Netflix has released the first trailer for Steps, an animated fractured fairy tale that will hit the service on November 20. The film is being positioned as a milestone for Netflix Animation Studios: its first feature produced end-to-end without a partner or vendor studio.
What the story flips
Instead of another Cinderella retelling, Steps centers on the so-called wicked stepsisters. Lilith, voiced by Ali Wong, and Margot, voiced by Stephanie Hsu, are tired of living in Cinderella’s shadow. When Lilith takes the Fairy Godmother’s wand and crashes the Royal Ball, the familiar story breaks and a schemer named Priscilla, voiced by Nikki Glaser, seizes the throne.
The fallout pushes Lilith and Cinderella, voiced by Amanda Seyfried, into an uneasy partnership. The official logline sets them on a quest through biker trolls, henchmen, and the Screaming Woods to save the kingdom—and their relationship. Bette Midler voices the Fairy Godmother and Peter Dinklage is also in the cast.
Why the production model matters
For streaming and animation watchers, the trailer is only part of the signal. This is the first time Netflix Animation Studios has taken a feature from start to finish in-house. That means no reliance on frequent partners such as Sony Pictures Animation or Skydance Animation. Netflix’s deal with Skydance is winding down shortly, making internal capability more relevant to the slate.
The shift has business implications:
- More direct control over timelines, budgets and creative decisions.
- Reduced dependence on outside studio capacity during a competitive animation market.
- An opportunity to build proprietary production infrastructure for future features.
The film was previewed in work-in-progress form at Annecy, with what TheWrap calls an “ornate, frosted-cake aesthetic.” That design language could matter for merchandising, teaser cutdowns and social creative aimed at family audiences around Thanksgiving.
Where it fits in the slate
Steps is positioned as a Thanksgiving release within a busy end-of-year animation lineup. It lands alongside Brad Bird’s sci-fi noir Ray Gunn, which comes through the Skydance partnership, and the coming-of-age feature In Waves, which recently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Netflix is also coming off strong animated results: KPop Demon Hunters from last year and Skydance’s Swapped earlier this year both drew large audiences, according to TheWrap. That creates a higher bar for Steps as the first test of the fully in-house model.
Source: TheWrap
