PLOT: Think you know Cinderella’s evil stepsisters? Think again. Tired of living in Cinderella’s shadow, Lilith (Ali Wong) steals the Fairy Godmother’s (Bette Midler) magic wand and hijacks the royal ball with her sister, Margot (Stephanie Hsu). This dooms the kingdom to the tyrannical rule of the villainous Priscilla (Nikki Glaser), who swoops in and snatches the throne.
REVIEW: For as long as I can remember, I’ve known the story of Cinderella, a kind-hearted matchstick girl whose destiny is forever changed by a Fairy Godmother’s magic. But what if there was more to the tale? What if someone finally injected some genuine stakes, heart, and humor into the all-too-familiar story? That’s precisely what Steps does. It’s a refreshing take on a three-centuries-old fairy tale that’s fun, endearing, and much sharper than I’d assumed.
Under the direction of John Ripa (Raya and the Last Dragon) and Alyce Tzue, Steps is an enchanted adventure about sibling rivalry, accountability, and seeing people for who they truly are. The bulk of the story comes from Lilith’s perspective. She’s been watching her stepsister, Cinderella, seemingly float through life without a care in the world, with everything seemingly going her way. Then, Lilith, her sister Margot, and Cinderella discover that a Fairy Godmother’s been pulling all the strings, setting Cinderella up for a charmed life of success. Jealous of Cinderella’s bewitched upbringing, Lilith steals the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand, wanting to cast a bit of chaos around the kingdom. But when Priscilla, an attitudenal, baby-powder-pink “Mean Girl” debutante, gains control of the wand, she unleashes a dark and terrible spell across the kingdom. The story quickly becomes a race against time to fix what’s been broken, including a few relationships along the way.
Don’t let this movie’s fairy tale roots and Disney-like visual aesthetic fool you. Steps uses those recognizable elements like a springboard for narrative backflips instead of performing the same tired routine. Lilith, voiced with fire and attitude by Ali Wong, is an engaging and emotionally complex character. Most of the time, I found myself sympathizing with her, connecting with her frustrations about Cinderella (voiced with effortless whimsy by Amanda Seyfried), but also identifying with her Goth outsider disposition. If I lived in Alouette, the kingdom where this story takes place, Lilith and I definitely would be friends.
By that same token, Lilith’s sister Margot ( voiced by Stephanie Hsu) is also a hoot. She loves frogs, and by a flick of the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand, transforms into one partway through the story. As the midnight hour approaches, Margot must turn back into a human if she doesn’t want to remain a frog forever, creating a ticking time bomb with her sister’s humanity at stake. This aspect of the story adds urgency to the overall adventure, creating additional tension alongside the need to break Priscilla’s spell. Hsu plays Margot with a chill playfulness that makes her much more than a third wheel in Lilith and Cinderella’s story, adding humor and amphibian-inspired slapstick to an already rollicking odyssey through personality flaws and haunted woods.
Other standout performances include Bette Midler as Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother. It’s always a treat when filmmakers let Midler be her vibrant, pithy, and energetic self, and that’s precisely what we get here. Midler’s Fairy Godmother is busy-minded, fabulous, and flirty, and displays a healthy amount of self-awareness about her meddling in the lives of Alouette’s citizens. Meanwhile, Young Mazino voices Gef, a hunky troll outcast who takes an immediate shine to Lilith. Gef reinforces the notion that people should not judge a book by its cover while defying every “dudebro” stereotype with inherent ease. He’s just a good dude, and we love him. Gef is aspirational.
Adding piss and vinegar to the mix are the villains, Priscilla and her bodyguard, Roderick, a militant father figure determined to get his charge the happily-ever-after she never earned. As Priscilla, Glaser is calculating and venomous, even if she’s the most by-the-numbers character in the story. She ticks all the “Mean Girl” boxes, giving you plenty of reasons to see her get her comeuppance eventually, but isn’t given nearly as much nuance as Lilith and her sisters. Thankfully, her story ends well, but I’m not about to spoil that here.
Additionally, Roderick may be your garden-variety “constantly in pursuit” bad guy. Still, Dinklage lends him a regal stiffness that is entertaining and entirely appropriate to his purpose in the film. In fact, even Roderick gets a fairy-tale ending of sorts by the story’s end, bringing him more full-circle than I would have anticipated. Together, Priscilla and Roderick are two characters that come out of Steps better than they went in, giving audiences a reason to root for the bad guys in one way or another.
Finally, there’s Daniel Radcliffe as the Prince, a kind-hearted but dim-witted royal with face blindness who, despite coming off as simple, is sharper than he appears. I do wish the Prince was a larger part of the story, if only to hear more of Radcliffe’s sincere performance, but the sands of time on the Fairy Godmother’s magic move fast, and we’ve got a kingdom to save!
Not that I’m shocked, but I laughed a lot during Steps. The dialogue is smart, sharp, and a little dry, which is how I like my comedy. There’s plenty of observational humor for adults, high-octane action and sight gags for kids, plus a solid emotional core that explores the complexities of familial jealousy and misunderstandings. I could see sisters and siblings enjoying this film a lot, and perhaps reflecting on some of the lessons it imparts about taking time to talk rather than letting assumptions govern their judgment.
Visually, the film feels right at home in its fairy-tale world, and the choice to present Lilith and Margot as Asian immigrants in a predominantly white community adds an invigorating energy to the mix that does not go unmentioned. There’s some commentary on privilege that’s used to great effect, even if it’s not the story’s focus. It’s organic inclusivity like this that brings a new perspective to a well-known tale while also calling out fairy tales for their whitewashing.
I did not know what to expect when I watched Steps, and was pleasantly surprised by how enchanted I was. I genuinely laughed a lot, and I can’t wait to recommend the film to my niece and nephew. There’s plenty here for audiences of all ages to enjoy, and don’t be surprised if the film’s final moments have you grabbing for a tissue to dry a well-earned tear or two. Steps does a great job of reminding us to try to see things from someone else’s perspective before treating them too harshly. Life is too short, and relationships are too fragile, to let misunderstandings get in the way of what could be a meaningful and lasting bond with someone you love. Don’t let pettiness and jealousy break those bonds. Try to reconnect.
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