stepsister who undergoes extreme medical procedures just to be visually pleasing to the Prince. Netflix’s Steps is more family-friendly than that — It is an animated feature focused on Cinderella’s stepsisters, Lilith and Margot, who team up with a troll to save their kingdom. Cinderella makes it to the Prince’s ball, and they all have their own happily ever after.
Steps boasts an impressive voice cast, led by Bette Midler as The Fairy Godmother, Amanda Seyfried as Cinderella, Young Mazino as the handsome troll, Peter Dinklage as the evil Roderick, and Ali Wong and Stephanie Hsu as Lilith and Margot. Netflix has now also cast Daniel Radcliffe as the Prince, but it’s not yet clear if this version will swoon the stepsisters off their feet. Radcliffe isn’t new to voice acting — he was a guest voice actor in Rick and Morty, BoJack Horseman, and Robot Chicken. He might have broken away from the mold of his Harry Potter casting, but it should be easy to spot Harry’s voice in the Prince.
Netflix confirmed that Steps is really the story of Cinderella’s stepsiblings, hence the title. The adaptation took such creative liberties with the classic tale that it even puts Disney’s Cinderella III: A Twist in Time to shame. Steps subverts the fairy tale by introducing a new villain (Priscilla, voiced by Nikki Glaser), who swoops in to snatch the throne, forcing an unlikely alliance between Cinderella and her stepsisters. They fight biker trolls and evil henchmen in their quest to save the kingdom, and most importantly, their relationship. Did I mention that the Fairy Godmother accidentally transformed Margot into a frog?
Steps was first announced in 2021, with Alyce Tzue (Soar, Little Emma) confirmed to direct. John Ripa (Raya and the Last Dragon) joined the project last December as co-director. “It’s like nothing else I’ve worked on in my 30-year career in animation,” Ripa told Tudum. Tzue said Steps aims to inspire “outsiders” to fight for their “happily ever after” — “I wanted to create a film for everyone who has ever felt like they didn’t belong, and show how a single act of kindness can change everything.”
Steps premieres Nov. 20 on Netflix.