Before the 2015 live-action adaptation of Cinderella hits theaters on Friday, we're taking a look back at one of the most memorable versions of the classic fairy tale.

In 1997, singing legend Whitney Houston made her life-long dream of bringing Cinderella to television come true, adapting Rogers and Hammerstein's original 1957 musical for the small screen. ET was on the magical set to see it all unfold.

"I love musicals," Whitney revealed to ET. "From a child I’ve loved them so this music to me was like a dream come true. I could sing my fantasy of being Julie Andrews!"

FLASHBACK: Watch a Very Shy Whitney Houston in Her First ET Interview

The singer not only played the fairy godmother but she also served as executive producer and even handpicked Brandy, the smokey-voiced star of the sitcom Moesha, to play the title character.

"I stuck with the project for years until I decided I wasn't gonna be Cinderella and I would be the fairy godmother," Houston said. 

At 33, Whitney chose to take on the fairy godmother because it was a less demanding role and took less time to film. The singer told ET she was little "jaded on the energy level" since giving birth to Bobbi Kristina, who was 4-years-old at the time and frequently stopped by the set with dad Bobby Brown.

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"She's growing up on me," Whitney said, as our cameras caught a glimpse of Bobbi Kristina. "It's for reasons like that [referencing her daughter], that [this project] is existing."

This version of Cinderella featured an all-star, multi-racial cast including Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Alexander and Bernadette Peters, and included the songs performed exactly as they were first done in 1957.

Watch the full video for a rare behind the scenes look at the making of Cinderella, including the recording of Whitney and Brandy's show stopping duet "Impossible."

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