Disney once again tackled a timeless fairy tale to create an unforgettable masterpiece. They expanded this simple story of Cinderella with vivid and endearing characters, keenly paced, sensationally scored, expertly animated, with evident live-action actors serving as reference for the artists, adding striking realism. , memorable songs, and gorgeously detailed and inventive animation. Charles Perrault's classic fairy tale, is lovingly and imaginatively brought to life in this animated Disney version, also a classic. Cinderella, a sweet, docile, and beautiful girl forced to act as a servant for her mean stepmother and stepsisters, goes to the ball with the help of her fairy godmother. But her godmother warns that the beautiful coach and gown will only last until midnight. Cinderella meets the Prince at the ball, and they share a romantic dance. But when the clock begins to strike midnight, she runs away, leaving behind one of her glass slippers. The Prince declares he will marry the girl whose foot fits that slipper. He finds her, and they live happily ever after. This movie is definitely at the time when Disney was still young and wasn't really universally known. This film changed that, it had collected a lot of money and became a big hit. Although this film isn't what you would probably call a phenomenal film, its an extraordinary film.
The character design and animation may be unremarkable, but what is most worthy of note is the background art. Immense, cavernous spaces fill the film, from the opulent Baroque ballroom of the royal palace, with its tall, narrow doors reaching to an impossibly remote ceiling, to the vertiginous stone tower with its rough wooden staircase leading to Cinderella’s bedroom/cell. These fairytale spaces leave a lasting impression on the imagination, evoking as they do the timeless world of Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Anderson. A valuable and original contribution to the "Cinderella" tale was the addition of dozens of animals to the story. Using the traditional techniques of full animation, the Disney artists provided each animal with a unique flavor and personality. The screen fairly bursts with little birds helping Cinderella to dress, little mice helping her to plot, a dog leaping to the rescue, and an evil cat named Lucifer chasing the birds, pouncing on the mice, spitting at the dog and doing its best to come between Cinderella and Prince Charming.
The songs are appropriately inserted, fashioned for singing by characters during poignant moments rather than existing merely in the background, with “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (which picked up an Oscar nomination) being the most catchy and memorable. The film’s arrival was fortunately timed for Disney, with a debut in 1950 that marked the return of feature-length traditional animation as a well-received, profitable, critically acclaimed medium, and continued to receive theatrical re-releases throughout the years. In one musical number, as the stepsisters squawk their way through their singing lesson in another room, Cinderella sings sweetly as she scrubs the floor, reflected in dozens of soap bubbles. In another delightful musical number, the fairy godmother sings "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" as she transforms a pumpkin into a coach, the mice into horses, the horse into a coachman, and finally, Cinderella's rags into a magnificent ballgown.
Cinderella is an honorable rendition of the fairy tale and a worthwhile family classic. Like a lot of Disney’s old fairy tale movies, Cinderella is an honest and good-natured adaptation of its source material (with the darker elements of the story removed), which makes the story timeless, though not particularly deep. That may sound a bit harsh, but knowing how far Disney animated films have come in terms of storytelling depth, a lot of the older Disney films can feel like simple, lighthearted entertainments by comparison.
If there is an obvious difference between Cinderella and such predecessors as Pinocchio and Snow White, it's in the general smoothing-out of the character's appearances. Snow White herself looked fairly bland, but the other characters in the first decade of Disney animation had a lot of personality in their faces. Cinderella seems to come right out of its time, the bland postwar 1950s.
Easter Eggs
#1 Familiar Face
If some of the Disney women from the 50s and 60s look similarly graceful and lanky, there’s a reason for it: Helene Stanley, the live-action model for Cinderella, was also the live-action model for Princess Aurora and Anita in101 Dalmatians.
#2 Walt's favourite
The moment when the Fairy Godmother transforms Cinderella’s torn dress into a beautiful gown fit for a princess is said to be Walt Disney’s favourite piece of animation ever. It was drawn by Marc Davis, one of Disney’s Nine Old Men.
#3 Familiar Villain
Eleanor Audley, the voice of Lady Tremaine (aka the evil stepmother), was also the voice of Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty and for fans of the Parks: Madame Leota in the Haunted Mansion at Disney World and Disneyland.
#4 Fairy Godmother
Similarly, Verna Felton, the Fairy Godmother, provided the voices for a bunch of other famous Disney roles. She was also Mrs. Jumbo in Dumbo, the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, Aunt Sarah in Lady and the Tramp, and both Flora and the Queen in Sleeping Beauty.
#5 Continuity mistake
As Cinderella descends the staircase after her wedding to The Prince, she is obviously wearing a long sleeved gown. When she waves through the window of the carriage, however, the gown is short sleeved.
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