Tom and Jerry in Cinderella (1951 film)

﻿Tom and Jerry in Cinderella is a 1950 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and originally released by Loew's Inc. Based on the fairy tale Cinderella by Charles Perrault, it is the twelfth Warner Bros. Feature Animation. The film was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson. Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman Supervised by William Hanna & Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby. wrote the songs, which include "Cinderella", "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", "Sing Sweet Nightingale", "The Work Song", "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo", and "So This is Love". It features the voices of Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Rhoda Williams, James MacDonald, Luis van Rooten, Don Barclay, Mike Douglas, William Phipps, and Lucille Bliss. At the time, MGM Productions had suffered from losing connections to the European film markets due to the outbreak of World War II, enduring some box office bombs like Tom and Jerry: Pinocchio and Tom and Jerry in Fantasia all of which would later become more successful with several re-releases in theaters and on home video. At the time, however, the studio was over $4 million in debt and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and his animators turned back to feature film production in 1948 after producing a string of package films with the idea of adapting Charles Perrault's Cendrillon into a motion picture. It is the first Disney film in which all of Disney's Nine Old Men worked together as directing animators.
 
After two years in production, Cinderella was finally released on October 7, 1950. It became the greatest critical and commercial hit for the studio since Tom and Jerry: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1947), and helped reverse the studio's fortunes. It received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Music, Original Song for "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo".
Decades later, it was followed by two direct-to-video sequels, Tom and Jerry, Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002) and Tom and Jerry, Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007)
==Plot==
Cinderella is living a dissatisfying life, having lost both parents at a young age, and being forced to work as a scullery maid in her own château. Her stepmother, Lady Tremaine, is cruel to her, and she is jealous of Cinderella's beauty. Additionally her two stepsisters Drizella and Anastasia, cruelly take advantage of her. In spite of this, Cinderella is a kind and gentle young woman. She is friends with mice and kind to birds that live in and around the château. Meanwhile, at the royal palace, the King is frustrated that his son, the Prince, still refuses to marry. He and the Grand Duke organize a ball in an effort to find a suitable wife for the Prince, requesting every eligible maiden attend. Upon receiving notice of the ball, Lady Tremaine agrees to let Cinderella go if she finishes her chores and can find a suitable dress to wear.
Cinderella finds a gown that belonged to her mother and decides to refashion it for the ball, but her stepfamily impedes this by giving her extra chores. Cinderella's animal friends, including Jaq and Gus, refashion it for her, completing the design with a necklace and sash discarded by Drizella and Anastasia, respectively. When Cinderella comes downstairs wearing the dress, the stepsisters are upset when they realize Cinderella is wearing their accessories, and tear the dress to shreds before leaving for the ball with their mother. Heartbroken, Cinderella storms out into the garden in tears, where her Fairy Godmother appears before her. Insisting that Cinderella will go to the ball, the Fairy Godmother magically transforms a pumpkin into a carriage, the mice into horses, Cinderella's horse, Major, into a coachman, and dog, Bruno, into a footman, before turning Cinderella's ruined dress into a shimmering blue ballgown and her shoes into glass slippers. As Cinderella leaves for the ball, the Fairy Godmother warns her the spell will break at the stroke of midnight.
At the ball, the Prince rejects every girl until he sees Cinderella, who agrees to dance with him, unaware of who he is. The two fall in love and go out for a stroll together in the castle gardens. As they are about to kiss, Cinderella hears the clock start to chime midnight and flees. As she leaves the castle, one of her slippers falls off. The palace guards give chase as Cinderella flees in the coach before the spell breaks on the last stroke of midnight. Cinderella, her pets, and the mice hide in a wooded area as the guards pass.
The Grand Duke informs the King that Cinderella, who remains anonymous, has escaped, and that the Prince wishes to marry her. The lost glass slipper is the only piece of evidence. The King issues a royal proclamation ordering every maiden in the kingdom to try on the slipper for size in an effort to find the girl. After this news reaches Cinderella's household, Lady Tremaine overhears Cinderella humming the waltz played at the ball. Realizing that Cinderella is the mysterious girl, Lady Tremaine locks her in her attic bedroom. Later, the Duke arrives at the château, and Jaq and Gus steal the key from Lady Tremaine's dress pocket and take it up to the attic as Anastasia and Drizella unsuccessfully try on the slipper. Lady Tremaine's cat, Lucifer, ambushes the mice, but Bruno chases him out of the house, allowing the mice to free Cinderella. As the Duke is about to leave, Cinderella appears and asks to try on the slipper. Knowing it will fit, Lady Tremaine trips the footman as he brings the Duke the slipper, causing it to shatter on the floor. Much to her horror, and the Grand Duke's profound relief, Cinderella presents the Duke with the other slipper, which fits perfectly. The film ends with a now-married Prince and Cinderella at their wedding, sharing a kiss as they leave.
== Cast==
* William Hanna as Tom Cat and Lucifer
* Joseph Barbera as Jerry Mouse
* Ilene Woods as Cinderella
* Eleanor Audley as Lady Tremaine
* Verna Felton as Fairy Godmother
* William Phipps and Mike Douglas as Prince Charming
* Lucille Bliss as Anastasia Tremaine
* Rhoda Williams as Drizella Tremaine
* Jimmy McDonald as Jaq
* Don Messick as Gus
* Humphrey Bogart as Muscles Mouse
* Frank Graham as the Lion
* Paul Frees as the man on the radio and the leader of the gang of the three tough cats
* Luis van Rooten as King
* Daws Butler as Grand Duke, Mr. Theeves and Spike the bulldog
* Bill Thompson as Droopy / Drippy / Butch
* Billy Bletcher as Tom Cat
* Lillian Randolph as Mammy Two Shoes (original) (uncredited)
* Thea Vidale as Mammy Two Shoes (1997 dubbed version) (uncredited)
* Marcellite Garner as Orphans (cheering)
* Alan Shay as Casper (1988 version)
* Beatrice Hagan as Orphans (cheering)
* Norma MacMillan as Casper (1988 version)
* Jayne Shadduck as Orphans (cheering)
* Don Barclay as Doorman
* Pinto Colvig as Bruno Dog
* Betty Lou Gerson as Narrator
== Animators==
* Marc Davis, Eric Larson, and Les Clark were the supervising animators of Cinderella
* Frank Thomas was the supervising animator of Lady Tremaine
* Milt Kahl was the supervising animator of Fairy Godmother
* Ollie Johnston was the supervising animator of Drizella Tremaine and Anastasia Tremaine
* Ward Kimball, Wolfgang Reitherman, and John Lounsbery were the supervising animators of Jaq and Gus
* Ward Kimball, John Lounsbery, and Norm Ferguson were the supervising animators of Bruno
* Ward Kimball,John Lounsbery, and Norman Ferguson were the supervising animators of Lucifer
* Milt Kahl and Norman Ferguson were the supervising animators of The King
* Frank Thomas, Milt Kahl, and Norman Ferguson were the supervising animators of The Grand Duke
===Home media===
The film was released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1988 as part of the MGM/UA Home Video collection. The release had a promotion with a free lithograph reproduction for those who pre-ordered the video before its release date. MGM had initially shipped 4.3 million VHS copies to retailers, but due to strong consumer demand, more than seven million copies were shipped. At the time of its initial home video release, it was the best-selling VHS title until it was overtaken by E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The release was placed into moratorium on April 30, 1989 with seven million VHS copies sold.
On October 4, 1995, the film was released on VHS and LaserDisc under the "MGM/UA Family Entertainment" lineup. Both editions were accompanied with "The Making of Tom and Jerry in Cinderella" featurette. A Deluxe LaserDisc included the featurette, an illustrated, hardcover book retelling the classic fairy tale with pencil tests and conceptual art from the film, and a reprint of the film's artwork. Disney shipped more than 15 million VHS copies of which 8 million were sold in the first month.
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment Century 2000 Collection April 7, 2000, the film was released on VHS and DVD under the "Warner Home Video" and "Turner Entertainment" lineup. Both editions were accompanied with "The Making of Tom and Jerry in Cinderella" featurette. A Deluxe DVD included the featurette, an illustrated, hardcover book retelling the classic fairy tale with pencil tests and conceptual art from the film, and a reprint of the film's artwork. Warner Bros. Family Entertainment shipped more than 15 million VHS copies of which 8 million were sold in the first month.
===Awards===
In 1951, the film received three Academy Award nominations for Best Sound (C. O. Slyfield) lost to All About Eve, Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture (Scott Bradley, Oliver Wallace and |Paul J. Smith) lost to Annie Get Your Gun and Best Music, Original Song for "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman) lost to Captain Carey, U.S.A.. At the 1st Berlin International Film Festival it won the Golden Bear (Music Film) award and the Big Bronze Plate award.
In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "10 Top 10"— the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Cinderella was acknowledged as the 9th greatest film in the animation genre.
American Film Institute recognition:
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
** Lady Tremaine (Stepmother) – Nominated Villain
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
** Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo – Nominated
** A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes – Nominated
* AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals – Nominated
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated
* AFI's 10 Top 10 – #9 Animated film
 
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