Steps, Netflix’s animated musical fantasy comedy retelling Cinderella from the stepsisters’ side, premieres on 20 November, according to Animation Magazine’s trailer coverage, CBR, Fiction Horizon and What’s on Netflix. Ali Wong voices Lilith, the gothic and rebellious stepsister, Amanda Seyfried voices Cinderella, and Stephanie Hsu voices Margot, Lilith’s sister, who is accidentally turned into a frog.
Directed by Alyce Tzue and John Ripa, the film follows Lilith, tired of living in Cinderella’s shadow, as she steals the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand, played by Bette Midler, and hijacks the Royal Ball with Margot, according to Animation Magazine’s synopsis. The theft breaks the Cinderella story and dooms the kingdom to the tyrannical rule of Priscilla, played by Nikki Glaser, forcing Lilith to team up with Cinderella to save the kingdom.
The stepsisters get the story
Steps is built on a simple reversal: the characters traditionally cast as villains become the protagonists, and Cinderella becomes the partner rather than the rival. The voice cast also features Daniel Radcliffe as the Prince, Young Mazino as Gef, Peter Dinklage as the courtier Roderick and Damian Priest as Cracktor the minotaur, according to Animation Magazine and What’s on Netflix.
The film is the first feature produced entirely in-house by Netflix Animation Studios, according to What’s on Netflix and Fiction Horizon, with animation from its Sydney and Vancouver teams. That milestone makes Steps a test of the studio’s ability to deliver a complete feature without outside production partners.
A soundtrack led by JENNIE
The official soundtrack releases on the same day, 20 November, featuring a new song, Someone to Hold, by BLACKPINK’s JENNIE, plus four original songs written and produced by Justin Tranter, with additional vocals from Seyfried, Rose Gray and EMEI, according to Animation Magazine and What’s on Netflix. The film is rated PG for action, thematic elements, rude humor and brief suggestive material, and runs 1 hour 41 minutes, according to Fiction Horizon, making it a family Thanksgiving-season release.
