Published on YouTube the morning of Nov. 19, Disney Movie Trailers released the official U.S. trailer for "Disney's Cinderella" to rave reviews by critics of the legendary fable.

Fans are eagerly awaiting the motion picture starring Lily James ("Downtown Abbey") in the title role, opposite Richard Madden ("Games of Thrones"), Stellan Skarsgård ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "Thor") and Tony Award winner Derek Jacobi ("Gosford Park").

The film also stars two-time Academy Award nominee Helena Bonham Carter ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," "Alice in Wonderland") as The Fairy Godmother, and two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett ("The Aviator," "Blue Jasmine") as Lady Tremaine, the wicked stepmother.

Slated for a theatrical release on March 13, 2015, the live-action re-imagining of the classic animated musical fantasy film of the same name will directed by award-winning British actor Kenneth Branagh, with a musical score by his longtime collaborator Patrick Doyle.

"The story of 'Cinderella' follows the fortunes of young Ella (Lily James) whose merchant father remarries following the death of her mother. Eager to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and her daughters Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera) into the family home," the trailer video's description explains. "But, when Ella's father unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself at the mercy of a jealous and cruel new family. ... And then there is the dashing stranger she meets in the woods. Unaware that he is really a prince, not merely an apprentice at the Palace, Ella finally feels she has met a kindred soul. It appears her fortunes may be about to change when the Palace sends out an open invitation for all maidens to attend a ball, raising Ella's hopes of once again encountering the charming Kit (Richard Madden)."

The description adds that Cinderella's stepmother will rip her ball dress but a "beggar woman" will step in to help, using a pumpkin and mice.

Brunette Hayley Atwell, last seen in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," is shown in the trailer in blonde tresses, portraying the role of Cinderella's mother.

This is a step in a new direction for Branagh, an accomplished character actor who is known for his film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays, and playing cultural figures like as Sir Laurence Olivier in "My Weekend with Marilyn" (2011). Appointed a knight bachelor at the 2012 Birthday Honours, Branagh has been nominated for Academy Awards five times, winning an Emmy for his portrayal of high-ranking German Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich in the BBC/HBO film "Conspiracy" in 2001 and three BAFTAs for his work as both actor and director on the films "Henry V" (1989) and the TV series "Wallander: One Step Behind" (2008, 2009).

"What I'm most impressed with is how Cinderella strikes the perfect tone all these live-action Disney movies should be aiming for. It's earnest but too hokey, funny without being too clever or snarky, devoted to the original animated movie without being completely beholden to it," Rob Bricken, a writer for io9, noted. "I could criticize some of the CG magic effects with the pumpkin carriage, but then Richard Madden pops up with those eyes and really I can't bring myself to say anything mean at all."