Story perspectives

Netflix Debuts First In-House Animation “Steps” Featuring Bette Midler

5/18/2026

Summary

Story summary

Netflix announced Bette Midler will voice the Fairy Godmother in the animated film “Steps”.
The film also features Amanda Seyfried as Cinderella, Ali Wong as Lilith, and Stephanie Hsu as Margot.
Lilith steals the Fairy Godmother’s wand, hijacks the Royal Ball and teams with Cinderella to defeat Priscilla.
“Steps” is Netflix’s first fully in-house animated feature, set for release later this year, with a work-in-progress session on June 23 at Annecy.

History

Historical Context

In 1995 Pixar and Disney released Toy Story, the first fully computer-animated feature, which earned over $363 million worldwide and spurred studios to build CGI pipelines. Building on that shift, Netflix debuted Steps in 2024 as its first wholly in-house animated film, showing streaming services now competing directly with traditional studios for original animated franchises.

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Story summary

Netflix announced Bette Midler will voice the Fairy Godmother in the animated film “Steps”.
The film also features Amanda Seyfried as Cinderella, Ali Wong as Lilith, and Stephanie Hsu as Margot.
Lilith steals the Fairy Godmother’s wand, hijacks the Royal Ball and teams with Cinderella to defeat Priscilla.
“Steps” is Netflix’s first fully in-house animated feature, set for release later this year, with a work-in-progress session on June 23 at Annecy.

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