The classic that saved Disney

Rating: 9/10 (13 October 2014)

Cinderella is arguably the most important full-length feature in the history of Disney. If Cinderella wouldn't have been a success, Disney probably wouldn't exist today. Why is Cinderella so important? Disney wasn't doing good business in the 1940's. The expensive productions of Pinocchio and Fantasia cost Disney a lot of money, while both films didn't do well at the box office. After the release of Bambi, which also didn't make Disney enough profit, the company decided to release a series of package films like Fun and Fancy Free, Three Caballero's and Melody Time. These films featured several shorts packed into one film. But Walt Disney soon realized the package films weren't going to get Disney out of financial trouble. A full-length feature, if successful, would be much more profitable. So Disney pulled the trigger and started producing Cinderella. It really was hit or miss for the company. Cinderella was finally released in 1950 and it saved Disney from disaster. Cinderella performed incredibly well at the Box office, grossing 85 million dollars. It received praise from audiences and critics alike. It's not hard to see why.
Disney returned to its roots since Cinderella is based on the German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. People criticized Walt Disney for his production of Bambi in 1942, stating that there wasn't enough magic involved. He made more than up for it with the release of Cinderella. That's arguably one of the reasons why Cinderella was much more successful than previously released films. Another reason might be the fact that Cinderella was released in 1950, while films like Bambi and Pinocchio were released during World War II, which cut off the European market for those films. Cinderella is a kind-hearted scullery maid in her own house. Her mother passed away when she was young, so her father married Lady Tremaine (voiced by Eleanor Audley), who has two daughters of her own: Drizella and Anastasia. After Cinderella's father passed away, her stepmother and stepsisters mistreat, abuse and humiliate Cinderella. Luckily, Cinderella has befriended a group of mice, who are the only animals that actually talk during the film. When Cinderella hears the news that there will be a ball in the royal palace to find a bride for the prince, she asks permission from her stepmother to attend the ball. The mice, led by Jaq and Gus (both voiced by Jimmy McDonald), find worn clothing from the stepsisters, while avoiding the evil cat called 'Lucifer'. The mice put together a dress for Cinderella, but when she wants to leave the house to go to the ball, her stepsisters destroy her dress. Cinderella meets the Fairy Godmother (voiced by Verna Felton) and she casts a spell so that Cinderella has a new dress and can attend to ball. She dances with the prince, although she doesn't know he's actually a prince. She must leave him, though, since the spell will be broken at twelve o'clock. The next day, the king sends the Grand Duke to try and fit a glass slipper, that Cinderella lost, on every girl in the city because the prince promised to marry the girl who fits the slipper. Lady Tremaine realizes the prince danced with Cinderella, so she locks her up in the bathroom. The mice manage to save Cinderella, she fits the glass slipper and marries the prince.
This Disney classic is almost perfect. The animation looks rich and is perfectly crafted. In my opinion, the animation in Cinderella is as good as it was in Pinocchio and that's saying something. The songs in Cinderella are fantastic, especially 'Bibbidi- Bobbidi-Boo' and 'The Work Song'. They are catchy and are still memorable today. The characters are interesting, especially the side-characters. The king and the Grand Duke (both voiced by Luis van Rooten) get a lot of screen time and have a great deal of chemistry, which leads to some great comedy scenes. The mice are fun, Lucifer is great as the evil cat and Lady Tremaine remains one of the most cruel villains in the history of Disney. She's absolutely brilliant as the evil stepmother. Great performance by Eleanor Audley, who also did the voice work for another great villain in Maleficent. There's one flaw though. The Prince. He's incredibly boring and seems very unmotivated. He barely has any dialogue at all. He's perhaps the worst Disney prince in history. But except for the prince, Cinderella is a flawless film and was the right cure for Walt Disney. His company probably wouldn't have survived without Cinderella.