Deadline
Bette Midler To Voice Fairy Godmother In Netflix’s ‘Cinderella’ Reimagining ‘Steps’
By Jesse Whittock
May 18, 2026
Bette Midler will wave her magic wand – when she’s actually got control of it – in Netflix’s reimagined Cinderella movie Steps.
She will voice the fairy godmother in the animated pic, which is the first fully in-house produced film from Netflix Animation Studios. Midler joins the likes of Ali Wong, who plays Lilith, Amanda Seyfried (Cinderella) and Stephanie Hsu (Margot) in the cast.
The story follows Cinderella’s ‘evil’ stepsister Lilith, who steals the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand and hijacks the Royal Ball along with Margot, 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. Lilith is forced to team with Cinderella to save the kingdom and, most importantly, their relationship.
“The beloved Fairy Godmother, the wholesome Fairy Godmother, the one with all the good intentions, has been around for a long, long time,” said Midler. “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. I’m thrilled to be part of this film.”
Steps is being directed by Alyce Tzue and John Ripa, with Amy Poehler, Jane Hartwell and Kim Lessing. Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions is attached.
The film is scheduled to release this year.
