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81 of 92 found the following review helpful:
 Keep your VHS tapes, folks!Nov 25, 2005
By William T. Clegg
I looked forward to this DVD release for months and snagged a copy the first day it was available. My excitement turned to dismay, however, as I began to watch it. From the moment the birds open the curtains to reveal Cinderella in her bed, it became painfully obvious that Disney truly had "enhanced" the picture to within an inch of its life. Instead of restoring this beloved classic film, the images have been changed; this is NOT Cinderella as she was first seen in 1950. Just to make sure I wasn't mistaken, I did a comparison between my parents VHS tape (the original video release) and the DVD. True, the picture on the DVD was much sharper and the sound was crystal clear, but Cinderella's hair was NEVER that color of yellow, and lines that were part of the original animators drawings, faithfully inked and painted onto the original cells, are no longer visible. For instance, right at the beginning of the film, when Cinderella turns over in her bed to shut out the sun, there were originally clearly drawn/inked lines in her blanket to show the drapery of the fabric. Those lines, obvious in the VHS version, are now only visible if you zoom in on them. Similar editorial decisions on the part of the DVD authors are evident throughout the film, though they decrease in frequency as the film progresses. It could be said these changes don't matter much, but they truly affect the look of the film. I often found myself thinking it looked like a Scooby-Doo cartoon, a far cry from any Disney classic. Although I understand that Disney owns this intellectual property in the legal sense, I don't understand why the've chosen to disrespect that very property, especially in light of their excellent work on Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, etc. Hopefully, this is an anomaly and Disney won't continue to offer us disfigured films.
32 of 36 found the following review helpful:
 MagicalOct 08, 2005
By Mark Baker
In an effort to revive his sagging animation department, Walt Disney turned once again to a fairy tale. This time around, he chose one of the best known and oldest of them all, Cinderella.
The tale is familiar. A beautiful girl is abused by her stepmother and stepsisters and forced to work as their slave. When a ball is given for all the eligible maidens in the kingdom, Cinderella dreams of going too, only to have her hopes dashed at the last minute. With a gift of magic, she is able to go, but only until the stroke of midnight.
The story is so well known, if fact, that any story about an underdog coming from behind and winning is called a Cinderella story. Disney's job here was to make the story entertaining for 75 minutes. The solution here was creating the animals. Mice Jaq and Gus and their constant struggle against the evil cat Lucifer is funny and tying this sub-plot to the ultimate outcome is brilliant. The other standout character is the stepmother who is frighteningly evil with no super powers.
As with any Disney movie, this one also has great songs. Arguably the best known is "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo." Right behind it is "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes." My favorite, however, is the often overlooked love song "So This is Love."
While not the best release in the Platinum series, it still stacks up well. The movie has been restored, and it looks great to me. I'm not a nitpicker, but I can't find any problems with the full frame picture, the original aspect ratio. There is an enhanced 5.1 home theater mix, which doesn't seem quite as impressive as some other releases. It seems more like the sound coming equally from all speakers. Of course, given the age of the film, there probably isn't much more they could do. For purists, there is an original soundtrack on the disc as well.
The extras in this set seem to be split between content for kids and adults, with the kids winning. Disc one includes a new version of "A Dream is a Wish" with the stars of several Disney Channel series. It also has several "Cinderella stories" in sports moments, a weird feature to me. Disc two includes several features about living like a princess.
Also on disc two are the bonus features adult fans of this movie will want to watch. There are two "deleted scenes," which are really abandoned songs with the storyboards created for them. In edition there are more abandoned songs with no storyboards on here. It's pretty interesting watching how various ideas went from one form to another before finally making it into the movie. Other extras include a thirty-eight minute documentary about the creation of the show, including achieved interviews with the animators behind the show. We are also treated to an overview of how the movie progressed over the years it was in development, a tribute to the "Nine Old Men," Disney's "Laugh-O-Gram" version of the story from 1922, and radio promotion from the time. I was thrilled to see trailers from the movie's multiple releases here. Unfortunately, there is no commentary in sight.
This Platinum DVD release means that all of Disney's animated movies have been put on DVD at some point in the last few years. While the Platinum series isn't quite as nice for adult fans as they used to be, this is still a release that fans of the movie will want to pick up.
65 of 77 found the following review helpful:
Disney's Cinderella; The Best Disney Classic Yet?Sep 10, 2002
I believe that the 1950 Disney adaption of the fairy tale by Charles Perrault is one of the most popular Disney movies released since 1937. This movie is funny, sad, and charming at the same time, which may sound impossible for some movies.I have watched this movie since I was 2, and I am now 12, and let me tell you that after 10 years, you never get tired of it. I have the Masterpiece copy on this page, and it is very, very worn out, so I cannot wait for Disney to re-release this classic on Disney VHS and DVD in 2007, so I can buy it and technically get my hands on it! :) Anyway, this movie is about a girl named Cinderella, who's father and mother have both died. She is forced to live with her vain and ugly stepsisters and cruel stepmother, and furthermore is forced to become a slave in her own home. Cinderella's only friends are the loyal mice, the birds, the dog an also the horse. One day, an invatation arrives from the palace, stating that every eligible maiden in the kingdom has to attend to a royal ball, honoring the return of the prince. Cinderella's stepmother lies to her, saying she can go only if she gets her chores done, and if she finds something suitable to wear. She does all her chores, while her animal friends make a dress for her. Sadly, the stepsisters tear it up, and leave. However, Cinderella meets her Fairy Godmother, who sends her off to the ball, but she has to be back before the stroke of midnight, otherwise, the spell will be broke... Enjoy this Disney masterpiece once again, which proves that dreams can come true.
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Cinderella sparkles like never beforeNov 16, 2005
By Byron Kolln
Stunning new 2-disc `Platinum Edition' of Disney's 1950 fairytale confection CINDERELLA. The story is as old as the hills: Cinderella is mistreated horribly by her cruel Stepmother and stepsisters Anastasia and Drisella. Her only friends are some pet mice, the birds and her faithful dog and horse. When the Prince invites all the eligible maidens in the land to his grand ball, Cinderella is heartbroken when her Stepmother forbids her to go. Enter the magical Fairy Godmother, who, with a little "Bibiddi Bobiddi Boo" magic, enables Cinderella to live out her happily-ever-after dream.
From a historical perspective, the Disney studio was pinning it's future on the success of CINDERELLA. World War II had virtually wiped out the studio's international market and films like PINOCCHIO, BAMBI and FANTASIA had lost a lot of money on their initial releases.
Disney has performed a complete restoration on the film, including an extensive frame-by-frame cleanup of the original camera negative and the result is eye-popping (almost alarmingly-so as every hint of speckle, dirt and debris has been removed). The film looks showroom-new and it's hard to believe the thing was actually made over 50 years ago. Likewise the soundtrack has been sweetened with Disney furnishing the film with an all-new "Enhanced Home Theatre" 5.1 mix. But purists need not worry, as the original mono soundtrack is also included.
There are some fantastic extras on Disc Two including an all-new `Making-Of' documentary which features recent interviews with Ilene Woods (voice of Cinderella), Mike Douglas (the Prince) and Lucille Bliss (Anastasia). "The Art of Mary Blair" is an invaluable look into the life of the revered Disney concept artist and designer; "The Cinderella That Almost Was" hosted by Don Hahn explores the scenes, songs and characters that were considered but eventually cut from the final film. "Disney's Nine Old Men" is a charming segment hosted by Joel Siegel which has the leading Disney animators of today remembering the trailblazers who created the classic Disney animated masterpieces.
There is also a charming clip from Perry Como's television show which publicised the film with a performance from Ilene Woods. A clip from "The Mickey Mouse Club" features Helene Stanley (the live-action reference model for the Cinderella character) enacting a scene with the help of the Mouseketeers. There are also extensive galleries, interactive games and DVD-ROM components.
There are however some needless (and downright questionable) extras like the ESPN Classic "Cinderella Stories" programme, which profiles sport celebrities and their rise to fame. Just what exactly does all this have to do with Disney's Cinderella? Plain boring old filler. That said, the rest of the package is outstanding. For Disney collectors and families everywhere, this is a must-own.
15 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Walt Disney's Best MovieJul 22, 2006
By Duane Thomas
Disney made its mark as a major studio in 1937 with its first full-length feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Ironically, given this early success, Snow White was their only hit movie for the next 13 years. World War II kicked the hell out of Disney's overseas markets. Even movies today regarded as classic Disney - Pinnochio, Bambi, Fantasia - lost money on initial release. Disney eked through by diversifying into training films for the US government, and the South American films that were part of FDR's Good Neighbor policy, etc. - stuff that made back its costs but not much more. By 1948, Disney was in dire financial straits. They had just enough money for one more movie. Walt Disney realized he needed a hit or his studio probably wouldn't survive, and it would have to be what they did best: a full-length animated feature film. Walt said to himself, "What we need is a movie about a girl in trouble. Audiences love that. They loved Snow White." That's what he wanted: a movie like Snow White, but even more so - more comedy, more drama, more magic, more music, more lovable characters. He chose as the basis of his company's Hail Mary pass arguably the most famous fairy tale in the world: Cinderella.
Disney didn't have the money, as they had on earlier films, to lavishly storyboard every scene. Thus they hit upon the wonderfully clever idea of shooting the entire movie in live action, then the animators used stills from that as storyboards. The photos used survive to this day, and many are provided as a Special Edition "extra." In some cases these photos have the animator's drawings over them, turning for instance an almost bare stage into a hall in Cinderella's family chateau.
In 1950, Cinderella was released and was everything Disney so desperately needed. Even today, Cinderella is arguably the best movie Disney's ever made. It's just awfully hard to argue with any aspect of this film. The animation artwork was a product of Disney's famous "Nine Old Men" - at that time not yet old. Cinderella pulls off, superbly, something not particularly easy to do: it integrates believable human characters with funny cartoon animals and makes it work. From Eric Larson and Marc Davis' beautiful and graceful Cinderella to Ward Kimball's wonderful Jaq and Gus-Gus the mice and over-the-top Lucifer the cat, everything flows together so well it all seems perfectly natural.
Part of Walt Disney's plan to out-Snow White Snow White with Cinderella involved its music. He very consciously wanted Cinderella to be a source of hit songs. There had been hit songs from Disney films before ("Heigh Ho" and "Whistle While You Work" from Snow White, "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Pinnochio, etc.) but they'd been almost accidental. "Oh, we have a hit song, well that's nice." For Cinderella, Disney for the first time went to Tin Pan Alley (28th Street in New York City where the professional songwriters could be found). Disney wanted his girl's music done by the very best craftsmen, the guys who wrote hit songs for a living. The Cinderella soundtrack hit big (a #1 album with 3/4 million units sold) with songs even today considered quintessential Disney, most notably "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from the movie's opening scene, "The Work Song" while the animals help Cinderella clean the house and simultaneously build her ball gown, and "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (nominated for an Academy Award as best movie song of the year) from the Fairy Godmother transformation scene.
For their best movie, Disney apparently spared no expense producing the DVD. Not only has the picture quality been digitally restored, but the audio has also been cleaned up with a new 5.1 surround sound mix. Totally gone is the background hiss associated with so many old movies. (Cinderella has the distinction of being "the noisiest movie ever restored" according to its audio crew.) The original mono soundtrack has also been spruced and is provided as an option for purists.
A word about the movie's aspect ratio (i.e. how wide the picture is compared to its height). The DVD cover says Cinderella is presented in its "Original Full-Screen Aspect Ratio (1.33:1)". This is untrue. Virtually all sound films until 1953, including Cinderella, were 1.37:1. Since a TV screen is 1.33:1, you don't lose a lot when the original is "formatted to fit your television." I just wish they hadn't lied about it.
Cinderella ends at breakneck pace: we go straight from her foot sliding into the glass slipper to the wedding to Happily Ever After, bing, bang, boom. Walt Disney believed "Audiences like a happy ending, but they don't like a happy ending that goes on too long." Hey, who am I to argue? Well, maybe I'll argue. A DVD extra addresses scenes originally planned for the movie but not actually used. One of these would have occurred after the fitting of the glass slipper and before the wedding: Cinderella is taken by the Grand Duke to the castle in her normal everyday clothes; the first time Prince Charming sees her since the ball she's not wearing a lovely gown, she's wearing her scullery maid outfit. Cinderella is frightened, how will he react when he realizes she's not a fine lady but a poor servant girl? And of course he doesn't care how she's dressed, he loves her anyway. I can **see** that scene in my mind, it would have worked beautifully. This is the one way in which an almost perfect movie could have been even a tiny bit better.
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