Aschenputtel

Due to pressing time constraints, I am occasionally finding myself having to literally look up short films online to chalk up a respectable amount of viewings on a day-to-day basis. This, then – and the earlier GERTIE THE DINOSAUR (1914) – is one of the 10 animated short films that I had yet to catch up with that are included in the "All-Time Top 3,000" list compiled by the "Wonders In The Dark" website.

Coming hot on the heels of my Yuletide fairy tale film adaptations viewings – which had included 3 versions of the titular fable: THE GLASS SLIPPER (1955; with Leslie Caron), THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: THE STORY OF Cinderella (1976; with Richard Chamberlain) and the X-rated Cinderella (1977) – this is also the third film I am watching from the German silhouette animator Reiniger, following her full-length feature THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED (1926) and the Christmas short, THE STAR OF BETLEHEM (1956). For the record, it seems Reiniger would return to the Brothers Grimm tale over 30 years later in a subsequent adaptation.

While the animation present in the 14-minute short is pleasant in itself (not least because of the blue tint throughout), what really sticks out in this particular adaptation is a surprisingly gruesome (for its time, of course) sequence where Cinderella's two evil sisters lop off part of their own feet in a desperate attempt to make the all-important, unclaimed slipper fit them…not to mention the fact that in an intertitle they disparagingly refer to her as "a slut"!! Again, the inclusion of such trivial fare in these kind of lists is curious at best and questionable at worst but one can somewhat understand 'critics' wanting to keep them in the limelight this way and preserve them for their historical value.

Yes, i did watch this because of Adventures of Prince Ahmad. I was taken aback by prince ahmad. There was a continuity and smoothness to some of the sequences that was genuinely unexpected and it served the story exceptionally well like how creepy the introduction of the villain is. Way more creepy in fact than expressionist films of the time with characters that desperately try to look creepy but end up looking like scooby-doo villains.

Unfortunately, that smoothness and continuity isn't here. There are actually too many cuts during the runtime. Everything is segmented and bite sized segments at that which is likely due to the short runtime since the Dr Dolittle shorts are a lot more continuous even if they also don't have the "smoothness". Maybe my expectation isn't fair but to me that's what elevated prince ahmad beyond a bunch of silhouettes.

That's not to say i didn't enjoy watching Cinderella. I'm sure everyone knows the story and the film even starts by summarizing it. Stories are boring when there's no element of surprise to them. This one did have a couple of surprises though and the style is still pretty effective in capturing the imagination.

And you know, its short enough that you might as well just watch it instead of reading this.

Fora couple of years, I keeped the memory of "Die abentur des prinzen Achmed". Not only the beauty but the emotion of meet with a delicate, fragile universe. "Aschenputtel" represents a new occasion to discover the universe of Lotte Reiniger. Not different by the classic movie but serving , in wise manner, the fairy tale. A lovely animation like a love letter. Sweet, cruel in few scenes, well crafted and almost oniric.

If you are reading this because you have seen Lotte Reiniger's DIE ABENTUR DES PRINZEN ACHMED and are wondering if this measures up to that movie, the first animated feature, then the answer is yes. It's Cinderella done in Reiniger's exquisite articulated figures, similar in concept to stop motion. The figure of Cinderella is lovely; those of her step sisters humorously ugly; and the story you already know. Go look at it.

If you don't know Lotte Reiniger's work -- well, I can't think of how you found your way to this review, but here it is: Reiniger's silhouette movies call on you to exercise a totally different aesthetic from any other type of movie you have seen. First of all, they are perfect black and white pictures: the backgrounds are done in shades of grey, but the silhouettes are black, and somehow that draws a discreet shade over the entire movie. One feels as if one is spying on something so beautiful and perfect that it is almost embarrassing, like looking through a keyhole at your parents. There is an intimacy about them that makes you hold your breath, and her silhouettes are so beautifully designed and decorated that they lend an air of delicate beauty to everything about them. So. You know the story of Cinderella and you should go and look at this movie. Right now. Shoo!