Everyone knows how the story of Cinderella is supposed to go.
There is an evil stepfamily, a Fairy Godmother, a little magic, a beautiful dress, a Royal Ball and, naturally, one conveniently lost glass slipper that eventually leads everyone toward happily ever after.
But what happens when someone decides they are tired of playing their assigned role in the story?
Netflix has released the first teaser trailer and poster for its upcoming animated feature “Steps,” and Cinderella’s supposedly “evil” stepsisters are officially ready to break the fairy tale we thought we knew.
Streaming November 20, “Steps” turns its attention toward Lilith and Margot, two characters who would traditionally be destined to remain firmly on the wrong side of Cinderella’s story. This time, however, they aren’t content to simply stand around while someone else gets the happily ever after.
Especially Lilith.
Tired of living in Cinderella’s shadow, Lilith steals the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand and joins her sister Margot in hijacking the Royal Ball. It might sound like the perfect way to finally take control of their own story, but there is one rather substantial problem.
Lilith manages to break Cinderella’s story entirely.
With the familiar fairy tale knocked off course, the kingdom falls under the tyrannical rule of Priscilla, a schemer who uses the chaos to seize the throne. Suddenly, Lilith’s attempt to escape Cinderella’s shadow has considerably bigger consequences than a ruined ball.
And fixing everything means doing the one thing she probably didn’t have planned: teaming up with Cinderella herself.
The newly released teaser offers our first real taste of the movie’s energetic spin on the familiar fairy tale, complete with princes, magic and glass slippers alongside some considerably less traditional additions. There are high-speed chases, evil henchmen, biker trolls, the Screaming Woods and even Gef, a troll who apparently has the distinction of being the film’s heartthrob.
Fairy tales have certainly changed.
But underneath all of that chaos sits what might be the more interesting part of “Steps.” Lilith and Cinderella aren’t simply being thrown together to save a kingdom. Their adventure is also about repairing their own relationship, giving this retelling a chance to look at the familiar stepsister dynamic from the other side.
Rather than simply swapping which sister gets to be called the villain, “Steps” is playing with what happens when characters push against the roles their fairy tale has already assigned them. Lilith wants out of Cinderella’s shadow so badly that she quite literally derails the story, only to discover that writing a different ending may require understanding Cinderella rather than defeating her.
Ali Wong leads the voice cast as Lilith, with Stephanie Hsu as Margot and Amanda Seyfried as Cinderella. Nikki Glaser voices the throne-stealing Priscilla, while Bette Midler takes on the Fairy Godmother and Daniel Radcliffe voices The Prince.
The cast also includes Peter Dinklage as the murderous man-nanny Roderick, Young Mazino as Gef and WWE Superstar Damian Priest as Cracktor the minotaur.
“Steps” is directed by Alyce Tzue and John Ripa, with Amy Poehler, Jane Hartwell and Kim Lessing producing. The screenplay comes from Ava Tramer, James Madejski, Jen Chuck, Dana Schwartz and Felicia Ho, with an original score composed by Kris Bowers.
The movie also marks a milestone behind the scenes as the first feature fully produced in-house at Netflix Animation Studios.
With the teaser now offering our first proper look at Lilith’s attempt to rewrite one of the most recognizable fairy tales ever told, “Steps” is looking considerably less interested in asking whether Cinderella’s stepsisters were really evil than in seeing what happens when one of them refuses to accept the story she was given.
The prince is here. The Royal Ball is ready. And yes, there is still a glass slipper.
Just don’t expect this Cinderella story to follow the steps you remember.
“Steps” streams November 20 on Netflix.
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