A pleasant Disney effort

Rating: 5/10 (5 January 2016)

Cinderella is widely seen as an iconic film. Not only did its success help save Disney from financial collapse, but it also crafted some memorable imagery and established themes that would reoccur in Disney's fairy tales. Most people know the story. Cinderella is effectively a slave to her cruel stepmother and her chance to escape appears when every maiden in the land is invited to the Prince's ball in order to find him a wife. She attends, with help from her Fairy Godmother, and falls in love with the Prince, but leaves only a glass slipper behind for him to find her. I think the simplicity of the story is what appeals to people, while its themes of perseverance and triumphing over adversity are also used effectively.
Cinderella herself is not the most interesting of characters, she's pleasant and sweet but she's also a little boring. Yet her kindness is what wins you over, the fact she's always so upbeat and optimistic in the face of such hardship makes her a very likable lead. Some people might have problems with how passive she seems at times, but it adds to the characters sensitivity for me. I also think Ilene Woods has a very gentle voice that matches the character flawlessly. Sadly the Prince gets even less development and comes off as a total bore. He only has a few lines of dialogue and we never know how he feels, he appears disinterested in the ball and as a result the romance with Cinderella just feels weak.
The animation is excellent and softer which calls back to the likes of 'Snow White'. However, the most impressive thing about the film visually is its size. This is one big film with every castle and every mansion looking massive, in fact the scenes at the Prince's ball are amazing in scope considering the films ages. The colours are bright and bring a lot of warmth to proceedings, with lots of blue and pink that blend together beautifully with the background. The music is good for the most part and there are plenty of pleasant melodies that suit the films tone, while songs like 'Bibbidi- Bobbidi-Boo' are bouncy and enjoyable.
Possibly the best element for me is the stepmother Lady Tremaine. She is comfortably one of Disney's best villains and it all comes from her having control over Cinderella. She comes across as calculating and spiteful, always looking to make Cinderella's life miserable with an icy glare and air of superiority. Eleanor Audley also deserves praise for providing her calmly sinister voice. The stepsisters are suitably annoying, though much time isn't devoted to them. The dress ripping scene is the perfect display of Tremaine's subtle cruelty and has a real emotion heft to it given Cinderella's reaction. Disney regular Verna Felton deserves credit for making the Fairy Godmother a caring and motherly figure for Cinderella.
The biggest issue with the film for me is that there are far too many 'cute' moments, most of which involve the mice that help Cinderella. They aren't overly important to the story yet the film gives them ample screen time and all they do is slow down the main plot. They do provide some amusing comic relief at times, but there is simply too much time spent with them when it really should have been spend developing characters like the Prince. Lack of development is something of a general issue with the film, we never really know the true motivations of any of the characters outside of our main character and it does mean you struggle to get engaged in the story at times.
On the whole Cinderella is a charming and enjoyable fantasy, yet despite its acclaim and iconic status I certainly don't think it's amongst Disney's best. The animation is spectacular in every sense, Lady Tremaine is a wonderfully evil villain and despite some flaws Cinderella is a pleasant lead. The voice actors all do fantastic jobs and the music is enjoyable as you'd expect from Disney. With that said it certainly suffers from a lack of character development, a flimsy romance and far too much concentration on the animal sidekicks which both harm the story. The memorable moments are worthy, but it just lacks something to be considered as one of Disney best.