Cinderella (Two-Disc Special Edition)

I believe that the 1950 Disney adaption of the fairy tale by Charles Perrault is one of the most popular Disney movies released since 1937. This movie is funny, sad, and charming at the same time, which may sound impossible for some movies.

I have watched this movie since I was 2, and I am now 12, and let me tell you that after 10 years, you never get tired of it. I have the Masterpiece copy on this page, and it is very, very worn out, so I cannot wait for Disney to re-release this classic on Disney VHS and DVD in 2007, so I can buy it and technically get my hands on it! :)

Anyway, this movie is about a girl named Cinderella, who's father and mother have both died. She is forced to live with her vain and ugly stepsisters and cruel stepmother, and furthermore is forced to become a slave in her own home.

Cinderella's only friends are the loyal mice, the birds, the dog an also the horse. One day, an invatation arrives from the palace, stating that every eligible maiden in the kingdom has to attend to a royal ball, honoring the return of the prince.

Cinderella's stepmother lies to her, saying she can go only if she gets her chores done, and if she finds something suitable to wear.

She does all her chores, while her animal friends make a dress for her. Sadly, the stepsisters tear it up, and leave. However, Cinderella meets her Fairy Godmother, who sends her off to the ball, but she has to be back before the stroke of midnight, otherwise, the spell will be broke...

Enjoy this Disney masterpiece once again, which proves that dreams can come true.

In an effort to revive his sagging animation department, Walt Disney turned once again to a fairy tale. This time around, he chose one of the best known and oldest of them all, Cinderella.

The tale is familiar. A beautiful girl is abused by her stepmother and stepsisters and forced to work as their slave. When a ball is given for all the eligible maidens in the kingdom, Cinderella dreams of going too, only to have her hopes dashed at the last minute. With a gift of magic, she is able to go, but only until the stroke of midnight.

The story is so well known, if fact, that any story about an underdog coming from behind and winning is called a Cinderella story. Disney's job here was to make the story entertaining for 75 minutes. The solution here was creating the animals. Mice Jaq and Gus and their constant struggle against the evil cat Lucifer is funny and tying this sub-plot to the ultimate outcome is brilliant. The other standout character is the stepmother who is frighteningly evil with no super powers.

As with any Disney movie, this one also has great songs. Arguably the best known is "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo." Right behind it is "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes." My favorite, however, is the often overlooked love song "So This is Love."

While not the best release in the Platinum series, it still stacks up well. The movie has been restored, and it looks great to me. I'm not a nitpicker, but I can't find any problems with the full frame picture, the original aspect ratio. There is an enhanced 5.1 home theater mix, which doesn't seem quite as impressive as some other releases. It seems more like the sound coming equally from all speakers. Of course, given the age of the film, there probably isn't much more they could do. For purists, there is an original soundtrack on the disc as well.

The extras in this set seem to be split between content for kids and adults, with the kids winning. Disc one includes a new version of "A Dream is a Wish" with the stars of several Disney Channel series. It also has several "Cinderella stories" in sports moments, a weird feature to me. Disc two includes several features about living like a princess.

Also on disc two are the bonus features adult fans of this movie will want to watch. There are two "deleted scenes," which are really abandoned songs with the storyboards created for them. In edition there are more abandoned songs with no storyboards on here. It's pretty interesting watching how various ideas went from one form to another before finally making it into the movie. Other extras include a thirty-eight minute documentary about the creation of the show, including achieved interviews with the animators behind the show. We are also treated to an overview of how the movie progressed over the years it was in development, a tribute to the "Nine Old Men," Disney's "Laugh-O-Gram" version of the story from 1922, and radio promotion from the time. I was thrilled to see trailers from the movie's multiple releases here. Unfortunately, there is no commentary in sight.

This Platinum DVD release means that all of Disney's animated movies have been put on DVD at some point in the last few years. While the Platinum series isn't quite as nice for adult fans as they used to be, this is still a release that fans of the movie will want to pick up.

I looked forward to this DVD release for months and snagged a copy the first day it was available. My excitement turned to dismay, however, as I began to watch it. From the moment the birds open the curtains to reveal Cinderella in her bed, it became painfully obvious that Disney truly had "enhanced" the picture to within an inch of its life. Instead of restoring this beloved classic film, the images have been changed; this is NOT Cinderella as she was first seen in 1950. Just to make sure I wasn't mistaken, I did a comparison between my parents VHS tape (the original video release) and the DVD. True, the picture on the DVD was much sharper and the sound was crystal clear, but Cinderella's hair was NEVER that color of yellow, and lines that were part of the original animators drawings, faithfully inked and painted onto the original cells, are no longer visible. For instance, right at the beginning of the film, when Cinderella turns over in her bed to shut out the sun, there were originally clearly drawn/inked lines in her blanket to show the drapery of the fabric. Those lines, obvious in the VHS version, are now only visible if you zoom in on them. Similar editorial decisions on the part of the DVD authors are evident throughout the film, though they decrease in frequency as the film progresses. It could be said these changes don't matter much, but they truly affect the look of the film. I often found myself thinking it looked like a Scooby-Doo cartoon, a far cry from any Disney classic. Although I understand that Disney owns this intellectual property in the legal sense, I don't understand why the've chosen to disrespect that very property, especially in light of their excellent work on Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, etc. Hopefully, this is an anomaly and Disney won't continue to offer us disfigured films.

Stunning new 2-disc `Platinum Edition' of Disney's 1950 fairytale confection CINDERELLA. The story is as old as the hills: Cinderella is mistreated horribly by her cruel Stepmother and stepsisters Anastasia and Drisella. Her only friends are some pet mice, the birds and her faithful dog and horse. When the Prince invites all the eligible maidens in the land to his grand ball, Cinderella is heartbroken when her Stepmother forbids her to go. Enter the magical Fairy Godmother, who, with a little "Bibiddi Bobiddi Boo" magic, enables Cinderella to live out her happily-ever-after dream.

From a historical perspective, the Disney studio was pinning it's future on the success of CINDERELLA. World War II had virtually wiped out the studio's international market and films like PINOCCHIO, BAMBI and FANTASIA had lost a lot of money on their initial releases.

Disney has performed a complete restoration on the film, including an extensive frame-by-frame cleanup of the original camera negative and the result is eye-popping (almost alarmingly-so as every hint of speckle, dirt and debris has been removed). The film looks showroom-new and it's hard to believe the thing was actually made over 50 years ago. Likewise the soundtrack has been sweetened with Disney furnishing the film with an all-new "Enhanced Home Theatre" 5.1 mix. But purists need not worry, as the original mono soundtrack is also included.

There are some fantastic extras on Disc Two including an all-new `Making-Of' documentary which features recent interviews with Ilene Woods (voice of Cinderella), Mike Douglas (the Prince) and Lucille Bliss (Anastasia). "The Art of Mary Blair" is an invaluable look into the life of the revered Disney concept artist and designer; "The Cinderella That Almost Was" hosted by Don Hahn explores the scenes, songs and characters that were considered but eventually cut from the final film. "Disney's Nine Old Men" is a charming segment hosted by Joel Siegel which has the leading Disney animators of today remembering the trailblazers who created the classic Disney animated masterpieces.

There is also a charming clip from Perry Como's television show which publicised the film with a performance from Ilene Woods. A clip from "The Mickey Mouse Club" features Helene Stanley (the live-action reference model for the Cinderella character) enacting a scene with the help of the Mouseketeers. There are also extensive galleries, interactive games and DVD-ROM components.

There are however some needless (and downright questionable) extras like the ESPN Classic "Cinderella Stories" programme, which profiles sport celebrities and their rise to fame. Just what exactly does all this have to do with Disney's Cinderella? Plain boring old filler. That said, the rest of the package is outstanding. For Disney collectors and families everywhere, this is a must-own.

I am simply amazed with the animation technology. When watching you don't actually realize that the actors are portrayed by cartoon characters. It is so realistic, and harmoniously pleasing to the ears. The musical scenes intertwined with the storyline is simply outstanding. When you watch a movie I believe that the main objective is to be entertained and taken away from the daily grind, transported to a magical, pleasing and positive place. This movie based on a fairytale does exacting that. It is a story about a young girl whose only living relatives are a mean and vicious stepmother and two equally dispicable stepsisters. She is turned into the one and only household servant whose only friends are the animals that surround her and assist her with her chores whenever possible. They even help her recreate and old dress to wear to the ball. Their efforts were only to be thwarted by the wicked stepsisters who shred the dress. It is then that Cinderella meets her fairy godmother. She makes her dream come true and goes to the ball in style-with a few interesting stipulations. A wonderful family movie to be enjoyed by all ages young and old.

There are two well known versions of Cinderella, the French version and the German Brothers Grimm. Disney and Rodgers & Hammerstein used the more family friendly French version and Sondheim & Lapine used the more grisly Brothers Grimm.

The story is very simple. A young girl's father remarries to vain and cruel woman with two daughters of her own. Her father dies and the stepmother turns Cinderella into a servant.

The King wants his only child, the Prince to marry. So he holds a ball with all the eligible maidens. The evil stepmother and her two daughters attend but make sure that Cinderella does not. Come to the rescue Fairy Godmother. She does her magic and uses Cinderella's animal friend. The Prince sees Cinderella and instantly falls in love. But she has to leave before midnight and only leaves her glass slipper.

A search for true love begins!

This is a fun version of the fairy tale with the most violent villains of all three main versions of the story. This is still a great movie but if you want the best get the Leslie Ann Warren version of the Rogers & Hammerstein TV special.

DVD EXTRAS:
Disc One -
Cinderella Stories presented by ESPN Classic: Joe Namath host 10 sports "Cinderella Stories" from teams like NY Jets in Superbowl III and 1980 US Hockey Team to individuals like Lance Armstrong and Mia Hamm. You can watch all ten or just the ones that you want. These are superficial but can be inspirational for young kids. (Total running time 34 minutes)

Music & More - Two music videos and a making of video (9 minutes total) A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes is done by Disney Channel stars and shows that with today's technology anyone can be made to sound alright. It also shows how you can take a great song and make it into drivel. This is followed by making of video. Every Girl Can be a Princess which uses clips from all the Disney "Princess" films. The song was written for a Princess album. It actually is very nice.

Disc Two -
Deleted Scenes - Two deleted scenes and an introduction by Don Hahn (Producer of Beauty and the Beast. The Cinderella Work song is newly recorded and has the original storyboards. Dancing on a Cloud is the original recording with the original storyboards. (10 Minutes)

Music & More -
Cinderella & Perry Como: A 7 minute excerpt of his show promoting the film. Perry narrates with Ilene Woods (Cinderella) and the Fontaine Sisters as the mice singing the song live. The end is a jazz version of Bibbidy Boobity Boo by Perry, Ilene and the sisters - this is great.
Cinderella Title Song: Original demo recording probably by the song writers (no storyboards). (2 minutes)

Unused Songs: 7 songs not used in the film - audio only (17 minutes). Disney animated films always had unused songs. Usually, the scene that it is used in was cut but sometimes it just didn't advance the story and this was the number one rule of songs. They do not give singing credits on these.

Radio Programs: Three radio program excerpts promoting Ilene Woods (12 minutes) - Village Store introduces Ilene as Disney's choice for Cinderella and she sings When You Wish Upon a Star. Gulf Oil Presents Ilene sings A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. Scouting the Star with no singing.

Games & Activities -
House of Royalty: Three six minute vignettes on Look - Live - Act Like a Princess. These are for the youngsters only and they probably will not watch them more than once. Although Act Like a Princess has some tips everyone could use.

The Royal Life - DVD ROM game in which you can point and click to make your dream castle, ball gown or bedroom.

Princess Pajama Jam - A really silly 3 minute game on dancing like a princess. It would have been better if this lasted longer as a child's exercise program but it is really an advert for the Princess Party DVD.

Backstage Disney -
From Rags to Riches: The Making of Cinderella - Four featurettes totaling 39 minutes. This is actually an indepth look at not only the film but Disney and has interviews (from 1995) with the original animators. The section on the voice casting is really interesting as many of the voices were well known character actresses. It is really great.

The Cinderella That Almost Was: This is a 14 minute featurette on the genesis of the story from a Silly Symphony to various early incarnations that were never used. It is very interesting to see what didn't make it into the film.

From Walt's Table: A Tribute to Disney's Nine Old Men - This is a 22 minute round table discussion with today's top animated film makers discussing the original nine animators. It is nice but nothing special.

The Art of Mary Blair - A fifteen minute tribute to the artist who helped conceive the style of many Disney animated features.

Storyboard to Film Comparison: Opening Sequence - A seven minute comparison of the film to the original story boards or live action reference shot. These are always fun to watch.

Cinderella Still Galleries - Massive stills galleries from concept drawings to posters

1922 Laugh-o-Grams: Cinderella - An early animated short based on Cinderella set in current times.

Excerpt from The Mickey Mouse Club with Helene Stanley (1955): A four minute sequence with live action model Helene Stanley.

Disney made its mark as a major studio in 1937 with its first full-length feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Ironically, given this early success, Snow White was their only hit movie for the next 13 years. World War II kicked the hell out of Disney's overseas markets. Even movies today regarded as classic Disney - Pinnochio, Bambi, Fantasia - lost money on initial release. Disney eked through by diversifying into training films for the US government, and the South American films that were part of FDR's Good Neighbor policy, etc. - stuff that made back its costs but not much more. By 1948, Disney was in dire financial straits. They had just enough money for one more movie. Walt Disney realized he needed a hit or his studio probably wouldn't survive, and it would have to be what they did best: a full-length animated feature film. Walt said to himself, "What we need is a movie about a girl in trouble. Audiences love that. They loved Snow White." That's what he wanted: a movie like Snow White, but even more so - more comedy, more drama, more magic, more music, more lovable characters. He chose as the basis of his company's Hail Mary pass arguably the most famous fairy tale in the world: Cinderella.

Disney didn't have the money, as they had on earlier films, to lavishly storyboard every scene. Thus they hit upon the wonderfully clever idea of shooting the entire movie in live action, then the animators used stills from that as storyboards. The photos used survive to this day, and many are provided as a Special Edition "extra." In some cases these photos have the animator's drawings over them, turning for instance an almost bare stage into a hall in Cinderella's family chateau.

In 1950, Cinderella was released and was everything Disney so desperately needed. Even today, Cinderella is arguably the best movie Disney's ever made. It's just awfully hard to argue with any aspect of this film. The animation artwork was a product of Disney's famous "Nine Old Men" - at that time not yet old. Cinderella pulls off, superbly, something not particularly easy to do: it integrates believable human characters with funny cartoon animals and makes it work. From Eric Larson and Marc Davis' beautiful and graceful Cinderella to Ward Kimball's wonderful Jaq and Gus-Gus the mice and over-the-top Lucifer the cat, everything flows together so well it all seems perfectly natural.

Part of Walt Disney's plan to out-Snow White Snow White with Cinderella involved its music. He very consciously wanted Cinderella to be a source of hit songs. There had been hit songs from Disney films before ("Heigh Ho" and "Whistle While You Work" from Snow White, "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Pinnochio, etc.) but they'd been almost accidental. "Oh, we have a hit song, well that's nice." For Cinderella, Disney for the first time went to Tin Pan Alley (28th Street in New York City where the professional songwriters could be found). Disney wanted his girl's music done by the very best craftsmen, the guys who wrote hit songs for a living. The Cinderella soundtrack hit big (a #1 album with 3/4 million units sold) with songs even today considered quintessential Disney, most notably "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from the movie's opening scene, "The Work Song" while the animals help Cinderella clean the house and simultaneously build her ball gown, and "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (nominated for an Academy Award as best movie song of the year) from the Fairy Godmother transformation scene.

For their best movie, Disney apparently spared no expense producing the DVD. Not only has the picture quality been digitally restored, but the audio has also been cleaned up with a new 5.1 surround sound mix. Totally gone is the background hiss associated with so many old movies. (Cinderella has the distinction of being "the noisiest movie ever restored" according to its audio crew.) The original mono soundtrack has also been spruced and is provided as an option for purists.

A word about the movie's aspect ratio (i.e. how wide the picture is compared to its height). The DVD cover says Cinderella is presented in its "Original Full-Screen Aspect Ratio (1.33:1)". This is untrue. Virtually all sound films until 1953, including Cinderella, were 1.37:1. Since a TV screen is 1.33:1, you don't lose a lot when the original is "formatted to fit your television." I just wish they hadn't lied about it.

Cinderella ends at breakneck pace: we go straight from her foot sliding into the glass slipper to the wedding to Happily Ever After, bing, bang, boom. Walt Disney believed "Audiences like a happy ending, but they don't like a happy ending that goes on too long." Hey, who am I to argue? Well, maybe I'll argue. A DVD extra addresses scenes originally planned for the movie but not actually used. One of these would have occurred after the fitting of the glass slipper and before the wedding: Cinderella is taken by the Grand Duke to the castle in her normal everyday clothes; the first time Prince Charming sees her since the ball she's not wearing a lovely gown, she's wearing her scullery maid outfit. Cinderella is frightened, how will he react when he realizes she's not a fine lady but a poor servant girl? And of course he doesn't care how she's dressed, he loves her anyway. I can **see** that scene in my mind, it would have worked beautifully. This is the one way in which an almost perfect movie could have been even a tiny bit better.

Well, only a year to wait...
This two disc Platinum Edition will follow Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Aladdin and (Easter 2005) Bambi as Disney's jewels in their DVD crown when it is released next October.
Whilst seemingly forgetting how to produce a decent animated film lately, the folks at Disney sure know how to produce DVD packages. Expect deleted songs, artwork, games, docs, commentaries and much more!
Just avoid the embarassingly bad sequel.

We got this for our 3 year old daugther who is obsessed with all things Disney. She absolutely loves this movie and it is the only movie she requests anymore. She loves all the animals that are in it and she always dances during "Bippety Boppity Boo."

We like it because there are no scary villians or "tense" scenes like most Disney cartoons have. Of course, the stepmother is not nice to Cinderella, but our daughter just talks about how she is not being nice. It's also nice because it's not too long of a movie.

Restored film and sound *****
Extras ****

Disney has, once again, released a great DVD edition of one of their classics. These titles are what DVDs were meant to be; great editions of the film, tons of extras, a joy to watch. But haphazard organization of the extras, glaring examples of corporate synergy and a couple of minor glitches mar the overall presentation.

"Cinderella" is one of the most celebrated classics created by the late filmmaker. A gentler reworking of the fairytale, the film remains extremely popular among young and old. The DVD edition features a restored picture bringing all of the brilliant pastel colors to life and a digital soundtrack allowing all of the memorable songs to be heard as though they were recorded yesterday.

Cinderella's (Ilene Woods) wicked stepmother and two step-sisters have taken over the house once owned by her beloved father who has died. Stepmother spends every cent on her two daughters, singing lessons, dresses, every luxury, leaving Cinderella to do all of the housework in the large chateau, an indentured servant in her own home. Cinderella's only friends are the mice, including Gus and Jacques, and other animals that help her through the day. The King decides to host a ball for his returning son, the Prince, insisting that every eligible woman in his kingdom attend. After working her to the bone, Stepmother leaves Cinderella behind and takes her daughters. Distraught Cinderella loses all hope until her Fairy Godmother (Verna Felton) appears.

Summarizing an animated film is difficult. So many different things contribute to the success that merely describing it, without giving everything away, doesn't seem to give the film its due, to capture the magic.

"Cinderella" is a magical blend of great animation, fun songs and amusing animal characters. From the moment the book opens and the animation starts, you realize you are in for something special. Artist Mary Blair helped to create the look of the film, a blend of pastel colors perfectly evoking the period of storybook France in which the story is set. If anything, the restoration has made these colors a little too crisp, but they are bright and beautiful to look at.

The film is filled with classic Disney music. From "Bippi Boppi Boo" to "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", some of the most fondly remembered music in the Disney library included in this classic. Clearly, very fond of this story, Disney worked on it for a long time. When the finished product was released, and praised, it became a hallmark of his work, a template for many, many animated efforts. It isn't a coincidence that he chose to put Cinderella's castle smack dab in the middle of his first theme park. In 1955, with Disneyland about to open, he realized that this film was one of his best and would continue to endure. Now, every version of the Magic Kingdom has a Cinderella Castle.

After watching Cinderella's horrible life with her wicked stepmother and step sisters, the moment when the Fairy Godmother transforms her, complete with 1950s era gown and hairstyle, is truly magical. Watching Cinderella get a taste, no matter how small, of the life she truly deserves is a gratifying experience. Maybe it's just me, but does it confuse anyone else why the Fairy Godmother makes the mice into horses and the horse into the coach driver? It seems a bit like putting the cart before the horse.

All of this magic more than makes up for the rather simplistic view of love presented in the film. The prince falls in love with Cinderella because she looks beautiful. He wants to dance with her before they even speak. He shuns all of the other women, rolling his eyes, simply because they aren't beautiful. Also, don't forget to "leave the sewing to the women". Great lessons for the little girls watching. I guess this was appropriate for 1950.

As with most of the recent deluxe DVD sets, "Cinderella" is filled with extras. I haven't had a chance to go through them all, but a few are worth mentioning.

Unlike in the past, the extras aren't organized quite as well. The first disc features the restored film but also includes "ESPN's Cinderella Stories", short documentaries on Joe Namath's New York Jets' team, the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team, Mia Hamm and the Williams Sisters. This is taking corporate synergy to an all new, ugly level. Joe Namath on "Cinderella"? There are also "Coming Attractions" for other Disney releases. I'm glad to see "The Little Mermaid" and "Lady and the Tramp" will both get the Platinum treatment next year.

The second disc contains material for both young and old. In previous releases, Disney has included all of the kid related material on the first disc, along with the film, leaving the second disc for the archival material. For "Cinderella", almost everything is combined on disc number two.

Perhaps the most interesting extras are two songs which were recorded for the film, but ultimately deleted. They are included with original concept art. If you need any evidence about how important it was to restore the soundtrack, just listen to the "Cinderella Work Song" and "Dancing on a Cloud", both in their original recordings. It is fun to watch the art, and hear the music, but they sound like recordings made from old LPs. Also, there was a minor glitch with my DVD. I chose the PLAY ALL function. After a brief intro, it skipped the first song and went directly to the next.

An interesting side note: "Dancing on a Cloud" would later be adapted for "Sleeping Beauty".

There are also seven deleted songs. Again a glitch seems to be present; it skipped two of these offerings when I pressed PLAY ALL. Like most classics, deleted material was usually deleted for good reason and none of these songs is particularly memorable.

The most interesting extras are four short documentaries. "The Cinderella That Almost Was" tracks Disney's work with this project over the years. "From Rags to Riches" is a more traditional "making of" documentary. "The Art of Mary Blair" explores her contribution to the look and feel of this project. As noted earlier, she was responsible for the beautiful pastel look so important to this film. Last but not least is "From Walt's Table: A Tribute to Disney's Nine Old Men". The nine old men are the guys who worked on most of Disney's best films, shaping the look, the characters, everything that helped to make them memorable today.

A variety of radio and television programs promoting the film are included, including bits with Perry Como and an excerpt from "The Mickey Mouse Club".

The least interesting extras involve more corporate synergy. "House of Royalty" is a featurette tied into "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and features Sally, from the Disney Channel. Just the description scared me away.

The obligatory music videos featuring current popular acts singing the classic songs, games and CD Rom material are included, along with a preview of "Cinderella III" and a 1922 Laugh-o-Gram based on the same fairy tale.

Any time Disney releases one of these Platinum Edition DVDs or the super deluxe editions they did for "The Lion King" and "Snow White", I will eagerly plunk down my money for a copy. But I wish they would return to a format of putting the kids stuff on the same DVD as the movie and putting all of the historical, technical and encyclopedic extras on a separate disc. I don't want to have to wade through music videos with tween singers and games about dress-up in my quest to learn everything I can about the making of a classic.

"Cinderella" is a full-fledged classic and a must for every library. Kids will love it. Adults will remember it fondly. Film buffs and historians will love the informative extras. Go. Buy it!