Ranking Every Cinderella Story Movie In The Franchise!
It’s officially been 20 years since the release of A Cinderella Story starring Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray and yes I feel old! Since then, so many different versions have been retold, anchored by iconic leading ladies that deserve their princess moments. In honor of the story that started it all, I am ranking all of the different Cinderella Story remakes in the franchise from worst to best!
6. A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish
Kat (Laura Marano) has always dreamed of being a singer-songwriter. After the death of her father, she gives up on her dream to work at a Christmas entertainment park. There she meets Dominic Wintergarden (Gregg Sulkin) who teaches her how to be herself, follow her dreams, and spread a little Christmas magic.
This Cinderella Story came with a holiday twist! Marano and Sulkin were both Disney stars from my childhood, so I was really looking forward to watching this film! As a Christmas movie, I thought it was cute, but as a part of the Cinderella Story franchise, it just didn’t stand out. Did we even need a holiday-themed Cinderella Story? Perhaps not. Netflix is also hit or miss with holiday rom-coms, so this one didn’t surprise me. There are definitely better Cinderella Story retellings than this one.
5. A Cinderella Story: Starstruck
Finley (Bailee Madison) is a small town farm girl who wants to make it big in Hollywood. When a film crew arrives looking for a lead to star alongside the handsome Jackson Stone (Michael Evans Behling), Finley disguises herself from the eyes of her step-mother and step-siblings in order to make her dreams come true.
I do think Madison is a great actress and did a good job with the role of Finley. While I love a small town country romance, the Cinderella plot didn’t land. This combination is sometimes overdone and this film proved that.
4. A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song
Katie (Lucy Hale) is controlled in every aspect of her life by her step-mother and step-siblings. Her only escape is her music. When new boy Luke (Freddie Stroma) shows up at school and hears Katie’s voice, he is determined to meet the girl behind it. Katie’s step-sister takes credit for all the singing and songwriting, but will Luke fall for the fake or find the real voice he fell in love with?
Hale’s version of Cinderella is definitely a classic. Everything from the music to the dramatic early 2010s feel just works. Hale played her part extremely well and so did the supporting characters. The only downside is this was extremely similar to Another Cinderella Story. I felt like I was watching the same exact movie with a different cast.
3. A Cinderella Story: If The Shoe Fits
The fourth installment of A Cinderella Story follows Tessa (Sofia Carson), a mechanic by day and performer by night. Tessa is dragged by her step-mother and sisters to attend auditions for a Cinderella musical. There she meets her Prince Charming, the famous star Reed West (Thomas Law). When Tessa auditions undercover and gets the lead, she must keep up with the lie while also discovering there is more to Reed underneath the surface.
I absolutely adored this version in its entirety! Carson was another one of my childhood comfort actresses after her role as Evie in the Descendants franchise. She has the pitch perfect princess look and she pulled off the role perfectly. Carson and Law’s chemistry was some of the best I’ve seen from the franchise. I am also a musical theater kid at heart and the way these songs and dance numbers were incorporated into this film really stood out above the rest. To this day, I still have “Full Throttle” on my playlist! This version definitely earned its top three spot.
2. Another Cinderella Story
Mary (Selena Gomez) is a dancer and has big dreams to be on stage. When famous pop star and dancer Joey Parker (Drew Seeley) returns to school, the last thing he expects to find is someone who can keep up with his moves. After a school dance, Joey is determined to find the girl he danced with and Mary must hide her true identity.
After the success of the original A Cinderella Story, Gomez and Seeley somehow managed to deliver us another iconic classic. Rightfully so, I think it completely lived up to its hype! I really enjoyed every aspect of this movie from the comedic banter of Jane Lynch to the heartwarming moments between Gomez and Seeley. It was also different enough to deliver the old story in a new way. The dance studio scene between Gomez and Seeley is still everything to me and hearing “New Classic” is an instant time traveler that takes me right back to 2008. The film delivered exactly what I needed and is still one of my comforts. Another Cinderella Story comes in a close second to the best version in the franchise.
1. A Cinderella Story
Known as “diner girl,” Sam (Hilary Duff) spends her days working endless shifts at her step-mother’s diner. For one night only, she decides to attend the school’s Halloween ball to meet her online pen pal. When she arrives, she finds that her mystery man is the school’s most famous football player Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murray). Unable to stop thinking about the masked girl at the dance, Austin looks everywhere for Sam who is hiding in plain sight.
Happy 20th birthday to the best Cinderella Story ever made! I have lost track by now of the amount of times I have watched this movie. It is truly a cult classic comfort film of mine. Not only was Duff and Murray’s chemistry amazing, but Jennifer Coolidge and Regina King played their roles to comedic perfection. I still have so many iconic lines memorized and quote them to this day! This was the film that started it all and truly sparked a whole generation. I love that even 20 years later people are still discovering the magic of this film.
