Bette Midler walked the purple carpet on Sunday night, November 8, for the New York City premiere of her new animated movie Steps. Just Jared reported the appearance as a rare one for the 80-year-old actress, who joined co-stars Amanda Seyfried, Stephanie Hsu and Ali Wong at The Plaza Hotel.
She voices the Fairy Godmother. Netflix releases the film on November 20.
Bette Midler Attends Steps Premiere with Co-Stars
Plenty of the cast turned up. Daniel Radcliffe was there, along with Young Mazino, Damian Priest and Luna Hamilton, according to Just Jared. Hamilton voices the younger version of Margot, the character Hsu plays as an adult.
Bette Midler does not do many of these nights anymore. She came out for this one, at one of the most famous hotels in Manhattan, surrounded by a cast that spans stand-up comedy, a former boy wizard and a wrestler.
Nikki Glaser is also in the voice cast. She plays the villain.
The Film Features a Unique Twist on Cinderella
Steps flips the fairy tale around. Just Jared’s summary of the plot starts with Lilith, voiced by Ali Wong, who is tired of living in Cinderella’s shadow. She steals the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand and hijacks the Royal Ball with her sister Margot.
Everything goes wrong from there. Priscilla, Glaser’s villainous schemer, swoops in and takes the throne, and the kingdom falls under her tyrannical rule. Lilith has to team up with Cinderella, voiced by Amanda Seyfried, to fight biker trolls, outrun henchmen and escape a place called the Screaming Woods.
Saving the kingdom is the stated quest. Saving the relationship between the stepsisters is the real one, and the film’s own description says so plainly. Most importantly, it reads, their relationship.
Stepsisters have been the punchline of this story for centuries. Two cruel girls, one kind one, no explanation needed. Steps asks a different question about what happens to a sibling who grows up as the comparison. Lilith does not steal the wand because she is evil. She steals it because she is sick of being second.
Resentment like that rarely stays inside the family that created it. Lilith takes hers to the biggest party in the kingdom and breaks everything in reach. Only after the damage does she end up working beside the person she resented most.
Bette Midler’s character sits at the center of that mess. The Fairy Godmother is the one who hands out the magic, and in this version, someone takes it without asking.
K-Pop Star Jennie Releases New Single for the Movie
Jennie, best known as a member of BLACKPINK, released a single from the film called “Someone to Hold.” According to Just Jared, it is her first song for an animated movie.
Jennie called the project “really fun” in a statement. “Someone to Hold” marks her first song for an animated film. She praised how much heart and personality the characters have, and she said she was happy to be a small part of their world.
Jennie’s new single for the film is called “Someone to Hold.” Fitting, for a story about a stepsister sick of living in Cinderella’s shadow. Lilith spends the film fighting biker trolls and outrunning henchmen alongside Cinderella, but the kingdom is not the biggest thing on the line. Their relationship is.
Steps lands on Netflix on November 20.
Sources: Just Jared
