La Cenicienta

When I first saw 'Cinderella', I found it surprising that the mice had so much to do whereas in the fairy tale they were just incidental creatures. But Disney saw that giving them a big role in the main storyline was the key to providing all the humor and suspense needed to spice up the predictable story. The leading mice, Gus and Jaq are delightful creations and the valiant band of mice are given amusing bits of business.

Artistically, the animation art has a rather glossy modern look despite the fact that it's an old, old story from 1697, a classic children's fairy tale that has been done countless times as either a film, a play or a ballet. But this version will charm Disney fans young and old with its imaginative use of animation and a splendid collection of tuneful songs.

A highlight is the 'Cinderella Work Song' in which the mice make a dress for the mistreated Cinderella, full of inventive comic touches and accompanied by the intricate blend of song and animation. Add to that 'So This Is Love', 'A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes' and 'Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo' and you have a charming version of the Charles Perrault story.

For villainy, the stepmother and her black cat (Lucifer) are two of the most brilliantly animated creatures in the film. The cat reminds me of a naughty black cat I once owned. The scene where the stepmother is stroking the cat as she gives Cinderella a list of chores is striking in its use of shadow and menace. Along with some dark touches, there is always a bubbling sense of humor, particularly in this sequence.

Cinderella herself comes across as a pleasant heroine with a sense of humor herself, lifelike in her movements and one of Disney's more successful human figures. Disney's artists did greater art work in other films but this is a well-structured work, a great combination of music and clever animation. The pace is fast, even allowing for extended scenes of the mice and their shenanigans for the sub-plot. And Lucifer, the cat, makes a wonderful foil for their tricks.

The Disney touch is evident in every scene and makes this charming blend of comedy, music and romance a film with timeless appeal.

This is the first movie I have ever seen and it was love at first sight. Since then I've watched it a hundred times or so and collected the video in many languages. Cinderella is wonderful, funny and rich. I know that many people remember it for the mice and Lucifer, but look at the human figures: they're (with the exception of the Prince) perfect and truly convincing. For example the relationship between Cinderella and the stepmother is strongly rendered and it's clear that the girl fears that woman. The sequence of the fairy godmother is one of the best of all Disney films (what a dream the transformation of the dress) and the ball episode is exciting and fascinating in both drawing (note the use of the shadows at a time when computer coloring was far away), dialogue and music (the Cinderella Waltz "So this is love" is enchanting).

Let's not be coy, this is one of Disney's finest animated features. The characters, the colors, the music, it's all wonderful. The studio was at it's absolute peak at this point, with the terrific "streamlined" look to the artwork, that would be changed to a more "rough" appearance in just a few years following this movie.

And what's not to like about it? Cinderella is one of the more endearing characters to come from a Disney feature, her stepmother and stepsisters some of the meanest, and her mice and bird friends, some of the most charming.

Memorable scenes include the "Nightingale" number, with Cinderella's reflection in the soap bubbles, the evil sisters tearing her dress to shreds, her arrival at the ball, and the trying-on of the slipper. Add to that some great numbers like "Bibbodi Bobbodi Boo", and the mice's "work song". A wonderful movie, that never loses its magic, no matter how old you are.

People criticise Disney's animated features of the 1950s for being overly glossy, set in landscapes that are much too pristine. That criticism is just. And yet it can't be the whole story, because the two least glossy - "Alice in Wonderland" and "Peter Pan" - are also the weakest. "Cinderella", on the other hand, set in a world in which the very dirt sparkles, is clearly the best.

It DOES look good. The backgrounds are subtle and consistent; the colours are pure without being too bright. The animation varies a bit. I'll swear that some of the humans are rotoscoped - but then, the rotoscoped humans (including Cinderella herself) aren't full-blooded characters in the script, so this approach works well enough. It's really the animals that make the movie. I think the studio had never quite used animals in this way before, as totems rather than sidekicks. The mice, for instance, are the creatures who draw us into the story; but they are really representatives or allies of the more colourless Cinderella. The cat, Lucifer, is a kind of witch's familiar to the Wicked Stepmother. (The cat is brilliantly conceived and animated - one of the best feline creations of all time. The supervising animator was Ward Kimball and he modelled it on his own cat. I wonder how he put up with the animal.) This approach allows the animals to steal the show without drawing our attention from the main story. Their actions are of maximum interest only in the light of the main story.

Among the supporting cast the notable humans are the King and the Grand Duke. The King is a one note character - he wants grandchildren and appears to have no other desires at all - but the note is struck in a pleasing fashion. The Grand Duke is a put-upon character who deserves to be lifted out of his sphere as much as Cinderella does. (Although he, of course, is richer.)

"Cinderella" is Disney's return to features after an eight-year hiatus, and neither with it nor with any subsequent movie would he recapture the raw brilliance of his early years. Moreover he made things hard for himself by picking "Cinderella". She's a passive heroine and there's not much anyone can do about that. (Maybe I'm wrong on this score - I haven't seen the recent "Ever After".) Nonetheless it is remarkable how successful Disney was in bringing this unpromising story to life, without cutting across the grain of its spirit.

Not the best of Walt Disney's feature length animated films, but any film that has Bibidi Bobbidi Boo and A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes has to rate as good in anyone's standards.

I saw this for the first time as a small child on Walt Disney's Disneyland hour and it was as effective on the big screen as well as the small. I don't think there's anyone who is literate in the western world who does not know the story of Cinderella. The story is intact and kept in the mythical medieval times it was written for.

As a subplot to the main story we have the story of Cinderella and her relationship with the animals around the house. The pecking order is dog, cat, mice with a horse thrown in for good measure. Naturally the evil stepmother who is voiced by Eleanor Audley has the cat as her favorite. What does that say about us cat lovers.

Ilene Woods voices and sings A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes which Perry Como made a big hit record of. Bibidi Bobidi Boo is sung by Verna Felton who voices the Fairy Godmother. She's unforgettable in this role although she's better known as Hilda Crocker, Spring Byington's Ethel Mertz on December Bride.

This is one eternal film that I hope my niece let's my new grandnephew check out and his sister or brother to be.