Review #36 | Cinderella

I think there are movies that just disagree with my body unlike other people. It just doesn't work well. Although I consider Cinderella to be a fine movie, it just never had an appeal to me.

Cinderella, 1950

Cinderella was Walt Disney's return to feature-length "story" cartoons after eight years of turning out episodic pastiches like Make Mine Music and Three Caballeros. A few understandable liberties are taken with the original Charles Perrault fairy tale (the wicked stepsisters, for example, do not have their eyes pecked out by crows!) Otherwise, the story remains the same: Cinderella, treated as a slavey by her selfish stepfamily, dreams of going to the Prince's ball. She gets her wish courtesy of her Fairy Godmother, who does the pumpkin-into-coach bit, then delivers the requisite "be home by midnight" warning. Thoroughly enchanting the prince at the ball, our heroine hightails it at midnight, leaving a glass slipper behind. The Disney people do a terrific job building up suspense before the inevitable final romantic clinch. Not as momentous an animated achievement as, say, Snow White or Fantasia, Cinderella is a nonetheless delightful feature, enhanced immeasurably by the introduction of several "funny animal" characters (a Disney tradition that has held fast into the 1990s, as witness Pocahontas), and a host of a sprightly songs, including "Cinderelly," "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes," and -- best of all -- "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo."

Cinderella is mildly fun in my opinion and the songs less memorable than other Disney movies. The animation is not as beautiful as Snow White, for the colors used in this movie were so simple. The characters are neither memorable nor entertaining.

It does have its own charms and the story has a significant message. I’ll have to add that the ‘King’ was actually quite funny. All in all, I bet it could have been made better.

Inside Outside Rating: 61%