Cinderella
Cinderella
Director: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
Cast: Ilene Woods, James MacDonald, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Rhoda Williams, Lucille Bliss, Luis Van Rooten, Mike Douglas, Betty Lou Gerson
Inspired by Perrault’s version of Cinderella, this new version of the classic tale will chronicle the magical journey of Ella, a young girl who is forced to become a servant to her vain and selfish stepmother and stepsisters after the tragic demise of her father. With the help of her kind-hearted fairy Godmother, and her animal friends, Cinderella must find the courage to win the heart of the handsome prince and make her dreams come true.
Kindness is a powerful theme in this film, and nowhere is kindness shown more, than in the character of Cinderella, herself, and how her kindness is repaid as the story unfolds.
Although Cinderella’s idyllic childhood is shattered by her father’s untimely death and her cruel step-family’s forcing Cinderella to become a servant in her own home, Cinderella remains ever gentle and kind, in spite of all the humiliation and abuse she endures, because with each dawn, she finds new hope that her dreams would come true.
In both versions of Disney's Cinderella, the beautiful dress, the horses, the magic carriage, were all created from something else when the Fairy Godmother is doing her magic…but we very clearly see that the iconic glass slippers were created purely by magic. The slippers did not come from something else. Perhaps Fairy Godmother was telling the truth, when she tells Cinderella that the magic would only last until midnight, and then, on the stroke of twelve it would all be gone, but then, when the slipper is left behind at the ball, and found by the prince, the Fairy Godmother saw the opportunity to give Cinderella her happy ending. She knew that the prince had one slipper and Cinderella held the other one. It always seemed just a little bit odd to me that Cinderella was the only woman in the whole kingdom who could fulfill the prince’s decree...and there were women who tried on the shoe before she did. In both versions, Cinderella is the last one to try on the slipper, and of course, the slipper fits. But notice, the prince said that he would only marry the woman who fit the glass slipper and the Grand Duke protested, saying the slipper could fit any number of girls...yet the slipper only fit Cinderella. Why? Because the Godmother willed it so. There was a reason the glass slippers were created purely by magic....so they could only fit Cinderella, and thus, prove that Cinderella was the woman the prince danced with at the ball. Cinderella’s dream came true the moment that she was able to show the Grand Duke that she had the other slipper. She proved that she was the mystery lady who danced with the prince at the ball and she and the prince married and lived happily ever after.
The bond Cinderella (Ilene Woods) shares with the mice, and particularly with Jaq and Gus (both voiced by James McDonald), illustrates Cinderella’s kindness. The mice take care of Cinderella by helping her get dressed in the morning and cleaning her bedchamber for her. They fashion a beautiful gown for Cinderella while she works to fulfill the endless barrage of chores for her family so Cinderella can attend the ball. The mice also get the key and rescue Cinderella from her room after Cinderella’s jealous stepmother (Eleanor Audley) imprisons her there so that Cinderella can show the Grand Duke that she is the maiden that the prince is searching for. In return, Cinderella protects the mice from mousetraps and from Lucifer, the cat. She also cares for them like a mother would; giving them each a name, making sure they are well-fed and cared for, and making them clothes.
One way Cinderella’s kindness is shown is to her beloved mice friends comes when Jaq tells her that there is a new mouse in the house, and he is trapped in a cage downstairs. When Cinderella learns that there is a new mouse that is caught in a trap, she immediately gathers tiny clothes and goes to rescue the poor creature from his grim fate. She sends Jaq into the cage first to calm the frightened new mouse down and she gives the mouse both clothes (which she made herself) and a new name – Octavius – which she shortens to just “Gus.” When the mice arrive to get their breakfast, the mice are able to collect theirs, but the chickens are bullying poor Gus so that he could not get any of the food for himself. and Cinderella protects Gus from the chickens’ attack and offers him a handful of food, so he would not go hungry. She also saves Gus when Lucifer catches him.
The mice return Cinderella’s kindness to them in two ways. When her stepmother tells Cinderella that she may go to the ball, she stipulated that Cinderella could only attend if she finished all the chores and found a suitable gown to wear to the ball. While Cinderella shows the mice a dress that had belonged to her mother, and even found a way to redesign the gown, the mice realize that Cinderella won’t be able to attend the ball because her stepfamily will keep her so busy with the housework that she wouldn’t have time to finish remaking her mother’s dress. Determined to help Cinderella make her dream come true, the mice secretly go about remaking the dress themselves to surprise her, with Gus and Jack bravely sneaking into the sisters’ bedroom to find material to improve the dress.
When the mice see Cinderella’s stepmother lock her away in her attic bedroom, to hide her from the Grand Duke, so she won’t reveal that she is the mysterious girl the prince is searching for, the mice, Jaq and Gus, bravely venture downstairs to retrieve the key to Cinderella’s room and once they have it, they work together to get the key up the endless flight of stairs to Cinderella’s room. When Lucifer attacks them, the other mice, and even Bruno the dog, band together to fight Lucifer off, so Gus can get the key to Cinderella before it is too late. The mice free Cinderella just in time, and when the Stepmother makes one final desperate move to stop Cinderella, by tripping the servant and breaking the glass slipper, Cinderella reveals that she has the other slipper, proving that she is, indeed, the Prince’s true love.
The relationship that Cinderella has with her stepmother and stepsisters is painted in a much more negative light. Following the death of her father, Cinderella goes from being a beloved daughter to being little more than a servant in her own home. Her stepmother and stepsisters acknowledge her (albeit grudgingly) as family when they are discussing the invitation to the ball, but their malicious treatment of her makes it painfully clear what their true feelings are. When her family sees Cinderella’s beautiful ball gown, the stepsisters tear it apart in a fit of jealous rage. When her stepmother realizes that Cinderella is the maiden who captured the prince’s heart at the ball, she locks Cinderella in the attic to ensure that her own daughters are the only girls to try on the glass slipper.
Dreams are a powerful theme in this film, and nowhere are dreams illustrated more beautifully than in the character of Cinderella herself, and how her dream entwines her with the handsome and noble prince.
When the birds wake Cinderella from her dreams, she sings them a beautiful song, telling them that if you tell a wish, it won’t come true, and after all, a dream is a wish that your heart makes…and Cinderella’s dream is to be free of her shackled life of servitude and live happily ever after. When the mice are remaking Cinderella’s dress for the ball, they sing this same song, thus illustrating the first step in Cinderella’s dream coming true. When Cinderella is weeping in the garden after her family destroys her mother’s dress, this song returns as a haunting melody, as the Fairy Godmother comes to comfort Cinderella and make her wish come true. In this moment, Cinderella and Prince Charming finally find their dream when she dances with the prince at the ball. The song appears one last time, as Cinderella and her Prince are happily married. In this moment, the song is sung with joy, rather than melancholy, as Cinderella’s dream finally comes true.
Cinderella is one of those Disney films steeped in charming sentimental whimsy. The animation is beautiful, and the songs are classic, but the relationship between the two characters has the essence of pure, romantic fantasy and lacks the emotional depth created in other Disney love stories. Still, I would highly recommend this film to anyone who loves Disney animation at its best.
© 2024 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Cinderella
Director: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
Cast: Ilene Woods, James MacDonald, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Rhoda Williams, Lucille Bliss, Luis Van Rooten, Mike Douglas, Betty Lou Gerson
Inspired by Perrault’s version of Cinderella, this new version of the classic tale will chronicle the magical journey of Ella, a young girl who is forced to become a servant to her vain and selfish stepmother and stepsisters after the tragic demise of her father. With the help of her kind-hearted fairy Godmother, and her animal friends, Cinderella must find the courage to win the heart of the handsome prince and make her dreams come true.
Kindness is a powerful theme in this film, and nowhere is kindness shown more, than in the character of Cinderella, herself, and how her kindness is repaid as the story unfolds.
Although Cinderella’s idyllic childhood is shattered by her father’s untimely death and her cruel step-family’s forcing Cinderella to become a servant in her own home, Cinderella remains ever gentle and kind, in spite of all the humiliation and abuse she endures, because with each dawn, she finds new hope that her dreams would come true.
In both versions of Disney's Cinderella, the beautiful dress, the horses, the magic carriage, were all created from something else when the Fairy Godmother is doing her magic…but we very clearly see that the iconic glass slippers were created purely by magic. The slippers did not come from something else. Perhaps Fairy Godmother was telling the truth, when she tells Cinderella that the magic would only last until midnight, and then, on the stroke of twelve it would all be gone, but then, when the slipper is left behind at the ball, and found by the prince, the Fairy Godmother saw the opportunity to give Cinderella her happy ending. She knew that the prince had one slipper and Cinderella held the other one. It always seemed just a little bit odd to me that Cinderella was the only woman in the whole kingdom who could fulfill the prince’s decree...and there were women who tried on the shoe before she did. In both versions, Cinderella is the last one to try on the slipper, and of course, the slipper fits. But notice, the prince said that he would only marry the woman who fit the glass slipper and the Grand Duke protested, saying the slipper could fit any number of girls...yet the slipper only fit Cinderella. Why? Because the Godmother willed it so. There was a reason the glass slippers were created purely by magic....so they could only fit Cinderella, and thus, prove that Cinderella was the woman the prince danced with at the ball. Cinderella’s dream came true the moment that she was able to show the Grand Duke that she had the other slipper. She proved that she was the mystery lady who danced with the prince at the ball and she and the prince married and lived happily ever after.
The bond Cinderella (Ilene Woods) shares with the mice, and particularly with Jaq and Gus (both voiced by James McDonald), illustrates Cinderella’s kindness. The mice take care of Cinderella by helping her get dressed in the morning and cleaning her bedchamber for her. They fashion a beautiful gown for Cinderella while she works to fulfill the endless barrage of chores for her family so Cinderella can attend the ball. The mice also get the key and rescue Cinderella from her room after Cinderella’s jealous stepmother (Eleanor Audley) imprisons her there so that Cinderella can show the Grand Duke that she is the maiden that the prince is searching for. In return, Cinderella protects the mice from mousetraps and from Lucifer, the cat. She also cares for them like a mother would; giving them each a name, making sure they are well-fed and cared for, and making them clothes.
One way Cinderella’s kindness is shown is to her beloved mice friends comes when Jaq tells her that there is a new mouse in the house, and he is trapped in a cage downstairs. When Cinderella learns that there is a new mouse that is caught in a trap, she immediately gathers tiny clothes and goes to rescue the poor creature from his grim fate. She sends Jaq into the cage first to calm the frightened new mouse down and she gives the mouse both clothes (which she made herself) and a new name – Octavius – which she shortens to just “Gus.” When the mice arrive to get their breakfast, the mice are able to collect theirs, but the chickens are bullying poor Gus so that he could not get any of the food for himself. and Cinderella protects Gus from the chickens’ attack and offers him a handful of food, so he would not go hungry. She also saves Gus when Lucifer catches him.
The mice return Cinderella’s kindness to them in two ways. When her stepmother tells Cinderella that she may go to the ball, she stipulated that Cinderella could only attend if she finished all the chores and found a suitable gown to wear to the ball. While Cinderella shows the mice a dress that had belonged to her mother, and even found a way to redesign the gown, the mice realize that Cinderella won’t be able to attend the ball because her stepfamily will keep her so busy with the housework that she wouldn’t have time to finish remaking her mother’s dress. Determined to help Cinderella make her dream come true, the mice secretly go about remaking the dress themselves to surprise her, with Gus and Jack bravely sneaking into the sisters’ bedroom to find material to improve the dress.
When the mice see Cinderella’s stepmother lock her away in her attic bedroom, to hide her from the Grand Duke, so she won’t reveal that she is the mysterious girl the prince is searching for, the mice, Jaq and Gus, bravely venture downstairs to retrieve the key to Cinderella’s room and once they have it, they work together to get the key up the endless flight of stairs to Cinderella’s room. When Lucifer attacks them, the other mice, and even Bruno the dog, band together to fight Lucifer off, so Gus can get the key to Cinderella before it is too late. The mice free Cinderella just in time, and when the Stepmother makes one final desperate move to stop Cinderella, by tripping the servant and breaking the glass slipper, Cinderella reveals that she has the other slipper, proving that she is, indeed, the Prince’s true love.
The relationship that Cinderella has with her stepmother and stepsisters is painted in a much more negative light. Following the death of her father, Cinderella goes from being a beloved daughter to being little more than a servant in her own home. Her stepmother and stepsisters acknowledge her (albeit grudgingly) as family when they are discussing the invitation to the ball, but their malicious treatment of her makes it painfully clear what their true feelings are. When her family sees Cinderella’s beautiful ball gown, the stepsisters tear it apart in a fit of jealous rage. When her stepmother realizes that Cinderella is the maiden who captured the prince’s heart at the ball, she locks Cinderella in the attic to ensure that her own daughters are the only girls to try on the glass slipper.
Dreams are a powerful theme in this film, and nowhere are dreams illustrated more beautifully than in the character of Cinderella herself, and how her dream entwines her with the handsome and noble prince.
When the birds wake Cinderella from her dreams, she sings them a beautiful song, telling them that if you tell a wish, it won’t come true, and after all, a dream is a wish that your heart makes…and Cinderella’s dream is to be free of her shackled life of servitude and live happily ever after. When the mice are remaking Cinderella’s dress for the ball, they sing this same song, thus illustrating the first step in Cinderella’s dream coming true. When Cinderella is weeping in the garden after her family destroys her mother’s dress, this song returns as a haunting melody, as the Fairy Godmother comes to comfort Cinderella and make her wish come true. In this moment, Cinderella and Prince Charming finally find their dream when she dances with the prince at the ball. The song appears one last time, as Cinderella and her Prince are happily married. In this moment, the song is sung with joy, rather than melancholy, as Cinderella’s dream finally comes true.
Cinderella is one of those Disney films steeped in charming sentimental whimsy. The animation is beautiful, and the songs are classic, but the relationship between the two characters has the essence of pure, romantic fantasy and lacks the emotional depth created in other Disney love stories. Still, I would highly recommend this film to anyone who loves Disney animation at its best.
© 2024 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.