A royal ball. A lost glass slipper. A magical midnight deadline.
These are staple elements of the Cinderella story that have enchanted fairy-tale fans for years. But Steps, a new adventure movie from Netflix Animation Studios, offers a fresh look at the familiar story — how much do we actually know about the blonde princess and her so-called evil stepsisters? The teaser above offers a taste of what to expect before Steps premieres on Nov. 20.
And who better than the girl-power team of JENNIE, Rose Gray, Amanda Seyfried, and EMEI to craft tunes to accompany the sisterly tale? Blackpink superstar JENNIE writes and performs “Someone to Hold,” a powerful ballad that soundtracks the film’s emotional crescendo. “I am so excited to join the Steps family, and it was really fun making my first song for an animated film,” JENNIE says. “I love how much heart and personality the characters have, and I’m so happy I got to be a little part of their world. I hope you enjoy Steps and ‘Someone to Hold’ as much as I do.”
Rose Gray co-writes “Smile and a Song,” which Seyfried’s Cinderella sings to the townspeople of Alouette, the land where Steps takes place. The sisters also boogie to Gray’s “Meet Me on the Dance Floor” during an epic palace-set ball, and viral pop artist EMEI adds her bop “Understudy” to the mix. Pre-save the soundtrack here, and get a sense of JENNIE’s new song from the tease in the trailer.
Steps, directed by Alyce Tzue (Student Academy Awards gold medal winner) and John Ripa (co-director of Raya and the Last Dragon), stars Ali Wong (BEEF) and Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once) as Cinderella’s “evil” stepsisters, Lilith and Margot. Seyfried (Mank) voices Cinderella; see photos and learn about her take on Cinderella here. In the teaser, Wong sets the tone for her character and the story, which is equal parts classic fairy tale and badass quest.
Daniel Radcliffe voices the story’s unconventional Prince. Young Mazino is Gef — a “really hot troll,” as Lilith puts it in the teaser — while Peter Dinklage voices Roderick, a murderous man-nanny. “We feel incredibly lucky to have all three of these massive talents on our film,” says Ripa. “Our goal was to break the fairy-tale mold by making every single character three-dimensional and worthy of a happily ever after, and we couldn’t have done it without Daniel, Peter, and Young.”
WWE wrestler Damian Priest brings his heavyweight talent as the voice of the intimidating Cracktor. “As WWE Superstars, we use our voices as an extension of our onscreen character,” says Priest. “I enjoyed channeling that energy into making Cracktor feel intense and larger-than-life. I think people are going to be surprised by how much of a show-stealing character he is.”
Who else will be filling out the magical world of Steps? The cast also includes Bette Midler as the Fairy Godmother. Allow us to grant your wish: See images of her character below.
“The beloved Fairy Godmother, the wholesome Fairy Godmother — the one with all the good intentions — has been around for a long, long time. This particular version of the Fairy Godmother has good intentions, but she’s a little bit of a bumbler, and she’s a little bit of a schemer,” says Midler. “I’m thrilled to be part of this film! And I’m thrilled to be with this cast.”
Comedian Nikki Glaser voices Priscilla, who can be glimpsed smashing the glass slipper in the teaser. Scroll on for everything else to know about Steps.
Think you know Cinderella’s evil stepsisters? Think again. Tired of living in Cinderella’s shadow, Lilith (Wong) steals the Fairy Godmother’s (Midler) magic wand and hijacks the royal ball with her sister, Margot (Hsu). This dooms the kingdom to the tyrannical rule of the villainous Priscilla (Glaser), who swoops in and snatches the throne.
Lilith must team up with Cinderella (Seyfried) to fight biker trolls, outrun evil henchmen, and escape the Screaming Woods. Breaking with the Cinderella story as we know it, they go on an epic quest to save the kingdom — but most importantly, to save their relationship.
Tzue emphasizes that the tale is mainly about siblings with contrasting personalities. She tells Netflix, “This story is about two very different sisters — one who fits perfectly into this fairy-tale kingdom and one who doesn’t — realizing they’re more alike than different. It’s such a personal story for me because, growing up as an awkward, artsy Taiwanese kid in suburban New Jersey, I often felt like an outsider, like ‘happily ever after’ wasn’t meant for me. I wanted to create a film for everyone who has ever felt like they didn’t belong — and show how a single act of kindness can change everything.”
The story is largely what drew Ripa to Steps early on. “I saw that it contained incredible artistry, beautiful storytelling, and most of all, that it had something important to say to the world,” he says. “It’s like nothing else I’ve worked on in my 30-year career in animation. She’s championed this story about belonging that I’ve found to be both resonant and inspirational, and I feel privileged to be by Alyce Tzue’s side on this journey.”
Work out where the stars shine.
Solve the classic numbers game.
Piece together the big picture.
Turn shapes into something bigger.
Swap letters and emojis into words.
Find the path hidden in words.
Just add vowels.
Put the words back together.
The Steps voice cast includes:
Steps arrives on Netflix Nov. 20. Check back with Tudum for future updates.
Yes. Get a sneak peek at Alouette in the trailer.
JENNIE, Rose Gray, and EMEI write and perform four new songs featured in Steps. The Blackpink superstar captures the sisters’ bond with “Someone to Hold.” Rose Gray crafted “Meet Me on the Dance Floor” and co-wrote “Smile and a Song,” which Seyfried also sings. EMEI adds bop “Understudy” to the mix. “As a theater kid and animation lover, I was so excited to be approached by Alyce and Netflix for writing a song for Steps. When I saw the scene we were writing for, I got even more stoked. ‘Understudy’ is such a special song, as often in my life I’ve felt overlooked and misunderstood, just like Lilith,” says EMEI. “It also has so many references to theater lingo and baby theater kid EMEI inside me is so happy. He made it so easy for me to express myself and the scream at the tail end of the song is by FAR my favorite thing I’ve sung into a mic. LILITH 5EVER!”
Kris Bowers, the Oscar-winning composer behind Bridgerton, The Wild Robot, The Color Purple, and many other acclaimed projects, crafts a score befitting the classic fairy tale turned upside down.
Recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, Bowers’s score plays with the familiar sounds of the world at the heart of Steps. “The story gives us a totally different perspective on this storybook landscape,” says Bowers. “There are moments where the score goes into this lush fairy-tale sound, and it’s doing that either very purposefully because of where the story is or playfully in a more comedic way.”
Tzue and Ripa direct Steps, which is produced by Amy Poehler, Jane Hartwell, and Kim Lessing. Ava Tramer, James Madejski, Jen Chuck, Dana Schwartz, and Felicia Ho wrote the screenplay based on a story by Tramer, Madejski, Schwartz, Ho, Riki Lindhome, and Kate Micucci.
Steps is part of Netflix’s original slate of animated features, which includes the most popular Netflix film ever, KPop Demon Hunters; Academy Award winner Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; and Academy Award–nominated films Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Nimona, The Sea Beast, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Over the Moon, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, and Klaus. Then there’s the BAFTA-nominated Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget and the comedy fan favorites Swapped, Leo, and Back to the Outback.
Check out this list of animated movies to stumble upon your next favorite.
