Cinderella

• Directed by Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, and Clyde Geronimi
• February 15, 1950 (Boston) / March 4, 1950 (US)
• Based on Charles Perrault’s 1697 fairy tale Cendrillon (Cinderella)

Voice Cast

• Narrator-Betty Lou Gerson
• Cinderella-Ilene Woods
• Lady Tremaine (Cinderella’s stepmother)-Eleanor Audley
• Drizella Tremaine-Rhoda Williams
• Anastasia Tremaine-Lucille Bliss
• Fairy Godmother-Verna Felton
• Jaq, Gus, Bruno-James MacDonald
• The King, Grand Duke-Luis van Rooten
• Prince Charming-William Edward Phipps
• Prince Charming’s singing voice-Mike Douglas
• Cinderella’s bird friends-Marion Darlington
• Lucifer-June Foray
• Multiple mice-Lucille Williams, Thurl Ravenscroft, Clint McCauley, June Sullivan, Helen Seibert
• Additional Voices-John Woodbury

When a young woman’s cruel stepmother stops her from attending a royal ball, her fairy godmother lends a helping hand in order for the woman to find true love.

Cinderella is about an orphan who is not just neglected but downright abused (they say it in the movie) by her stepmother and has made friends with anthropomorphic mice whom she dresses like Smurfs. Not only is her stepmother abusive towards her but so are her stepsisters who because of jealousy and hate have turned her into essentially a slave. And this is considered family friendly? It sounds more like the opener to a weird episode of some true crime show. Not as bad as it could’ve been but it’s still an odd mix.

Yet there are some lessons here. The character of Cinderella goes on with strength. She doesn’t let her terrible situation crush her. It is not her situation which defines her. Rather it’s her character that defines her. She knows if she becomes miserable and bitter she would be no better than those who abuse her. Maybe not an overt lesson but a lesson nonetheless.

Unlike her stepfamily Cinderella is not materialistic. They seek the superficial. They are interested in the moment and not in the person. And like all good cartoons their corrupt nature is displayed in their character design. They are ugly within and so are ugly without. Another lesson?

The ultimate lesson is do the right thing and you will come out on top. Cinderella is victorious not because she claws her way to victory but because she continually does the right thing and gets the loyalty of those around her. While the magic of Fairy Godmother was a big part, the mice aided her before and after that. Not that Fairy Godmother was anything to sneeze at. Magic certainly played a role in the story, but the magic came because of Cinderella’s actions. It wasn’t just because. It is the personification of “if you do what’s right then good things will come to you.” A bit heavy symbolism but the target for that message is children.

Not that Cinderella is perfect, but the imperfections are minor as well as weirdly charming. The king is a little too obsessed with getting grandchildren. Not that parents wanting grandchildren is weird but most do not throw parties to hurry things along with their only child.

There is an economy of story here not often found in many films these days. Things are set up and the story moves quickly though not at such a speed you don’t know what’s going on. With a combination of narration and action of the characters we know exactly the mindset of the wicked stepmother and where the evil stepsisters are coming from. We get a good view of Cinderella’s character and then they dive right into the story. This is only around 74 minutes yet you get a full story.

I think there should have been less focus on the mice. They should be there to help Cinderella but we also got unnecessary bits with the mice dealing with Lucifer the cat. Those precious minutes could have been used to expand a bit on the character of Cinderella. We just needed to know they were loyal friends and not that the cat was an asshole to them.

This is done in the classic Disney 2D style. As I often say 2D animation is art. Like any great painting or drawing, no matter what new ways of presentation come along the good ones never age. It seems as beautiful as the day it was crafted. Cinderella is art. Beautiful and detailed.

Cinderella is not only a classic bit of animation but a masterclass in how to tell a story quickly and efficiently yet not rush through anything. It is well worth your time.