Released to theaters in July of 2004, A Cinderella Story starring Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray was a commercial success despite negative reviews by critics. Made for a relative modest $19 million, and having grossed over $70 million, the seeds for a franchise were sewn. Straight-to-DVD affairs, Warner Premiere’s Cinderella Story tales are tailor made for pre-teen girls. These DVD’s—the second one was 2008’s Another Cinderella Story, starring Selena Gomez and Drew Seeley—aren’t so much sequels to the original, as they are remakes of the Cinderella story. Each film tells essentially the same story, in a slightly different context, with different characters.
The latest one, Once upon a Song, Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars) plays Katie, an aspiring singer/songwriter who has an unfortunate problem at home. Her new stepmother Gail Van Ravensway (Missi Pyle) is the stepmother from hell. Possessing lots of money and not many brains, Gail is obsessed with having her legs elongated and making her spoiled daughter Beverly (Megan Park) a pop star. The major problem: Bev doesn’t have any singing voice to speak of. Still, with the arrival of accomplished British record producer Guy Morgan (Dikran Tulaine) and the enrollment of his son Luke (Freddie Stroma) in the Wellesley Academy of the Arts where Gail is dean, musical breakthrough is on everyone’s mind.
When Gail discovers that Katie has genuine vocal and lyrical talent, she comes up with a plan to use it to get Beverly that recording contract. The plan leaves Katie living in a shed just a short distance away from the family mansion. Katie must masquerade as her stepsister’s voice, regardless of her personal feelings. Predictably, Katie develops feelings for Luke, appreciation for his musical tastes, unrevealed songwriting talents, and good looks. Being the nasty stepsister, Bev happily takes credit for the wonderful demo Katie slipped Luke’s father. As a result, Luke is willing to give her the benefit of the doubt as she stumbles through a dinner date.
At Wellesley’s Bollywood Winter Dance, Katie catches Luke’s eye, but manages to maintain her anonymity. Why not reveal her identity? The glass slipper theme must be maintained, and more importantly, the story had to be extended to fit into ABC Family’s run-time for a standard feature. Why you ask, do I say that? It’s probably only a matter of time before Once upon a Song shows up there. While this latest entry in the A Cinderella Story franchise presents a predictable story, I suspect the target tween audience will appreciate it for the simple, straightforward fantasy story it’s meant to be.
Presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, this picture looks quite good for a standard DVD release. The image is sharp and clean, as one might expect with a newly shot title. The colors are bright and vibrant, with no noticeable anomalies.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack makes light use of the surround channels, but it offers a clear and robust mix, and clear dialogue. The package is accompanied by subtitles in English, French and Spanish.
The following special features are included:
- Spotlighting Lucy Hale: Our New Cinderella (6:34) celebrates the star with remarks from her cast mates, choreographer, screen/songwriters, and herself. It complements things with some behind-the-scenes footage and talk about the movie, the character, and the songs.
- A Cinderella Story: Meet Prince Charming (7:42) offers more behind-the-scenes material with Lucy Hale interviewing Freddie Stroma and vice versa.
- Make ‘Em Move: A Cinderella Story (6:22) discusses the film’s dancing in the opening dream number and Bollywood dance battle. The actors discuss choreography, and we get a look at the process.
- Flippin’ On Set (6:24) shares footage recorded by the cast on Flip video cameras they were given. It’s a more candid way of documenting production, although the piece also makes room for traditional talking heads.
- “Bless Myself” Music Video (3:43)
