Ella lives with her wealthy, loving parents on a beautiful estate in a peaceful kingdom. From a young age, she is taught by her mother to believe in the existence of magic, allowing Ella to befriend many animals on the estate, particularly the mice. Everything is perfect until her mother falls ill and dies. On her deathbed, she asks Ella to make her a promise that she will always have courage and show kindness to others. Some time later, her father marries Lady Tremaine, the widow of Lord Sir Francis Tremaine, an old and deceased friend, who has two daughters of her own: Drisella and Anastasia. Ella welcomes her new stepfamily, despite the two stepsisters' unpleasant attitudes.
Soon after, Ella's father goes abroad on business. While he is gone, Lady Tremaine gradually begins to reveal her true cold, cruel and jealous nature, persuading Ella to sleep in the attic and let Drisella and Anastasia have her room. Soon they receive word that Ella's father has passed away. Desperate for money, Lady Tremaine dismisses the servants and forces Ella to do all their work. Later, she refuses to let Ella eat with the family. One cold evening, Ella sleeps by the fireplace for warmth. The next day, she rises with her face covered in cinders. Her two stepsisters, Anastasia and Drisella, consequently mock her as "Cinderella", a taunt in which her stepmother, Lady Tremaine, also joins; eventually, even Ella starts calling herself that.
Crushed by their cruelty, Ella rides off into the woods, where she encounters a hunting party in pursuit of a stag. She meets one of the hunters who claims to be an apprentice named Kit who lives in the palace. Unknown to her, he is actually the son of the land's dying King. Despite never learning her name, Kit (a nickname given to him by his father) is enchanted by Ella's charm, kindness, and unique outlook on life and becomes infatuated with her. On learning that he has little time left, the King insists that Kit find a bride at an upcoming ball. He can't get over the mystery girl, and persuades his father to let every eligible maiden in the land attend.
When the ball is announced, the Tremaine family is ecstatic at the prospect of marrying into royalty. However, when Lady Tremaine refuses to buy Ella a new dress, Ella fixes up her mother's old pink dress with help from the mice. On the night of the ball, Ella tries to join her stepfamily, her stepmother and her two stepsisters, on the way out. Lady Tremaine, claiming that her mere presence will disgrace them, goads her two daughters into callously tearing Ella's dress to shreds, before leaving without her. Ella runs into the garden in tears and encounters an old beggar woman, who reveals herself to be Ella's fairy godmother. Using her magic to reveal her true form, she then transforms a pumpkin into a magnificent carriage, four mice into four white horses, two lizards into footmen, and a goose into a coachman. She then transforms Ella's ripped pink dress into a gorgeous blue gown, complete with a delicate pair of glass slippers, before sending her on her way to the ball, with the warning that the spell will only last until the last stroke of midnight.
At the ball, the entire court is entranced by Ella, especially Kit, who had been hoping she would arrive. She wins the coveted first dance with him, whose true identity she is pleasantly surprised to learn. This irritates the Grand Duke who had secretly promised Kit to Princess Chelina of Zaragoza, a fact that Lady Tremaine overhears.
After dancing, Ella and Kit tour the palace and grounds together. But before he can learn her name, the clock begins striking the twelve strokes of midnight, forcing her to flee and accidentally drop one of her glass shoes on the palace steps. She manages to get away before the final stroke of midnight. The spell wears off, causing the animals and Ella's dress to revert to normal. Still having the other glass slipper, she hides the shoe under the floorboards of her room as a keepsake, reasonably content that her one night will become a beautiful memory.
Soon after the ball, the King dies, but not before giving his son permission to find the girl and marry her if he wishes. Once Kit becomes King, he decrees that every maiden in the kingdom is to try on the shoe. Ella goes to her room to get the other glass slipper, only to find her stepmother holding it. Lady Tremaine has deduced that Ella is the mystery maiden, and demands to be made the head of the royal household if Ella marries Kit and becomes Queen. She also demands that Ella ensure that Drisella and Anastasia get proper husbands. Ella refuses, so Lady Tremaine smashes the slipper and locks her in the attic. She then takes the shattered slipper and identity of the mystery girl to the Grand Duke and convinces him to reward her with the title of countess and to arrange advantageous marriages for her daughters. The Duke takes the slipper to the king, hoping to persuade him to forget the mystery girl, but th