(Credits: Netflix)

Everyone who has grown up reading and listening to the lore of Cinderella needs to hear this out: Netflix is reimagining the classic fairytale with a twist you haven’t heard before in an upcoming animated feature, Steps. So, if you thought that long gone are the days of fairytales, the streaming powerhouse would beg to differ.

Whether or not you find fairy tales fascinating, Cinderella is a story you cannot be oblivious to. But don’t mistake Steps as just another word-for-word adaptation because Netflix Animation Studios plans to bring Cinderella’s evil stepsisters into the fold, albeit in a new light.

Co-directed by Alyce Tzue and John Ripa, the upcoming animated film already boasts an all-star voice cast, featuring Ali Wong, best known for her role in Netflix’s Emmy-winning limited series, Beef and Stephanie Hsu from the Oscar-winning movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Through Steps on Netflix, the creators want viewers to reconsider whether they truly know the stepsisters of the Cinderella story, widely labelled as infamously evil. The movie tells the story of Lilith, who is incorrectly interpreted and blamed for hijacking the Royal Ball with a stolen magic wand when she mistakenly converts her sister Margot, into a frog.

But as this paves the way for a prince-obsessed mean girl to take over the kingdom, Lilith joins forces with Cinderella and a “surprisingly dreamy troll” to save the empire, restore the fragmented fairy tale, and prove that everyone is worthy of a second chance, even the so-called villains. According to Tzue, Steps is basically a story of siblings with opposite personalities.

“This story is, at its core, about two very different sisters – one who fits perfectly into this fairy tale kingdom and one who doesn’t – realising they’re more alike than different,” she told Tudum. “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.”

Meanwhile, speaking of Steps, Ripa added, “When I was introduced to Steps, I saw that it contained incredible artistry, beautiful storytelling, and most of all, that it had something important to say to the world. It’s like nothing else I’ve worked on in my 30-year career in animation.”

In addition to Wong and Hsu joining the cast and Tzue and Ripa co-directing the film, Amy Poehler, Jane Hartwell, and Kim Lessing are producing Steps for Netflix.

Although Netflix has confirmed that the animated movie will be released in 2026, the platform has yet to announce a date. Thus, stay tuned for further updates.