Cinderella 1950
Cinderella is one of those Disney classics that somehow I had never seen. Since getting into Disney movies a few years ago, I have been looking forward to getting this movie so I could watch it. Finally, they released a Signature blu-ray of the movie this year and I was able to get it inexpensively through the Disney Movie Club. One of the controversies about this release is that it is the same exact scan used for the earlier Diamond edition blu-ray, which featured brighter colors and maybe too much digital cleanup. To me it looks pretty good. More jarring is the use of live action human characters (particularly Lady Tremain) as the basis of some of the animation, which gives the characters natural movements, but cuts down on their expressiveness that is usually expected in animation. It isn’t terrible, but it also doesn’t feel right.
The movie itself does pretty much everything right. There are some good songs that still hold up after 70 years, some great animal side characters, comedy, even some suspense, and of course the story of Cinderella who meets the mannequin of her dreams. It is a shame the prince has so little development, even less than his father or the Duke, so he is basically just a pawn, but our imaginations can provide someone worthy of the sweet Cinderella who has been treated so miserably. I was surprised how much of the movie is about the mice and the cat though it is a strong B story, supports the main story, and also expands an otherwise simple and overly familiar story, remade many times. This may not be my favorite Disney animated feature, but I can see why it is so highly rated. Though it was still fairly early in Disney’s history, this was their strongest narrative yet and set a new standard for future movies.
Update in 2023: I watched the movie again on Disney Plus after they released a vastly improved 4k version of the movie. It does look better, but I was less impressed with the movie this time around. It takes a while to get going while it spends too much time with the mice. There is so little to the main story and I feel bad for Cinderella, who goes from being mistreated to being rushed into marriage. I liked the twist towards the end when the shoe is broken. I might give this an A- if I were to re-score it.
Written: 28 Sep 2019
Owned on: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital