Cinderella (1950 film) Review

Cinderella Review

Cat and mouse chasing may seem very peculiar outside of Tom and Jerry but Cinderella manages to make it the perfect viewing for a Saturday night. Most people are probably aware of the story of Cinderella: a beautiful girl is left an orphan at mercy at her step-sisters’ and step-mother’s hands, she is kind to the little friends she has (the mice), has a nice godmother that lets her go to the ball (surprisingly unsuspected by her adopted family), rushes out of the ball leaving a glass slipper, the prince who was her company at the ball goes in search of her using the glass slipper (as no one could possibly have the same size as the blonde girl at the party), succeeds and they all (not the step-sisters and step-mother of course) live happily ever after (because only one dance is needed to find your true love). So why watch a film that you already know?

Cinderella's sidekicks-Jaq and Gus, Gus

Well have you ever wondered whether there was any humanity within the step-sisters, ever been in wonder of more depth in Cinderella’s character, or have you ever been curious of how a human managed to befriend mice? Disney’s adaptation does its best to answer all the burning questions that have been pondering generations in this family loving fairy-tale. And hey even the mice get some character!

In the fairy-tale Cinderella’s adopted family seem like ignorant idiots who are completely mindless in their actions, trust me the step-sisters don’t improve in the film, but in the story the step-mother is portrayed as an incredibly intelligent women who would do anything to get her way; making the fact Cinderella’s father married her much more understandable to the viewers. Cinderella’s step-mother (Lady Tremaine) has an affect that will leave cause a chill to run down viewers’ backs; she rarely shouts and has a calm voice even in anger (unlike her screaming daughters). However this makes her presence more significant and a villain to be feared. When Cinderella’s father married her he described Tremaine as a woman of good values, this shows how she is able to easily manipulate people, not only to trick them but to also do her bidding. This is a woman of coldness and power that would do anything to get her daughters to succeed, her hatred for Cinderella is never explained but it can be inferred that she is not too fond of anyone. In my opinion she is the best asset to the film, so watch out for Lady Tremaine!

Cold, Cruel and Calculating, Lady Tremaine in action

Love is in the air- Cinderella and her prince look lovingly in each other's eyes

If you are looking for the romantic side of the story then prepare to be disappointed. Despite Cinderella being a romantic fairy-tale there is not much in the story that describes the process of them falling in love so the film does not have much to pick up on; there isn't even a conversation during the dance, in fact there isn't even one word exchanged between them throughout the film! I guess the writers were trying to go along with the famous saying- actions speak louder than words.

The stars of the show comforting Cinderella in her distress

The character of the animals is a great addition to the show, with the mice’s efforts to get away form the mean cat’s wrath, the horse and dog comforting Cinderella in her misery and how can we forget the mice and birds creating that beautiful ball gown for her?

Overall Disney’s adaptation of Cinderella is a brilliant film to be enjoyed by family. 9/10