Product: The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella [VHS] (1977)
Rating: 3.0
Good parts, but lacks something
I was eager to see this movie after hearing quite a bit about it, but after watching it, I felt a bit let down. It's hard to explain why. The costumes are gorgeous, the scenery is too beautiful for words, and the story is a well-known classic which is well suited to this kind of treatment.My problem lies with the musical portion, a main focal point in "The Slipper". The DVD case lauds the musical writers -- indeed, they're well known for several of their other musicals, but this is not one of their hits. I'm not comparing the songs to modern musicals, either. Take a look at1776 (Restored Director's Cut), made a few years before "The Slipper", and you'll see immediately what I mean. 1776 is chock full of songs that practically leach onto you -- you'll be humming them all day long. The songs in "The Slipper" just don't stick to one's mind. I often felt the tempos were very repetitive. Not to mention quite a few waltz-themed songs, which felt out of place in a 1700s setting. They weren't horrible -- several songs were pleasant to listen to and the cast did an admirable singing job, but not once did I feel like I needed to buy the soundtrack or listen to that song again.Worse yet were the dancing sequences. The mausoleum sequence is odd: considering the Prince and his friend are grown men you don't think they would be leaping around on tombs and swinging from poles like monkeys. The second sequence was centered around the servants, but the portion was boring me so much that I fast-forwarded through the leaping maids and pirouetting butlers. It felt very stagey, and several times through the movie I thought that I might be having a better experience if I was watching this on Broadway. One part that I think was done very well was the Fairy Godmother's transformation of the animals into Cinderella's carriage. The mouse dancers were cute and the frog guy -- boy could he jump like a frog!Overall, it's worth a view and little girls will fall in love with it. Costume drama fans might enjoy putting this one on while doing something else. But don't expect any musical magic.