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The Movie:
Another massive success in a run that included such gems as "Snow White" and "Dumbo", Disney's 1950 effort, "Cinderella", still remains a legendary animated feature today. I'm guessing that everyone knows the story (by Charles Perrault) of "Cinderella", but offer a brief run-down anyways: Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods) suffers the loss of her father, and then sees her once beautiful estate become controlled by her evil stepmother and her evil stepsisters, who see fit to work Cinderella day and night.
With a group of hyperactive little mice as her only friends, Cinderella manages to get through her days with pride and grace, even though she's treated horribly by her relatives. When she finds out that there is to be a ball, she manages to make her way to the event, despite protest from her stepsisters. With the help of the fairy godmother, she's transformed into elegance, complete with all the accessories. However, at the stroke of midnight, everything turns back the way it was. Running from the ball just in time, the prince starts the famed search for the glass slipper.
The film moves through its brief running time quickly, with a fine, fun mixture of song and story. The voice work is first-rate, and the animation - despite obviously not looking like today's animated features - is still quite elegant and beautiful.
The DVD
VIDEO: Disney presents "Cinderella" in 1.33:1 full-frame, the film's original aspect ratio. Not surprisingly, Disney has given a great deal of attention to the presentation of one of their most legendary titles. The animation looks marvelous, as Disney's sparkling new transfer absolutely brings the movie to fresh new life. Sharpness and detail are consistently excellent (impressive, even, given the age of the movie), and the picture looked brighter and richer than any previous home video release.
Although it looks as if almost every frame has been cleaned up, with no specks, marks or other wear. No edge enhancement, pixelation or other concerns appeared throughout.
SOUND: The "Enhanced For Home Theater" 5.1 mix opens the original mono track out nicely, with pleasant (yet appropriate) use of the surrounds to reinforce music and deliver some effects. All of the elements - sound effects, music and dialogue - sounded crisp and clear. Although not surprisingly not up to modern recording quality, the audio still sounded better-than-expected, given the age of the movie. A restored mono soundtrack is also included and sounds perfectly fine, as well. Those looking for something a little more expansive have the option of the 5.1 presentation, and the original mono soundtrack is there to allow people to listen to a cleaned-up original track.
EXTRAS: The only supplement on the first disc is a series of cinderella sports stories from ESPN. The addition of something from ESPN on a "Cinderella" DVD results in a wha?, and maybe even a huh?, but viewed from a sports fan perspective, this is pretty interesting. However, I wonder just a little bit whether or not the target audience will find this of much interest.
On the second disc, the deleted scenes section is rather interesting to have, but it certainly isn't the greatest material. Maybe it's just me, but the deleted songs really don't hold up to what's found in the movie, and sound rather generic, sappy and ordinary.
"From Rags to Riches" is the main documentary feature that's found on the second disc, and it's quite a nice overview of the production. We get an idea of the trouble that Disney was in financially after WWII, and how the studio needed a hit to continue. The documentary also discusses the core animation team behind "Cinderella", the development of the movie and voice casting.
"The Cinderella That Almost Was" is a short featurette hosted by animation director Don Hahn ("Beauty and the Beast"), which outlines the production history and very varied versions of "Cinderella" that were put together and then dropped before finally arriving at the version we have today. The discussion includes material from an unopened envelope that was found in the Disney archives while preparing this DVD.BR>
"From Walt's Table" is a further look at the "Nine Old Men" - the famed animators that were instrumental in gems like "Cinderella". This featurette has the nine coming back together at the restaurant where they often dined with Walt to have a discussion with some of today's top animation talents. It's an informative piece that offers a lot of insights and good stories. Also regarding animators is "The Art of Mary Blair", which takes a look at the artist's work at Disney.
Also included are: a storyboard-to-scene comparison for the opening sequence, "Cinderella" galleries, a "Mickey Mouse Club" excerpt, trailers, "1922 Cinderella Laugh-O-Gram", "Cinderella and Perry Como" clip, "Cinderella Title Song", unused songs, radio programs, sneak peek trailers for other Disney titles and interactive games and activities.
Final Thoughts: "Cinderella" remains a magical tale, and is quite superbly presented by this new Special Edition. A commentary would have made the extras section complete, but the second disc features are pretty good on their own, and audio/video quality is solid. Highly recommended.
Film Grade
The Film A-
DVD Grades
Video 92/A
Audio: 87/B
Extras: 80/B-
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