This past Thursday, Disney announced the beloved movie musical classic, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, will be available to stream on Disney Plus.
The 1997 TV movie, based on one of Broadway's most famous classic musicals, stars 90's R&B sensation Brandy as the enchanting Cinderalla, and the late Whitney Houston as her fairy godmother.
Even now, nearly 30 years after its initial release, the film is praised for its diverse casting.Brandy was the first Black woman to portray Cinderella on screen, and Paolo Montalban was the firstFilipino-American actor to play the movie’s prince.
The famous cast also included Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters, and Jason Alexander - and, twenty years before Broadway cast Black men to play the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefforson, James Madison, and Aaron Burr, and a Puerto Rican man to play Alexander Hamilton, nobody really asked any questions when the Asian prince had a white father and a Black mother.
In a recent exclusive interview withPage Six, Brandy revealed what it was like to work with the late Whitney Houston on the project, who passed away in 2012.
“I’ve been asked about Whitney so many times, and I still cannot find the words to describe what that experience was like,” she said.
“I spent my whole life trying to meet this woman, to feel her essence and her presence. To finally get to sing with her, to work with her, it was unbelievably surreal.”
“At the same time, I felt so safe to be myself,” she continued.“Once all the giddiness wore off and it was time to be a professional and bring what I needed to bring to the table, she made me feel comfortable enough to be able to do that. If she didn’t, I probably would’ve froze or something. She gave me the confidence to put my best foot forward.”
Brandy added that she was encouraged by Houston to give her own creative input on the songs performed in the film.
“For her to be that big of a star, an influence, an icon, and to be humble enough to allow me to contribute in that way was really beautiful,” she said.
The 41-year old singer went on to say that she didn’t know the cultural impact Cinderella would have on the younger generation at the time.
“I was an artist at that time, just going along with how they chose to tell the story. I was a part of it but didn’t understand it at first.
"Later, I realized, wow, this is going to have a huge impact,” she continued. “This is going to change how musical theater is seen. It’s going to allow all kinds of people from different backgrounds, races, everything, to tell classic stories in an inclusive way. It was just ahead of its time,” she added.
Brandy hopes that a new generation will love and appreciate the story the same way the first one did. “It’s truly a blessing for it to finally have a home with Disney+. People have been asking to see it again for years,” she said.
“It’s going to truly inspire the next generation and I’m just so thankful that they get to see such a wonderful piece of art,” she continued. “The amazing music, the multicultural cast — I think it will touch a lot of families, especially those who have never seen it.”
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderellawill arrive on Disney Plus on February 12.
