Director:
Clyde Geronimi
Wilfred Jackson
Hamilton Luske
Cast:
Ilene Woods …. Cinderella (voice)
Eleanor Audley …. Lady Tremaine (voice)
Verna Felton …. Fairy Godmother (voice)
Rhoda Williams …. Drizella (voice)
James MacDonald …. Gus/Jacques/Bruno (voice)
Luis Van Rooten …. King/Grand Duke (voice)
Don Barclay …. Doorman (voice)
The Movie
Cinderella is the story that you have heard for years, and the timeless classic that you should own. It is also a movie that has influenced many movies and television shows for half a century, so I am very pleased to see that it is on DVD.
Cinderella is the story of a poor young girl who is treated horribly by her stepmother and stepsisters after the death of her father. She cooks and cleans and basically does anything that she is told to everything. Cinderella’s one saving grace is her dreams. She dreams that she will be rescued by her Prince Charming. Then all the girls are invited to a ball at the kingdom to honor the prince. Prince = Prince Charming of course. Cinderella is wonderfully excited, but soon enough her hopes are dashed by her stepsisters. They are off to the ball, and Cinderella isn’t coming. Amid her despair, Cinderella is rescued by her fairy godmother, as she raises Cinderella’s hopes and gets her all set up to go to the ball with a beautiful gown, a pair of magic glass slippers and a horse-drawn carriage. The only condition is that she must leave the ball by the stroke of midnight when the magic spell will come undone.
Cinderella arrives and soon enough the prince notices her. They dance and her fairytale prince is staring her in the eye. Staring hard enough that she loses track of the time. In a hurry to leave before the spell becomes undone, she leaves behind one of her glass slippers.
The Grand Duke visits the next day to find the owner of the glass slipper and the fun really begins. Cinderella has to get away from her evil stepmother and be with her prince. Her animal friends, my personal favorites in the movie, attempt to help her so she can live happily ever after.
As for whether or not her dreams come to fruition, I’ll leave that to you to find out. Certainly if you do not know this story you should pick this DVD up. If you already know the story, it is always worth it to have it around for a rainy day or for your children.
Score: 10/10
The Video
For a movie originally done a VERY long time ago, the transfer is better than you would expect. It is presented in the Original Full Screen Aspect at 1.33:1 and while it has a few runs, it is pretty darn good.
The Audio
5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix with a restored original theatrical soundtrack, making the audio as perfect as any movie that has come out recently.
The Extras
Cinderella Stories by ESPN Classic: It’s good to be Disney huh? Presenting the stories of, in order:
– The 1969 NY Jets and Superbowl 3: Hosted by Joe Namath, the hero of Superbowl 3, it tells the story of how the 19 point underdog Jets of the AFL were able to take out the Baltimore Colts of the NFL in a shocker. This is the historical Superbowl where Namath guaranteed a win, and came up aces.
– Pele: Once again hosted by Joe Namath, this is a comparison of a child born into poverty who’s name would soon resonate throughout the world when not only soccer came to mind, but classic figures in the world of sports.
– 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team: Fun fact – My high school teacher was thisclose to being the backup goalie for this team. Mr. Rossi, if you’re reading, you’re the man. This team was the biggest underdog, like, ever. Going against the Soviets, who were regarded as probably the best hockey team ever, the US was able to pull off the upset to advance to the gold medal game. The classic line uttered was “Do you believe in miracles!?” Yes we do, and so did they. Rest in peace Herb Brooks, you did well.
– Mia Hamm: The underdog to marry Nomah…sorry, had to. This is about how Hamm overcame the odds of becoming a star and transcending gender boundaries to do so. A role model and a historical soccer icon, Hamm was able to make everyone take notice of not only women’s soccer, but also women’s sports in general in a society that leans towards male athletes.
– NC State – 1983 NCAA Finals: Jimmy V’s Wolfpack taking on Houston, with Cylde Drexler and Hakeen Olajuwon. It wasn’t supposed to be a contest, as the Wolfpack squeaked through the entire tournament while being 25-1 odds at the beginning. Lorenzo Charles’ dunk at the buzzer to win it for NC State equals true magic. This was Jimmy V’s arrival, as we would come to know his life and death, with his impassioned speech at the ESPY’s years later while suffering from cancer. You can hear the speech here.
– Venus and Serena Williams: This chronicles the Williams sister’s rise from Compton to Wimbledon, with the motivation of their father, which I’m sure some people take issue with. Regardless, this is the story of two kids who were born into nothing and turned it into tennis gold. Truly a rare feat for two sisters to have the talent to overcome the odds and become superstars.
– Kirk Gibson – 1988 World Series: The home run from a man with two bad knees. You may here this call on a commercial now. It is indeed that home run. The Dodgers hero stepped to the plate against Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley and forever turned himself into a God in baseball lore.
– Jackie Joyner-Kersee: Growing up in East St. Louis, Illinois, Kersee had to overcome poverty to become queen of the heptathlon. An example of resolve and heart, overcoming severe asthma and a neighborhood in which many people don’t survive to become hands down one of the greatest female athletes of all time is something many people don’t have the character to do.
– Villanova University – 1985 NCAA Finals: The Wildcats of Villanova were the underdogs against Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas. Ewing was the force that no team could overcome, until Villanova took the court for this NCAA Championship game.
– Lance Armstrong: You know this story and bought the wristband. Lance Armstrong overcame cancer to win the Tour de France an incredible 7 straight times.
2 music videos are on the first disc as well, with “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” coming with a “making of” feature.
Disc 2:
– Deleted “scenes”, more storyboards than anything, are shown with an introduction and played with the music that was left on the cutting room floor along with the scenes.
– Music and more displays some songs that were left out of the movie, along with “Cinderella and Perry Como”. In that piece it is a look at what is basically a promo for Cinderella on Como’s show. The difference is that live actors are used to sing the parts and Ilene Woods is there to do Cinderella’s voice. Very cool stuff that you wouldn’t see on television today.
Additionally, there is the original demo for the Cinderella theme song and radio spots that were done for Cinderella. These are very interesting pieces which are valuable tools to take the viewer of the DVD back to the time period in which this work was done.
– Games and Activities has “House of Royalty”, which is a set of features with the little white girl that dances crazy in the Missy Elliot videos. She teaches you, with help, how to Look, Live, and Act like a princess.
“The Royal Life” seems to be a design studio, but I am unable to play it on my Mac.
“Princess Pajama Jam” actually takes all the princesses from Disney fame, including Snow White, The Little Mermaid and others and gets you to dance along with them.
– Backstage Disney gives us several different special features. “From Rags to Riches: The Making of Cinderella” is what it says it is but is quality nonetheless.
– “The Cinderella That Almost Was” chronicles Walt Disney’s journey to get Cinderella to the screen. Disney originally started with Cinderella in 1922! It took nearly 30 years for the product we know to come about. This is a very cool feature that shows all of the old treatments, with some parts that actually made the final cut. This shows how revolutionary Disney truly was.
– “From Walt’s Table: Disney’s 9 Old Men” is about the men who sat at Walt Disney’s table who were so influential in the art form of animation. 9 of the worlds current animation gurus are seated at the very table where Walt’s men ate lunch all speak of the men that mentored them. Very cool feature and a fantastic tribute.
– “The Art of Mary Blair”: The oft-forgotten woman that was as influential on animation as the “9 Old Men”, this piece is a wonderful retrospective of Blair’s life and career.
– “Storyboard To Film Comparison” is a side-by-side view of the storyboards with the opening sequence. As an animation fan, this is very cool to see as drawings truly come to life.
– “Stillframe Galleries” puts the drawings done ages ago right on your screen and is very interesting to view. Mary Blair’s art, in particular, resonates, especially after viewing the feature on her.
– “1922 Laugh-O-Grams: Cinderella” is the originally Cinderella story done by Walt Disney with Laugh-O-Grams Inc. Amazing to view considering the time period. To think that ideas and works like this were put together nearly 100 years ago is unbelievable.
– “Excerpt From ‘The Mickey Mouse Club'” is fantastic because it doesn’t have Britney Spears. Better than that, it shows you just how far Disney’s reach has been. Think of it like this: Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney are still powerful figures for children, with Disney World being a huge tourism draw. Will we say that about Six Flags 70 years from now?
– “Theatrical Trailers” shows every trailer for Cinderella. Compare these to the trailers of today and they look old. But if you look at it objectively, Disney knew how to draw people to this feature with trailers alone. That is something some pictures have problems with today. Not to mention that you get to see the trailer evolve from 1950 to the 1987 reissue and you are watching animation grow.
– “Dreams Come True” gives you the opportunity to get involved by granting children’s wishes. You can get involved by going here and clicking on the “Disney Hand” link.
Overall, the special features, if you are a fan of animation and a Disney fan, are spectacular at giving you an inside look at not only this feature, but of the company and it’s founder through the years. A brilliant set of extras.
Score: 10/10
