Cinderella (1950)

When Cinderella's cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq, and from her Fairy Godmother.

Directors:

Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson,

Writers:

Bill Peet (story), Erdman Penner (story),

Stars:

Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ilene Woods	...	Cinderella (voice)
Eleanor Audley	...	Lady Tremaine (voice)
Verna Felton	...	Fairy Godmother (voice)
Rhoda Williams	...	Drizella (voice)
James MacDonald	...	Bruno / Gus / Jaques (voice) (as James Macdonald)
Luis Van Rooten	...	King / Grand Duke (voice)
Don Barclay	...	Doorman (voice)

Storyline

In a far away, long ago kingdom, Cinderella is living happily with her mother and father until her mother dies. Cinderella's father remarries a cold, cruel woman who has two daughters, Drizella and Anastasia. When the father dies, Cinderella's wicked stepmother turns her into a virtual servant in her own house. Meanwhile, across town in the castle, the King determines that his son the Prince should find a suitable bride and provide him with a required number of grandchildren. So the King invites every eligible maiden in the kingdom to a fancy dress ball, where his son will be able to choose his bride. Cinderella has no suitable party dress for a ball, but her friends the mice, led by Jaques and Gus, and the birds lend a hand in making her one, a dress the evil stepsisters immediately tear apart on the evening of the ball. At this point, enter the Fairy Godmother, the pumpkin carriage, the royal ball, the stroke of midnight, the glass slipper, and the rest, as they say, is fairy tale ...

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Plot Keywords:

ball | cinderella | fairy godmother | fairy tale | prince | 

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Taglines:

The greatest love story ever told. (1957 reissue)

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

La cenicienta

Box Office

Budget:

$2,900,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$34,100,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Excluding the initial prologue explaining how the stepmother came into Cinderella's life and the closing wedding scene, the main story of the film takes place over approximately a 24-hour period. Cinderella starts her day with her chores, the prince's ball is that evening and she successfully tries on the lost slipper the following morning.

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Goofs

When Cinderella wakes Lucifer up he comes out of the room, yawns and makes scratch marks on the floor. Next time we see the floor near the stepmother's room it has disappeared.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom, peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition. Here in a stately chateau, there lived a widowed gentleman and his little daughter, Cinderella. Although he was a kind and devoted father, and gave his beloved child every luxury and comfort, still he felt she needed a mother's care. And so he married again, choosing for his second wife a woman of good family with two daughters just Cinderella's age, by name, ...

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Crazy Credits

In lieu of a cast list, the opening credits specify "with the talents of" followed by 9 names: Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Claire Du Brey, Rhoda Williams, James MacDonald, Helene Stanley, Luis Van Rooten and Don Barclay. However, only 7 of these persons provided voices for the animated characters (according to studio records) and are listed in the cast. Both Stanley and Du Brey were live action models to help the artists animate the humans. They were placed in the miscellaneous section.

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Connections

Referenced in To the Manor Born: The Summer Hunt Ball (1979)

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Soundtracks

"So This Is Love"
(1949) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman
Performed by Ilene Woods and Mike Douglas

User Reviews

Delightful Disney animation with some pleasant songs...

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.