Cinderella III: A Twist in Time

**Cinderella III: A Twist in Time** is a 2007 American animated film and the third instalment in the Cinderella Franchise. The film was released on February 6, 2007 as a direct-to-video.

## Plot

Cinderella and the Prince attend a picnic which the Fairy Godmother, Jaq, and Gus have prepared celebrate their first anniversary. Meanwhile, at the Tremaine mansion, Cinderella's stepsisters Anastasia and Drizella are bitterly doing Cinderella's old chores. Anastasia wanders off and stumbles upon the picnic. The Fairy Godmother inadvertently drops her wand, and Anastasia takes it to Lady Tremaine and Drizella, who initially disbelieve the story. When the Fairy Godmother comes for the wand, Anastasia accidentally turns her into a statue.

Lady Tremaine, revelling at a chance to restore her own fortunes at Cinderella's expense, uses the wand to time travel to the day the Grand Duke fitted the glass slipper on Cinderella. She uses the wand to expand the slipper so that it fits Anastasia, and the Grand Duke declares Anastasia the Prince's soulmate. Cinderella arrives on the scene too late, and Lady Tremaine destroys Cinderella's other slipper, the only proof that she was the girl who danced with the Prince on the night of the ball. Determined to set things right, Cinderella follows her stepfamily to the palace with Jaq and Gus.

The Prince initially refuses to believe Anastasia danced with him, but Lady Tremaine uses the wand to alter his memory, and he accepts Anastasia as his fiancée. The mice witness this, and inform Cinderella that Lady Tremaine has the Fairy Godmother's wand. The King is delighted with Anastasia in spite of her clumsy antics and gives her a seashell that once belonged to his late wife. Meanwhile, the Prince begins to realise that he does not feel love for Anastasia despite Lady Tremaine's spell.

Sneaking into the Tremaine's room disguised as a palace maid, Cinderella and the mice manage to steal back the wand, but Cinderella is captured by the palace guards before she can use it. Cinderella briefly touches the Prince's hand as she is taken away, and he begins to recognize her. Lady Tremaine orders Cinderella exiled from the kingdom by ship. Jaq and Gus find the Prince and explain the whole story to him; Cinderella's bluebirds then arrive with the repaired other slipper as proof. The Prince intercepts the ship before it leaves and embraces Cinderella; his true memories return, and she accepts his marriage proposal.

The Prince brings Cinderella back to the palace and explains everything to the King and the Grand Duke. The King orders the Tremaine family's arrest, but they escape using the wand. As Cinderella prepares for her wedding, Lady Tremaine returns with Anastasia, who has been magically transformed into a doppelgänger of Cinderella. She also creates a twisted version of the pumpkin carriage with her cat Lucifer as coachman, and traps Cinderella and the mice in it. The three of them fight back against Lucifer and escape on the carriage horse as the carriage rides over a cliff.

Cinderella arrives at the wedding in time to see Anastasia refuse to go through with the marriage, wanting true love of her own and feeling unwilling to take it from another. An enraged Lady Tremaine appears with Drizella, and the king orders her arrest. Lady Tremaine transforms the guards into various animals as they pursue her and is about to turn Anastasia into a toad when Cinderella and the Prince step in to protect her. The Prince's sword deflects the spell, turning Lady Tremaine and Drizella to toads instead.

Anastasia uses the wand to return to normal, and offers the seashell back to the king, feeling she does not deserve it. The King, asserting that everyone deserves a chance at love, allows her to keep it. Cinderella and Anastasia reconcile, and together restore the Fairy Godmother. She considers undoing Lady Tremaine's change of events but sees that Cinderella and the Prince's love has grown stronger thanks to the adventure and decides to let them continue as they are.

During the credits, Anastasia moves into the palace with Cinderella and reunites with the Baker from Cinderella II. Drizella and Lady Tremaine are placed in the cellar and restored to their human forms, but are both now dressed in Cinderella's old rags, much to their horror.

## Cast and Characters

* Jennifer Hale as Cinderella
* Christopher Daniel Barnes as Prince Charming
* Susan Blakeslee as Lady Tremaine
* Tress MacNeille as Anastasia Tremaine
* Russi Taylor as Drizella Tremaine / Fairy Godmother
* Andre Stojka as The King
* Holland Taylor as Prudence
* Rob Paulsen as The Grand Duke / Jaq
* Corey Burton as Gus
* Frank Welker as Lucifer

## Music

All tracks are written by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner.

## Production

This film was Disney Australia's final feature (the studio was closed and equipment auctioned off once Cinderella III production completed in July 2006). Cinderella III: A Twist in Time has an additional production service Toon City Animation, Inc., Manila, Philippines.

## Release

Cinderella III: A Twist in Time was released on DVD on February 6, 2007. The film returned to the Disney Vault on January 31, 2008. The film was released on Blu-ray on November 20, 2012 in a two-movie collection with Cinderella II: Dreams Come True.

## Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 75% based on eight reviews, with an average rating of 6.03/10. It was reviewed more positively compared to its predecessor, Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, which scored an 11% critical approval rating.

Slate Magazine writer Dan Kois has used Cinderella III to defend the merits of Disney's straight-to-video sequels, after Disney announced production of any further sequels would cease. Kois points out that in Cinderella III, the wicked stepsister (Anastasia), originally an "oafish caricature", finally becomes a fully fleshed-out character, and some of the absurdity of the original film is gently mocked.

Many have noted numerous similarities between the film's premise and that of Twice Charmed: An Original Twist on the Cinderella Story, a Broadway-style stage musical created by Walt Disney Creative Entertainment that was running on the Disney Cruise Line as of 2007.