Cinderella
Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson et al
Written by Bill Peet et al from the original classic by Charles Perrault
1950/USA
Walt Disney Studios
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Cinderelly, Cinderelly/ Night and day it’s Cinderelly/ Make the fire, fix the breakfast/Wash the dishes, do the mopping/ And the sweeping and the dusting/ They always keep her hopping / She goes around in circles/Till she’s very, very dizzy/ Still they holler/ Keep a-busy Cinderelly![/box]
What little girls’ dreams are made of.
I don’t really have to summarize the fairy tale do I? In this version, Cinderella is befriended by all the mice and birds in her garrett. She and her friends also have to deal with a malevolent (and very funny) cat named Lucifer.
Back before the days of home video, Disney rereleased its classic cartoons every five years or so. It was a much anticipated event. I was at exactly the right age for this movie to be part of my childhood. I think I might even have had the soundtrack record. So it can’t really be reviewed, just enjoyed in a nostalgic glow.
I do think the songs are better than average. “Bibbidi-Bobbi-Boo” was the hit but “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” is also classic. My favorite was the above quoted Cinderella song, sang by the animals in voices reminiscent of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Cinderella was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of: Best Music, Original Song (“Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”); Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture; and Best Sound, Recording.
Clip
CINDERELLA is simply a part of us, to be viewed uncritically. As is WALT DISNEY’S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR (even if we watched it in black and white) and Disneyland. And, Walt himself, for that matter!
You are so right. As a child, my family lived close enough to Disneyland that we went anytime friends or relatives came to visit. It was another big part of my childhood. Still remember the different categories of tickets for the rides and how there were only a few for the “good” ones so we had to be selective.