How Brandy’s ‘Cinderella’ Is Inspiring A New Generation

Ahead of Brandy Norwood’s forthcoming horror film “The Front Room,” she took a walk down memory lane to reprise one of her most renowned roles: Cinderella.

In “Descendants: Rise of Red,” which premiered in July and is now streaming on Disney+, the singer-actor stepped back into her glass slippers with her Prince Christopher Charming (Paolo Montalban) to show a new generation the magic of 1997’s “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.” But this time, with a title Gen Alpha and younger Gen Zers are growing up watching.

“I just felt super blessed and just so excited to play this iconic role again and to get the opportunity to work with Paolo again,” she told HuffPost. “It was just an amazing time, experience and I’m just so grateful for it.”

Montalban sang Brandy’s praises, recalling the moment he saw Brandy in costume for the first time in more than 25 years.

“First I see the dress, and then I see the hair, and then I see Brandy. And it’s just... It’s like the confluence of the universe coming together saying, ‘This is the reward for living a good life,’” the actor said, full of admiration.

“Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” was iconic on a few levels. Between the legendary casting (Whitney Houston, Whoopi Goldberg, Victor Garber, Jason Peters and Natalie Desselle Reid, among others), the elite musical score and the groundbreaking diverse casting, this film set a standard that many in Hollywood still aim to reach for today. 

Representation is at the forefront in “Descendants,” too. In “Rise of Red,” Brandy and Montalban’s characters have grown up, and are queen and king and passing down, not glass slippers, but diamond-encrusted Converse to their daughter, Princess Chloe (Malia Baker). It’s symbolic of a torch being passed from one generation to the next. 

Baker told HuffPost that those are some big shoes to fill, pun intended. The 17-year-old actor grew up watching “Descendants,” singing along to the songs in her childhood home. She was also a fan of Brandy’s Cinderella — and “Moesha” — even dressing up as the Disney princess and carrying her doll around when she was younger.

Now she pinches herself to be a part of the new generation carrying these stories on, and with a doll in her own likeness. 

“It was a movie for dreamers, and I think that’s what I was really brought up on,” she said of “Cinderella.” Baker said it means a lot to be able “to make other young girls see themselves in someone on screen and be able to relate to someone on such a meaningful level that I was longing for at that age.”

“Seeing little girls with my doll and walking around, I was like, ‘I can’t take this, this is all happening,’” she continued. “And I think that’s been the biggest dream that I will still strive towards every day.”

The film also casts young stars Kylie Cantrall, Dara Reneé and Morgan Dudley.

Brandy and Montalban said they are proud of Baker as a young actor and for setting an example for the kids watching her. 

“That’s why you do what you do,” Brandy said. “That’s why you love what you do, so you can inspire other people. And I’m just so happy that I’m able to get a chance to do that again.”