Overview
- Steps premiered in New York on Sunday, Nov. 8, and has since drawn published early reviews that broadly praise its emotional core and voice performances ahead of a global Netflix debut on Nov. 20.
- The film retells Cinderella from Lilith’s perspective, reframing the so-called ‘evil’ stepsister as a complex protagonist and foregrounding themes of sisterhood, racialized assimilation, and the role of magic or privilege in unequal advantage.
- Ali Wong leads a high-profile voice cast that includes Amanda Seyfried, Stephanie Hsu, Bette Midler, Daniel Radcliffe, Nikki Glaser, Young Mazino and Peter Dinklage, with Alyce Tzue and John Ripa directing.
- Reviewers credit strong character work, humor and a moving sisterly arc but single out production choices—many credited writers, rewrites and a shift from musical to action-comedy—as causes of tonal inconsistency, overstuffed plotting and uneven pacing.
- Netflix is positioning Steps as a Thanksgiving/holiday family tentpole with a music-driven promotion and original soundtrack campaign tied to the film, a move that will test the studio’s animation-and-music marketing strategy into the holiday season.