Cinderella (1950)

The day has finally come!  We’re back to single story narratives!  It’s been a long hard road for the studio, but things are finally starting to turn around.  So hop into your pumpkin carriage and let’s examine Disney’s own rags to riches story.  And I’m only kind of talking about Cinderella.

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Cinderella is a movie I have a lot of fond memories of.  It’s my younger sister’s favorite Disney movie, so it always makes me think of her because she loves it so much.  Not only that, it’s just so quintessentially Disney, launching even more tropes than Snow White, the one who started it all.  I mean, who do you think of when someone says “Disney princess?”  How about “Disney castle?”  “Prince Charming?”  Yeah.  That’s what I thought.

The story of the girl who went to the ball to escape her horrible family is one of the oldest in the world.  Scholars have counted approximately 345 different versions of the tale from around the world.  This isn’t even the first time Walt Disney adapted the story.  That would be a Laugh-o-Gram short from 1922.  But he was enamored with the magical tale and the concept of rewarding hard work, and wanted to revisit it in a Silly Symphony.  It proved much too complex for a short, so plans began to adapt Charles Perrault’s version of the tale (not the Grimm Brothers’, as a lot of people think) into a feature.

We know the next part of the story.  World War 2 happened, production on features was halted, and I had to endure half a decade of horrible package films (and one really good one).  But after the war, the wheels began to turn to set their return to form in motion.  Storyboards for their next feature were completed in 1947, and after two years of grueling work, production wrapped in 1949.  To keep costs down, they shot almost the entire movie in live action and Rotoscoped over it later.  Animators weren’t thrilled about this, saying that they could animate just fine on their own, but I can see why they did it.  The studio didn’t have money to waste on ideas that would be cut, and having that reference footage drastically reduced the margin for error.

Everyone involved in the production brought their A-game.  Animators were given characters who exemplified their particular talents.  Top-tier musicians from New York’s legendary Tin Pan Alley were hired to write the songs.  Even the choice of story was a safe, well-known tale that audiences would be familiar with and excited to see brought to the screen.  Stakes were too high for Cinderella to be anything less than perfection.  After the expensive failures of Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi, they really, really needed this one to succeed.  One more flop would bankrupt the studio, and that would be it.  No more Disney.

Fortunately, Cinderella was a smash hit.  Critics considered it a masterpiece, better than anything the studio had done before including Snow White. They praised the beautiful animation, gentle storytelling, and brilliant humor. It was a big relief to get back to the studio’s fairy tale roots, and even more of a relief to have a single story narrative. It’s still warmly received today, with a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. The American Film Institute recently named it the 9th best animated film of all time, and it was inducted into the Library of Congress as being culturally significant. It’s not without its controversy, but more on that later on under characters.

More importantly, Cinderella earned $8 million at the box office, obliterating the studio’s debt. It was the profits of Cinderella, as well as its merchandising and its soundtrack, that allowed Disney to not only survive, but thrive. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Cinderella literally saved Disney. Without it, the company would never have been able to grow from the war-torn, struggling band of starving artists to the cultural behemoth we all know and love. How’s that for a Cinderella story?

STORY

Okay, you probably know this story.  As previously mentioned, it’s been part of human culture since time immemorial, and you’ve probably seen at least some version unless you’ve been living in a cave.  But I’mma do this anyway because it’s my blog.

Once again, we open on a storybook, and we’re introduced to little Cinderella and her kindly old father.  He decides that his daughter needs a mother, so he marries some random woman because she has daughters Cinderella’s age.  But he dies suddenly and the stepmother, who I fully blame for killing him, reveals herself to be the worst human being in the world.  The narration actually uses the words “abused and humiliated”.  Please remember that.  It’ll be important when we get to characters and I lose my mind.  One more fun fact before we move along: the narrator here is Betty Lou Gerson, who we’ll see again when we get to the late 60s.  Her voice is unrecognizable!

Several years later, Cinderella wakes up in her attic. She’s reluctant to wake up because she was having such a wonderful dream. The clocktower outside chimes as if telling her to get on with it, much to her frustration, but that’s not going to stop her wishing for a better life. Her mouse and bird friends help her get ready for her day, making her bed and picking out her clothes for her.  And oh my gosh I wish I could do that.

Once Cinderella is dressed and ready to go, the mice run up to her in a frenzy. There’s a new mouse in the house! A drawer full of mouse clothes is a thing normal people have, so Cinderella takes her time picking out an outfit for him. The mice don’t really have time for this because the new guy is stuck in a trap! So when she finally kicks it into high gear, we find a terrified naked mouse freaking out at the giant face that has just appeared through the bars. The leader of the mice, Jaq, comes in to explain what’s going on and from that moment on, they’re best buds.

We follow Cinderella as she does her morning chores. First, we wake up the cat and have the first instance of Cinderella having absolutely no time for Lucifer. Also, for the love of god, Dad, don’t marry the sort of person who names their cat after Satan. Cinderella leads Satan Cat down to the servants’ quarters to feed him breakfast, waking her dog Bruno on the way. She scolds Bruno for dreaming of chasing Lucifer, emphasizing how important it is for them to keep the peace.  Lucifer claws Bruno in the face, resulting in Cinderella sighing and taking Bruno outside despite the cat clearly being the instigator.

This scene is incredibly important to understanding Cinderella’s character because she’s not talking to the dog. She’s talking about herself. No matter how horribly everyone treats her, she doesn’t have a whole lot of choice but to try to make do. In the time this is set, women had one option for social advancement and that was marriage. No one would ever want to marry a servant, so if Lady Tremaine kicked her out, Cinderella’s life is over.  Still, no matter how innocent she is, the stepfamily constantly attacks her and plays the innocent.  So really, there’s no winning. Bruno’s just a metaphor for everything going on in her life.  And I was trying to keep the soapboxing to a minimum but it’s gonna happen so get used to it.

The mice draw straws to decide who will keep Lucifer away so they can eat breakfast. Jaq is the “lucky” one, and the others salute his bravery like he’s about to die in one of the funniest mouse scenes in the film. He manages it, though, and there is much feasting. After a rather extended scene of Gus trying to carry a stack of chicken feed bigger than he is, the not-too-bright mouse bumbles right into Lucifer’s paw. The cat chases him around a bit and eventually traps him under a teacup.

Without noticing her friend’s peril, Cinderella picks up the breakfast trays to bring them upstairs. Lucifer frantically searches for the cup hiding his prey and makes the best face ever when he finds him. Gotta love that Ward Kimball. And can I also give Cinderella props for being able to balance one tray on each hand and one on her head while putting her shoe back on? That’s some crazy levels of grace. Even if someone should probably glue her shoes to her feet. Come on, girl.

Moving on. Cinderella bids Drizella good morning, and she replies “as if you cared” which is really sad if you’re like me and have a lot of feelings about characters raised by manipulative narcissists. The stepsisters are only slightly better off than Cinderella, and that one line shows a whole lot of emotional neglect. Anyway, Anastasia is next and she doesn’t waste any time with making me sad, just gives Cinderella a bunch of chores. Lady Tremaine is last, and even as a voice behind a door she is chilling.

Meanwhile, Lucifer is waiting outside the door for Gus to race out. Lo and behold, Anastasia screams and both stepsisters race out of their rooms in a frenzy. They accuse Cinderella of putting the mouse in her teacup, which is blatantly untrue. Without letting Cinderella get a word in edgewise, they race to tell their mother. And so begins one of many standout scenes in this standout movie.  I could wait until characters or artistry to gush about Lady Tremaine’s introduction, but it’s my blog and I’m doing it here. Everything about it is perfect. The way the light coming through the window looks like the bars of Cinderella’s prison. The way only Lady Tremaine’s eyes are visible from the cover of her bed. The icy sharpness of Eleanor Audley’s amazing voice. It’s an incredible piece of work.

Cinderella tries to defend herself, but Lady Tremaine is having none of it. She knows perfectly well Cinderella isn’t the “vicious practical jokes” type, but she has an excuse to cut the girl down and by god she’s going to take it. She uses her power over Cinderella to give her hours upon hours of work, and Cinderella’s body language throughout the scene is heartbreaking. Lucifer’s smug faces (and his horror at the idea of a bath) give a touch of comic relief to the scene, but on the whole? It’s chilling, and it really hits home. The review that praised this movie for having nothing scary in it clearly wasn’t paying attention here.

Disney have always been masters at following a sad or scary scene with a comic one. Cinderella is no exception, so we cut to the King and his right hand man the Duke. The King is in a rage because he really, really, really wants grandkids, and apparently his baby fever outweighs any excitement at his son returning from who knows where. And can I just say I hate when parents put their desire for grandkids above what their kids want? This movie is just chock-full of horrible parents. The long-suffering Duke tries to talk sense into him, but the King is a much bigger personality and also the King. He decides that the best possible solution to his problems is to parade his son in front of every woman in the kingdom like a piece of meat. Oh, and he wants this ball to happen that evening. Because screw what these ladies might be doing, he’s the king and by God his son is going to get somebody pregnant.

With the mood sufficiently lightened, we return to the château. Drizella cannot sing and Anastasia cannot flute but that doesn’t stop Lady Tremaine from attempting to teach them. To drown out the racket that makes even the cat cringe, Cinderella sings along while scrubbing the floors. It’s a gorgeous, if rather pointlessly showy, bit of animation cut short by Lucifer being terrible again. He stomps dirty paw prints all over Cinderella’s nice clean floor, causing sweet gentle Cinderella to lose her temper. Seriously, anyone who thinks she’s bland needs to see the part where she’s about to wallop the cat with her broom. It’s magical. Lucifer is spared by a knock at the door and a messenger with an urgent letter from the king. Cinderella decides this is more important than the fruitless ‘music lesson’ (another lovely bit of snark from our leading lady).

Lady Tremaine lets her unflappable poise flap for just a second when Cinderella knocks.  Cinderella stands up for herself, stopping Lady Tremaine scolding her to tell her that the letter is from the palace.  Anastasia and Drizella trip over themselves, squabbling to read the letter first, but Lady Tremaine glides over and scoops it up.  A voice like that could read the phone book, so she gets dibs on the letter.  Nothing in it is new to the audience after the previous scene but the stepsisters are stoked to hear that every eligible maiden is invited to a ball in honor of the prince.  And Cinderella is too!  The stepsisters jeer, but she sticks to her guns again, reminding them that technically this is her house and she’s most definitely an eligible maiden.  Lady Tremaine seems to acquiesce, and says she can go… if she gets that laundry list of chores done and finds an appropriate dress.

Cinderella heads upstairs to drag one of her mother’s old dresses out of storage. The mice wrinkle their nose at the pink ruffled monstrosity, but Cinderella is sure she can make it work if given a chance. Buuut the stepsisters don’t give her a chance. They just start screaming at her to do more stuff, so with a sigh, she goes off to do more stuff. The mice see right through Lady Tremaine’s plan and lament the fact that Cinderella will never get the dress done in time. So they decide to help her out!

Jaq and Gus run downstairs to help find some accessories. They hit the jackpot when they find Anastasia and Drizella throwing fits because they have so many old “rags” that they’re dramatically disgusted by. There’s another really long cat and mouse scene but they manage to get away from Lucifer with a sash and a string of beads in hand. They return to the other mice who are working quickly and efficiently to make Cinderella’s mother’s dress into a… pink ruffled monstrosity. Look, y’all, I’m wearing black lipstick in my profile pic, pink ruffles are not my style.

The clock strikes eight, the carriage pulls up, and poor Cinderella is still wearing her rags. Lady Tremaine fakes sympathy because Cinderella apparently failed to finish everything, but the stepsisters are incredibly smug about it. Cinderella returns to the attic and tries to make herself feel better. But then the birds open her wardrobe. And her dress is done! She’s completely stunned by the kindness of her animal friends, but of course she’s gracious and ecstatic that she gets to have her night of fun!

The stepfamily and their awesome bustles head downstairs.  At the last possible second, Cinderella races downstairs in that ungodly mess of a gown, gushing about how lovely it is.  You do you, honey.  The stepsisters are aghast, either at how she somehow managed to pull something together that quickly or at how ugly this dress is.  One of the two.  Lady Tremaine, however, is calm, cold, and collected, getting all up into Cinderella’s grill to highlight the beads and sash the mice borrowed from the stepsisters.  And they lose their minds.  They scream accusations of theft at her and not only snatch back the pieces that they threw away, but they rip the whole dress apart!  That was her mother’s dress!

Lady Tremaine calls off the dogs and gives her the nastiest good luck ever. And after all the things Cinderella has been through, all the years of keeping her chin up?  This was the last straw.  I can’t blame her.  I mean, that was her mother’s dress!  And the way the scene is staged is horrifying, too.  The background goes from black to blood red, and the music is going crazy under the sound of the stepsisters’ unintelligible screaming.  It’s one of the most intense scenes in the entire movie.  Audley’s delivery of that “good night” sells it.

Cinderella races out of the in tears. This is her rock bottom. Her night out was in her grasp and torn away in the cruelest way possible. She flings herself on a bench sobbing that there’s nothing left to believe in. Even the mice don’t know what to say to comfort her. And when I put it like that it sounds really melodramatic, but the animation and Ilene Woods’ voice acting really sells it. I might have gotten choked up. You can’t prove anything.

But wait! Something is sparkling behind her. The sparkles coalesce into the form of a kindly old woman, who strokes Cinderella’s hair as she sobs into her lap. Cinderella isn’t surprised at all when she introduces herself as her Fairy Godmother which… what? The movie hasn’t established fairies or magic anywhere, but the way they present it is so… nonchalant. It’s weird. Also, she’s apparently the embodiment of Cinderella’s faith coming to her aid when she needs it most. Now, maybe I’m just cynical, but didn’t she need help like… way earlier?

Anyway. Better late than never, I guess. The Fairy Godmother decides that Cinderella is going to the ball, and sets to work making it happen. She finds her wand and the magic starts happening! A pumpkin bounces along and turns into a beautiful, iconic carriage. It’s incredible animation and not even the best part of this scene. She continues on to turn the mice into horses, to Major the actual horse’s dismay, but he gets to be the coachman so it’s fine. The Fairy Godmother congratulates herself on a job well done. Cinderella steps in to remind her that her dress is still in tatters, and… you know what? I’m going to let the animation speak for itself.

Her rags transform into a beautiful silver ballgown.  Cinderella is wonderful and gracious and over the moon with happiness and her dress is silver.  The Fairy Godmother warns that the magic only lasts until midnight.  It doesn’t even occur to Cinderella to ask for more because she’s just that great a person.  Seriously, her grace in this scene is amazing.  The Fairy Godmother looks at the time and realizes she’s wasting moonlight, so Cinderella gathers her shiny silver skirts and hops into the carriage.  And it’s off to the ball!

She walks in wearing her silver dress, visibly overwhelmed by the grandeur of the palace. She catches the eyes of all the guards, and she makes her way into the ballroom. Now we actually meet the prince! And did I mention the character animation in this movie is awesome? He may not have a lot of lines, but his yawns and eye rolls when the women of the kingdom blatantly flirt tell a story all their own. Even the king gives up when he sees Anastasia and Drizella. The Duke tries to get in an “I told you so”, saying things like love at first sight don’t really exist outside a fairy tale. It’s a very funny little wink to the audience that gets overlooked by people who criticize this movie for being a fairy tale. But little does the Duke notice everything he’s saying is happening right in front of him!

Satisfied, the King goes to bed after threatening to decapitate his best friend if anything goes wrong. As you do. The Prince bows to Cinderella, and the two dance the night away. He takes her out into the garden and the two immediately fall in love. This is one scene I can kind of understand being critiqued? It does happen very quickly. But at the same time it is done as a montage, so though it takes three minutes of audience time for them to fall in love, in character time it takes about three hours. And I think that’s a pretty reasonable amount of time to click with someone. The two are about to kiss when suddenly the clock strikes midnight! Cinderella bolts, stammering that she hasn’t met the Prince yet, making it an irrefutable fact that she was not looking for a prince to save her. She didn’t even know it was him. I have no excuse for him not even asking her name, though. Come on, dude. What were you talking about that whole time?

As Cinderella flees, the Duke sends the whole royal guard to stop this random girl leaving a party. The King needs to chill, that’s all I’m saying. Cinderella drops her slipper on the stairs as she runs, ignoring the Duke’s pleas for her to wait. Also the guards are totally recycled animation of the Headless Horseman, change my mind. At the last possible second, Cinderella dives into the bushes dressed in her pink rags. The riders run over her pumpkin, shattering it, and her animal friends gather around, restored to her own forms. But there’s one piece of magic left behind: the remaining glass slipper. Cinderella thanks the Fairy Godmother from on high for letting her have this one wonderful night. She’s not sad because it’s over, she’s happy because it happened. And that’s some incredible strength right there.

Not everyone is happy. The Duke paces outside the King’s bedchamber, rehearsing how he’s going to tell him the Prince’s bride ran away and the idiot didn’t even ask her name. After all, he decided beheading his best friend was a reasonable response to his baby fever. The King wakes up and won’t even let the Duke get a word in edgewise because he’s so excited his kid is going to procreate. He’s on the point of knighting the Duke, and the Duke chooses the moment when the King has a sword next to his head to break the news. And the King’s mood flips on a dime. He swings the sword wildly, screaming accusations of treason and sabotage to the guy who did his best to get her back. And all this while the two bounce around on the King’s giant trampoline of a bed which is a thing I totally want. The Duke reveals that the only hint they have of the girl’s identity is her shoe, and the Prince is determined to use it to find her. The King has another crazy mood swing back to happy, and the Duke actually points out that trying the shoe on every woman in the kingdom to find the Prince’s bride is a really stupid idea. The King’s brilliant response? “That’s his problem!”  I do so love that this movie points out the fairy tale’s plot holes.

The next morning, we’re back at the château. The Stepmother gets off her butt and wakes everyone up in a tizzy. She’s decided the King’s proclamation is her daughters’ last chance to marry the Prince. Unfortunately for Lady Tremaine, Cinderella was in the room when she announced that, finally cluing her in to the fact that she fell in love with the Prince. Unfortunately for Cinderella, her lovedrunk haze clues in Lady Tremaine to the fact that she fell in love with the Prince. Cinderella dances vaguely off to get dressed for the Prince, singing the song they danced to.  And Lady Tremaine makes this face.

In a shot blatantly ripped off from 1931’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Cinderella sees Lady Tremaine come up behind her as she’s getting ready. To her horror, Lady Tremaine locks her in the attic so she can’t meet her destiny downstairs. She pleads and cries to be let out, and it’s really hard to watch, but Lady Tremaine is a cold, cold… witch. But the mice aren’t about to sit back and let this happen to their best friend!  Jaq and Gus race downstairs to get the key from Lady Tremaine’s pocket. But doing that without being seen is easier said than done. The Duke is here, exhausted from being out all night and clearly over this nonsense. He doesn’t even bother hiding a shudder when Anastasia and Drizella introduce themselves. They both lie and say it’s their slipper and squabble over who’s slipper it really is. Lady Tremaine shuts them up with a glare and goes back to pretending to be a good hostess.

As she offers the Duke tea, the mice develop X-Ray vision and see the key in her pocket. She fails to notice the heavy weight leaving her side, in favor of watching Anastasia try on the slipper. She screeches that her feet are just swollen from dancing all night and kicks the footman in the face. When it’s Drizella’s turn, she screams insults at the footman and almost breaks the slipper. While they’re distracted, Jaq and Gus haul the key out and start the trek up like a billion stairs. And it’s really stressful! Only a team of master storytellers could make ascending a staircase a really intense climax but it totally works. And to make it worse, who should be waiting for them at the top but Lucifer?  He traps Gus (and the key) under a cup one more time to prevent him getting the key to her.  The mice are completely and utterly done with this cat’s nonsense and attempt to defeat him with knives and fire.  Cinderella urges her bird friends to get Bruno, which they do, and the dog knocks Lucifer out a nine million story window.

Downstairs, the Duke is only too eager to take his leave after the appalling behavior of the stepsisters. Just in time, Cinderella races down the stairs asking for her chance. The stepmother and stepsisters protest that she’s just a scullery maid, but the King’s orders and the threat of execution outweigh some random old lady. Also, the look on his face suggests he recognizes strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes, unlike some people. Cinderella sits down in the chair and holds out her foot, but Lady Tremaine trips the footman, breaking the slipper! The Duke is horrified, knowing he’s done for.  But wait… Cinderella has the other slipper! And that’s enough for everyone.  The shoe fits, Lady Tremaine is horrified, wedding bells chime, and it’s happily ever afters all around.

It’s a simple story that everyone knows, but the fun is in seeing what Disney does with it.  They added emotional highs and lows that almost make you forget that everything works out in the end.  Notably, Disney took the Grimm version of the story, where Cinderella’s animal friends just give her the ballgown, twisted it into the traumatic scene where the stepsisters tear it apart, and segued into Charles Perrault version where the Fairy Godmother transforms her.  The result is a tense, charming, beautiful story that holds up magnificently even now.

CHARACTERS

Cinderella is a princess I have a lot to say about.  She gets a lot, and I mean a lot of unfair criticism from people who clearly haven’t seen the film but want to call themselves feminists, even more so than Snow White did.  While researching for this review, I found entirely too many articles accusing her of being passive, a gold-digger, and a bad role model for young girls.  Even critics of the time accused her of having no personality.  To which I respond: what?!

First off, the girl is an abuse victim.  Getting out of that kind of situation is difficult now, but this movie takes place in late Victorian times judging by the clothes.  She had no money, no family, and no options other than dying or worse out on the streets.  Of course she’s not just going to leave.  Staying positive and hoping for something better is the most rebellion she can manage without making her life a hundred times worse.  And like I said in the Snow White review, kindness and cheerfulness in the face of adversity is an incredible amount of strength.

Secondly, in no way does the Prince save her.  She never said she dreamed of marrying a prince. She dreamed of something better, which is never really defined.  The only reason she wanted to go to the ball was so she could have a fun night out for once in her miserable life.  I don’t think that’s too much to ask.  Meeting her dream guy just kind of happened, and she didn’t know who he was until after the fact.  Oh, and he doesn’t even appear between them dancing and their wedding, let alone have any part in her rescue.  She saves herself by earning help from the mice and birds and instructing them on how to defeat Lucifer.  And like I said, marrying up was kind of her only option of how to escape her abuse anyway.

Finally, she’s so not dull or weak.  In fact, I think she’s got the most personality of Walt’s original three princesses.  In watching the movie, I saw a strong-willed, resilient girl who anyone can and should look up to.  She displays human emotions, a little sass, and even a little bit of a temper.  Seriously, watch her hold her head high when Lady Tremaine is scolding her in her bedroom, or get ready to throw down against Lucifer.  Then call her submissive.  I dare you.  She’s a very fun character to watch and to root for.  Listening to people trash talk her under the guise of progressiveness really gets my goat.  I mean, I’m defensive of all the princesses, but Cinderella gets it particularly bad.  There’s more than one way to be strong, people.

One last thing before I move on that’s pretty much unrelated.  Cinderella is voiced to dreamy, dulcet perfection by Ilene Woods, who beat out 309 girls for the role without even realizing she was auditioning.  She just happened to be friends with the songwriters, who asked her to help them out with some demo tracks.  Walt heard them and decided on the spot that she was Cinderella’s voice.  Not bad for an obscure radio singer!

Prince Charming doesn’t get a whole lot to do, and it’s both a shame and kind of a good thing.  Disney was blatantly trying to make her less passive and avoid the “waiting for a man” to save her thing, and what they ended up with was another nothing love interest and those exact same criticisms.  Like Snow White’s Prince, he was originally going to have a lot more screen time and a lot more personality.  For example, a scene was storyboarded where he was chasing a deer through the forest only for us to find out that they were friends playing games.  The scene was later reworked for the 2015 version, but I’d like to see it here.  He does get a little more personality than his predecessor, through eye rolls and yawns, but that’s not saying much.

Despite having only about five spoken lines, Prince Charming has separate voices for speaking and singing.  This is because Mike Douglas, who sang for him, had such a thick Chicago accent that casting directors were worried no one would be able to take him seriously.  William Phipps ended up recording what little dialogue was left for the Prince.  I don’t know why they didn’t just keep looking for someone who could do both but hey, I’m not a casting director.

The Fairy Godmother is an absolute delight.  It’s no easy feat to steal an entire movie while only appearing in one scene.  I don’t even care that she’s a textbook deus ex machina. She’s just too much fun.  She’s a little ditzy and completely absent-minded, yet her grandmotherly presence provides some wonderful relief from everything Cinderella’s been put through.  This marks the second appearance of Verna Felton in a Disney film and an excellent showcase of her remarkable range.  You would never think of the Fairy Godmother as having anything in common with the nasty elephant Matriarch, or her role in the next film, but there we are.

The King is… something.  He’s hot-headed and emotional, and while he’s portrayed as a good guy, I can’t get into his control freak tendencies.  I have absolutely no sympathy for this guy at all.  Like, dude, it’s your son’s life.  If he doesn’t want to get married, that’s not really your business.  Maybe chill a little bit.  Cinderella may have escaped her stepmother, but goooood luck with that father in law.

The Grand Duke is, again, not paid enough for this nonsense.  He’s very stuffy and likes nothing more than order, which is bad news when doing the bidding of someone with such insane mood swings and fantastical whims.  He’s the most stereotypically British person I’ve ever seen in a movie that takes place in France.  Also he probably needs a hug and a vacation.  Maybe a kitten.  Definitely a drink.  Poor guy.

Jaq and Gus are the ringleaders of Cinderella’s band of animal buddies.  Jaq is clearly the smart one, coming up with plans to outwit Lucifer and get the mice to live another da.  Gus is dim-witted but loveable, always out to either fill his stomach or fight something and honestly same.  They’re very brave and love Cinderella very much.  It’s nothing to them to repay her boundless kindness when she needs it most.  A lot of people find their squeaky voices (provided by Jimmy Macdonald, the voice of Mickey Mouse) grating, but I think they’re cute.  Especially Gus.  Gus is adorable.

Another prevalent criticism I noticed in the articles I read was that the mice took up too much of the run time.  I agree that some of the scenes did run a little long, particularly the first one where they’re trying to get breakfast.  I don’t, however, agree that they’re pointless. First off, you can tell the story of Cinderella in about five minutes so there had to be padding somewhere.  Secondly, the mice trying desperately to escape the clutches of Lucifer the cat serves as a really fun parallel to Cinderella’s own plight.  We’re not yet in the era of creating pointless sidekicks to sell Happy Meal toys, folks.  These guys do serve the story.  And Gus is adorable.  Did I mention that yet?

Lucifer is the first of our trio of bad guys.  I have a love-hate relationship with this cat.  On the plus side, he showcases some of Ward Kimball’s best cartoony animation.  In fact, Kimball based his design off his own cat.  His facial expressions and exaggerated mannerisms provide the film’s best comedy, especially the face from the beginning of the Story page.  On the negative side, he causes so much trouble for Cinderella just for the sake of it that it gets extremely frustrating for the viewer.  This culminates in him trapping Gus and the key towards the end to prevent Cinderella from getting out of the tower.  From a storytelling perspective, it’s excellent, building the tension and making the scene that much more climactic.  But oh, boy is it satisfying when he falls out that window.

Anastasia and Drizella are Cinderella’s nasty stepsisters, and they serve as another composite character.  Both are mean, selfish, and dim-witted, though Drizella (the green one) is more vicious and Anastasia (the pink one) isn’t quite as smart.  As a villains fan, I really enjoy watching their antics.  Anastasia has two of my favorite lines in the movie (“YA GRACE!” and “I’m so eligible!”) and they are an absolute riot to meet in the parks.

This is going to sound super weird, but I kind of feel bad for them, actually.  They’re clearly a product of their upbringing, and honestly?  I think they’re victims as much as Cinderella.  Their mother clearly doesn’t care about them as people, just as pawns to climb the social ladder.  I feel like they’re only as spoiled as they are so Lady Tremaine could get them to shut up, and that’s really no way to grow up.

Lady Tremaine is amazing and terrible and wonderful and I love her.  She’s so cold, so nasty, and for absolutely no reason other than that she can be.  And it totally works.  Everything she does is either to exert her power over her stepdaughter or raise her own social status.  Like Frollo or Mother Gothel, she’s scary because she’s real.  None of us knows a crazy sorcerer like Maleficent or Jafar, but we could run into someone like Lady Tremaine on the street.  Some people are even unlucky enough to grow up with a narcissistic abuser like her.  It’s chilling.

Another thing that makes Lady Tremaine so perfect as a villain is her excellent voice.  Eleanor Audley has such a smooth, icy sound to her that Disney had her return to voice two more scary characters.  She’s my favorite voice actor in the entire Disney canon, and her work here is brilliant.

ARTISTRY

Because so much was riding on Cinderella, the animators weren’t able to be as experimental or as detailed as they were in Snow White or Bambi. You cannot tell at all. This movie is exquisite. Everything, even the dilapidated château, has a sense of grandeur and majesty to it. Mary Blair’s stamp is all over this movie, and it works very well. They were aiming to make the whole movie look like illustrations from a storybook, and they definitely succeeded.

MUSIC

To generate popular appeal and ensure Cinderella was a hit, Walt turned to the legendary Tin Pan Alley to find his songwriters. There he found Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman, who more than lived up to the task. All three of Cinderella’s Oscar nominations were related to the music, though none of them won because the Academy is dumb. Cinderella was also the first ever movie soundtrack copyrighted and marketed specifically by the studio. Up until this point, movie songs weren’t considered lucrative enough to bother with, and soundtracks were sold off to outside publishers. But for Cinderella, they created the Walt Disney Music Company to ensure that they squeezed every penny they could out of the film that would make or break them. It still exists today as Walt Disney Records.

Oliver Wallace and Paul J Smith also pulled off some brilliant work with the score. The incidental music is a character in its own right, and it’s easy to listen to the soundtrack alone and follow the story without a word of dialogue. That, to me, is the mark of a great soundtrack. And it wasn’t an accident. Normally, the music was done first and the animation was done around it. For Cinderella, though, this process was reversed. The music was written specifically to support the existing animation. It works extremely well.

Cinderella is our opening credits song and the generic Disney chorus is back. They’re not quite as boring as usual, though, thanks largely to some lovely solo vocals by soprano Marni Nixon. Still, it’s probably the worst song in the movie, but even the worst song in this movie is miles better than the best song in some other ones. Looking at you, Fun and Fancy Free.

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes is Cinderella’s I Want song, decades before those types of songs became a Disney staple. She never says what she’s dreaming of, but the narration before this scene would suggest it’s just happiness. And honestly? That’s fair. For my part, I think it’s a beautiful and sweet song that deserves to stand with When You Wish Upon a Star as a Disney anthem. Not for nothing is this the most popular song in the film nowadays.

This song does have a touch of tragedy to it. Towards the end of her life, Ilene Woods suffered from Alzheimer’s. She would often get anxious and confused, and could no longer remember voicing Cinderella. When her nurses played this song, though, it’s beauty calmed her down all the way until her death in 2010. It’s that powerful.

Sing Sweet Nightingale starts out as an assault on my eardrums as sung by Drizella. But Cinderella turns it into a pretty little showpiece. It’s a short, repetitive song but it boasts some of the best animation in the whole film. And the harmonies here are incredible. This was one of the first documented uses of a technique called overdubbing where Woods recorded multiple tracks singing harmonies with herself. The result is breathtaking, and I think they earned a chance to blatantly show off.

The Work Song gets a bad rap for so heavily using the squeaky mouse voices, but I actually really enjoy it. It’s very heartwarming to see “Cinderelly’s” friends band together to repay her kindness and help her out. I don’t even have a problem with the super 50’s “leave the sewing to the women” line. After all, we see male mice help with the sewing immediately afterwards. Maybe it’s just Jaq she’s worried about.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo is mostly made up of nonsense words, but it still manages to be the second most popular song in the movie. It was even nominated for Best Original Song over A Dream is a Wish. For some reason. It’s a lot of fun and serves a similar purpose to Hakuna Matata from The Lion King: a pick-me-up after a very sad sequence. Also you guys should totally listen to Perry Como’s version. It’s delightful.

So This is Love is our first love due, which plays over the montage where Cinderella and the Prince fall in love. It’s a fine song, though it is the only one that really feels dated. I do wish the sequence wasn’t done as a montage, though. Actually, this song replaced a cut song called Dancing on a Cloud, where they… danced on a cloud. But for the second time, Walt’s dreams of having his royal couple waltz on condensed water vapor didn’t come to be. It’s coming, though. We just have to be patient.

THEME PARK INFLUENCE

Cinderella Castle towers over Magic Kingdom in Florida and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, serving as the single most recognizable Disney parks symbol period. In Florida, it houses Cinderella’s Royal Table, a tiny restaurant where your little princess can dine with fellow royalty… if you make a reservation about thirty years in advance and take out a second mortgage. The lower level boasts a lovely walkthrough of some mosaics that tell the story, and the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, where little girls can get their own special princess makeover. In Tokyo, it houses another walkthrough exhibit called Cinderella’s Fairy Tale Hall, where mixed media art pieces again tell the story.

Florida also has Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel, which is pretty much what it says on the tin, and a very pretty fountain of Cinderella lined with water fountains at child height so that grown-ups have to kneel to pay their respects to the princess. There’s also the 1900 Park Faire character dinner at the Grand Floridian Resort, where Cinderella and Prince Charming invite guests to join them for a royal dinner… which then gets gate crashed by the stepfamily. Finally, lucky brides whose husbands and families love them very much can ride to the altar at the Grand Floridian in Cinderella’s own carriage.

At all six parks, you can usually find Cinderella among any given gathering of princesses. Ditto on Lady Tremaine with the villains. Almost the entire cast is on hand to do meet and greets: Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, Drizella, Anastasia, The Fairy Godmother, and the mice regularly meet guests around all of the parks. And of course, there are some smaller appearances. Disneyland California and Hong Kong Disneyland feature Cinderella and her Prince dancing in the French section of their respective It’s a Small World attractions. The Château also appears in California’s Storybook Canal Boats and Hong Kong’s Fairytale Forest.

But let’s be real. It’s all about the castle.

FINAL THOUGHTS

We as animation fans owe a lot to Cinderella. If this movie hadn’t done well, there would be no Disney today. Fortunately, this movie still makes a killing in DVD sales, music downloads, dolls, costumes… the list goes on. Somewhere down the line, someone made the unfortunate decision to turn Cinderella’s beautiful silver dress into a mass of blue taffeta and dye her strawberry blonde hair highlighter yellow. It got to the point of remastering the movie to include the color changes and ruining the integrity of the artists’ work, so that’s annoying. But she’s still one of the top sellers and the face of the ever-popular Disney Princess line.

A lot of people think of this as a bad thing. Me? Not so much. My younger sister found a lot of strength from looking up to Cinderella as a kid, and it’s still her one of her favorites as an adult. It’s a beautifully animated film that takes a story we all know and adds some excellent twists. Plus, we’ve got our first fleshed out, multifaceted female lead (sorry Snow, I love you and I will defend you but everything about that story is way simplistic). I do think it suffers a little bit from over-reliance on the mice, but even that is enjoyable to watch.

Favorite scene: The music lesson, Sing Sweet Nightingale, and the King’s invitation. The former and latter boast some great comedy (“above all… self control. *keysmash* YES?!”), and the middle has what I think is the best animation in the film.  And since they’re one after another, it counts as one scene.  Because I said so.

Final rating: 8/10. Classic, classic, classic.

Next time, we return to Disneytoon Studios to spend a little more time with old Cindy.  This movie was such a welcome relief, but now it’s time to suffer again.