Bette Midler to Voice Fairy Godmother in Animated Fairy Tale STEPS
The new film will arrive on Netflix in 2026.
Tony Award-winner Bette Midler will voice the Fairy Godmother in Steps, a new animated reimagining of Cinderella from Netflix. Midler joins a cast that includes current Tony Award nominee Stephanie Hsu (The Rocky Horror Show), Amanda Seyfried, and Ali Wong. The new film will arrive on Netflix in 2026.
In a statement, Midler shared her excitement for her new role and teased what audiences can expect from the character. "This particular version of the Fairy Godmother has good intentions, but she's a little bit of a bumbler and she's a little bit of a schemer." Check out an image of Midler's character below.
Rather than focusing on the original heroine, the movie tells the story of Cinderella's "evil" stepsisters. Sick of living in Cinderella’s shadow, Lilith (Wong) steals the Fairy Godmother’s (Midler) magic wand and hijacks the Royal Ball with her sister Margot (Hsu), breaking the Cinderella story as we know it and dooming the kingdom to the tyrannical rule of Priscilla, a villainous schemer who swoops in and snatches the throne.
Now, Lilith must team up with Cinderella (Seyfried) to fight biker trolls, outrun evil henchmen, and escape the Screaming Woods on an epic quest to save the kingdom, but most importantly, their relationship.
The movie is directed by Alyce Tzue (Student Academy Awards gold medal winner) and John Ripa (co-director on Raya and the Last Dragon). Producers include Amy Poehler, Jane Hartwell, and Kim Lessing. Poehler and Lessing produce for Paper Kite Productions. Steps hails from Netflix Animation Studios (NAS) and will be animated at NAS Vancouver, as well as NAS in Sydney.
Midler's recent screen credits include the 2024 comedy The Fabulous Four and Hocus Pocus 2. In 2017, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her starring role in Hello, Dolly! She previously appeared on Broadway in I'll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers and Fiddler on the Roof, which marked her Broadway debut. She will next be seen in the comedy film Cut Off, which also stars Nathan Lane.
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