If King's Quest were a Movie

The 2015 version of "Cinderella" is my favorite live-action remake of the Disney classics.  In no small part it's due to the cinematography.  Heavy reliance on practical effects do a lot to give the film a texture lacking in the later more CGI plastered productions.  Although, it's also my understanding that filming was somewhat troubled because of it.  The pumpkin carriage (made of wrought iron) had to be redone with lighter materials in order to make it manageable by the iconic four mice turned to white horses.  The fairy godmother's dress had an impressive arrangement of LEDs built into it that would shine different colors depending on the spell she cast.  Sadly, the effect wasn't picked up by the camera due to lighting conditions.  And then there is the blue dress that Cinderella wears to the ball.  Originally, it had bit more of a silver tone (perhaps a nod to the original animation), but was changed in post production to a much more vibrant shade of blue in order to stand out more.  Yves Klein would have surely approved of the change though the thing that amuses me most about the color alteration is the original ball dress (belonging to Ella's mother) being pink.  It almost feels like a reference to princess Arora's dress in the 1959 animated Disney film "Sleeping Beauty".  

"Make it pink!"  

"Make it blue!" 

Anyway...getting back on topic, there are so many shots in this film that would make great background wallpapers for a OS display.  The thing is some of the visuals (viewed as still screens) also feel a bit like they could be from a modern entry in the King's Quest franchise.  Certainly, the story fits like a glove...or should I say slipper?

It's true that the creator of King's Quest, Roberta Williams, was heavily influenced by classic fairly tales.  King's Quest II, III and VI, in particular, have some thematic similarities to the Cinderella story.  To point out specific examples, the entire plot of King's Quest II revolves around the protagonist's (King Graham) quest to find princess Valanice.  This bride-to-be is trapped in a tower, access to which requires the opening of three locked doors.  She herself is the daughter of a father of royal lineage and commoner.  King Graham also has a fairly godmother that attends the wedding at the end of the game.

King's Quest III does a bit of a gender flip with the concept by making it a serving boy (not a girl) forced to cook and clean for an evil wizard (and old man) named Manannan.  Ultimately, the boy escapes his oppressive circumstances and even rescues his sister along the way.  Fast forward to King's Quest VI and our boy (reveled to actually be a prince, and son of King Graham) follows in his father's footsteps by attempting to rescue the princess Cassima (a woman he only ever met once).  She (like Valanice) was locked in a tower by the royal vizier after the death her parents.  Granted that game has more in common with Arabian Nights than Cinderella.  None-the-less, whenever I sit down to watch the 2015 film I find myself thinking, this is the closest thing I ever seen to King's Quest in movie form (both thematically and visually).