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:

Charles Perrault (from the original classic by), Bill Peet (story) (as William Peed)

Stars:

Ilene Woods, James MacDonald, Eleanor Audley

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ilene Woods	...	Cinderella (voice)
Eleanor Audley	...	Lady Tremaine (voice)
Verna Felton	...	Fairy Godmother (voice)
Claire Du Brey	...	(as Claire DuBrey) (credit only)
Rhoda Williams	...	Drizella (voice)
James MacDonald	...	Jaq / Gus (voice) (as James Macdonald)
Helene Stanley	...	(credit only)
Luis Van Rooten	...	King / Grand Duke (voice)
Don Barclay	...	Doorman (voice)
Lucille Bliss	...	Anastasia (voice)
Jeffrey Stone	...	(voice) (as John Fontaine)
Mike Douglas	...	Prince Charming (singing voice)
William Phipps	...	Prince Charming (voice)
Marion Darlington	...	Birds (voice)
Earl Keen	...	Bruno (voice)

Storyline

Cinderella, the beautiful and kind-hearted daughter, sees her world turn upside down when her beloved mother dies, and her pained father remarries another woman, the wicked Lady Tremaine, who has two equally cruel daughters, the jealous Anastasia and Drizella. But, once more, things will go from bad to worse, when Cinderella's father, too, dies, leaving her all alone in the Lady's clutches to serve as her maid-of-all-work. Under those circumstances, a shabby and neglected Cinderella doesn't stand much of a chance of attending the King's royal ball--let alone, captivate the handsome Prince--unless she turns to her loving Fairy Godmother who has quite a few tricks up her sleeve. Nevertheless, will the wronged damsel ever find peace--and with it--her own Prince Charming?

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Plot Keywords:

cinderella | ball | fairy tale | storybook in opening shot | fairy | 

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Taglines:

Greatest Since Snow White

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

La cenicienta

Filming Locations:

Château de Chambord, Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France

Box Office

Budget:

$2,900,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,300,000, 18 December 1981, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$85,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System) Mono (1939 Reissue) (Dolby Digital 1.0) (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono) (Mono) Mono (1939 Reissue) (RCA Sound System) (Mono) Dolby SR Mono (1939 Reissue) Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'James McDonald', who voiced Jaq and Gus, as well as providing Bruno's Vocal Effects, had also been the current voice of Mickey Mouse and his Dog Pluto at the time of this film's release.

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Goofs

When the Fairy Godmother changes the mice into horses, aside from Gus and Jaq, she changes one mouse with a hat (one of the twins; either Bert or Mert), and another without (the small mouse, Luke). However, when they turn back, the two mice besides Gus and Jaq are both Bert and Mert, instead of only one of the twins and Luke.

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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 nine names: Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Claire Du Brey, Rhoda Williams, James MacDonald, Helene Stanley, Luis Van Rooten, and Don Barclay. However, only seven 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 Call the Midwife: Episode #3.2 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman
Performed by Verna Felton and chorus

User Reviews

A Symbol of the Disney Magic

As a young boy, I always sort of hated "Cinderella," since I was outvoted by my two sisters when my parents were considering what Disney movie to buy. I wanted "Dumbo," but my sisters won out, and we got "Cinderella." They thoroughly enjoyed the movie while I sulked in the back of the room playing with my Star Wars action figures.

A lot has changed since then. My love of the Disney theme parks landed me an internship at Walt Disney World, and I now have two young nieces. I like to showcase Disney to them as much as I can, and we recently watched "Cinderella" together. With my newfound appreciation for all that is Disney, I watched "Cinderella" with a new perspective and was impressed with what I saw.

From the beginning of the movie, though, I didn't quite understand why Cinderella was trapped in such a horrible predicament. Why was she such a slave to her stepfamily, and why couldn't she just run away? I wasn't too sympathetic to Cinderella, but as the story progressed, I found myself becoming immersed in the story. Maybe the eye-catching animation or the fun-loving characters drew me in, or maybe it was the timeless songs. Listening to songs like "Bibbidy-Bobbidy-Boo" and "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" sort of whisked me back to the theme parks. I can picture myself in that carefree and fun atmosphere while looking at the awe-inspiring Cinderella Castle.

Something about this movie just evokes the magic of Disney. That may make many people scoff, but go to the Magic Kingdom and see all the little girls dressed up like Cinderella that are excited to be in this fantasy world, and you'll know what I'm talking about. The images of Cinderella and the glass slipper - as well as Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and Tinkerbell - embody why Disney is one of the most beloved companies in the entire world.

While "Cinderella" may not be the strongest story, it is sort of iconic in Disney and movie history. It represents that fun, idealistic, and fantasy-like wonderment we held when we were kids. I imagine this movie holds a lot of meaning to many, many people out there. It may not be my favorite Disney movie, but it does represent all that I love and admire about the Company.

My IMDb Rating: 10/10. My Yahoo! Grade: A (Outstanding)