To fill a movie industry race quota that's the norm these days? Considering it's a European folk tale taking place anywhere between 1400-1600s, the black was was out of the question in a ROYAL SETTING.
That big black man made me and my friends laugh when we watched it (yup, one of the EU states here).
Though yes it's still better than the 1997 movie with a black Cinderella. :)))))
Welcome to 2015 -- where everything has to be politically correct.
We write the story...
Oh really? So, you would rather live in a world where we can make fun of ANYONE who is oppressed in society and dehumanize them and treat them like crap? If you don't like someone playing a role just because of their skin color even though it shouldn't matter because we are all HUMAN BEINGS. Then you're the one with the problem.
shareYou talk like people have to choose between one extreme or the other.
shareOr maybe they cast the best person who auditioned for the role...?
shareNope. Affirmative action at work here.
shareUm no, they cast him because he's a good actor. And unlike some people, they actually saw him as a regular human being. The color of his skin shouldn't matter. People who have issues with other people just because of their physical appearance have something wrong with them. Not the other way around.
shareThe color of his skin shouldn't matter. People who have issues with other people just because of their physical appearance have something wrong with them.
Just because it is a European fairy tale doesn't mean blacks were nonexistent. Their have been blacks in Europe since the days of the Roman Empire. Many of them have been nobles, scholars, and high society.
Negative views towards blacks, including racism and historical revisionism, didn't begin until the 18th Century.
So really this movie is closer to history while you're a product of backwards thinking.
Don't you lay a hand on my Sasquatch!share
Well said. The guy was perfect in his part. I didn't even think about him being of color. I also like him in Zoo.
shareI think you hit it on the nose with 'fairy tale'. Why shouldn't fairy tales be colour-blind? They are FAIRY TALES!
sharebecause it's a fairy tale? I mean come on you have pumpkins that turn into golden coaches and magical glass slippers that only fit one persons foot but Nonso Alonsie's involvment is the part you're claiming is not realistic or historically accurate? I don't think Henry V or Elizabeth I had fairy godmothers hanging about.
The point of a fairy tale is it can happen anywhere or sonewhere made up or imaginary and the issues of race, slavery etc that exist in the real world don't apply or exist. You also had affluent black families who existed in the kingdom including one who tried on the slipper and the Grand Dukes candidate for the Kit to marry being a Latin Princess.
The 1997 Cinderella was deliberately meant to take place in a far removed utopian land where all races live equally side by side. Not to mention it was Disneys first venture into a made for tv musical in a while they wanted to get a big audience and so cast people in starring roles who would appeal to a big demographic. The reason Cinderella is black (aside from again just cause it's a fairy tale) is Brandy was an immensely popular singer and actress at the time and casting her meant her many fans from around the country and possibly internationally would tune in to watch. Also Whitney Housten who was also producing as well as starring as the godmother specifically requested Brandy to be cast.
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Agree entirely, but I also agree with the earlier posts that point out the OP's lack of European history. A quick search on 'Black History Europe' will return a huge amount of informative historical information. But I also think that it might simply be the case that Anozie was the best actor for the role. One black face does not a quota make.
shareOops. Just realised my mistake... From memory it's actually two black faces but I still stand by my comments.
shareLadyN1 - And if I remember correctly, didn't an Asian guy play the prince in the Rodgers & Hammerstein 1997 remake with Brandy?
shareI think Whitney Housten was originally going to be Cinderella herself, but she knew that she was too old for the part, so she opted to be the fairy godmother instead. Brandi was her pick to be Cinderella.
shareActually I thought it seemed set somewhere around the 18th century or something, going by the costumes. Also at one point I think Ella was reading from Samuel Pepys diary, and that was written in the late 1600s. I don't know whether they might have had black captains in an European army at that time but I guess it's possible. In any case I liked the character and, well, it's a fairy tale. Doesn't have to be super realistic.
shareI liked the Caption, too. I thought he played his role, well. It wasn't overdone or too obtrusive for a character who wasn't a main character, but he was noticeable. And I liked his--also not over-done--relationship with the prince.
sharethere were black people in europe in those days, and it's not impossible there could have been a black captain. Consider othello for example.
shareYou sound a bit racist and a bit out of touch with the trends of storytelling and recent musical and theatre productions. It is quite common to feature non-white individuals in fairytales and fantasy based plays and musicals.
For one thing, this is by no means a historical based drama. The fashion, architecture, speech patterns, dialogue are all very contrived to be non-specific to any particular location or time period. They go out of their way to be general. That's what art is - taking things in new directions, expanding perceptions and points of view.
The actor who played the captain was appropriate for the non-specific setting that they were creating. He was actually one of the most interesting characters in the movie.
The Brandi version (mixed race) that you insultingly made reference to was a remake. Remakes are suppose to bring new touches to old productions. It was the third remake of that particular R&H musical, so the concept of having characters of completely different races was kind of brilliant.
To be honest, I wish this expensive live action version took more risks like the Brandi version.
I'm sorry for your hate-based point-of-view.