Ella is a beautiful little girl with a passionate heart who deeply loves her merchant father. However, after the passing of her mother, her father remarries Lady Tremaine; a sour-faced woman with two daughters of her own, Anastasia and Drizella. After welcoming them into their home, Ella's father dies unexpectedly, leaving Ella in the care of her strict, cruel new family. She becomes a servant to the three hardened women, and she is constantly smudged in ashes, earning Ella the new nickname of Cinderella. After meeting a stunning stranger in the woods, Ella is invited to attend a Palace Ball, but her stepmother and stepsisters rip apart her dress before she can attend. Luckily, an old woman with a pumpkin and a few mice comes to CinderellaÕs aid, forever changing her life into that of a fairytale.