Cinderella


This was the film that saved Disney's Studios and enabled it to be a cultural institution. It made so much money that Disney was able to pay off their debt, finance most of their productions in the 1950s, and start to build Disney World. Despite a few artistic successes, most of the films released in the previous decade by the company had been both commercial and artistic flops. What makes this film so good? The first striking thing is that Cinderella is actually a real, believable character who makes choices and has wants and desires. This is in contrast to Snow White, who was just singing with birds all day. And while she sings about wanting her dreams to come true, it's clear that she wants to escape her situation and not necessarily find a Prince. The prince in this story is the one who lacks any agency. He's just introduced by this huge and quite funny portrait, and then he falls in love with her. Another fun part about the movie is that there's this whole subplot of the conflict between Lucifer and the mice, which adds nothing to the story of the film but is entertaining nevertheless. Apart from the character of Cinderella, the best part about the movie is the animation. While it lacks the Baroque details of Pinocchio, it is full of brilliant moments. First, the colors really pop out of the screen like it's a watercolor painting but more vibrant. There are these great sequences - for example, one where Cinderella is singing, and you can see her reflection in the bubbles - and yet another where her evil stepmother is in the darkness, and she opens her eyes, and they're this evil shade of green. Great one thing that might be a little bit better is the way that the faces of Cinderella and the prince are drawn when they're dancing together, to try and emulate the styles of actors and actresses at the time the movie was made, and it feels a little bit strange. I am trying to watch all the Disney films in chronological order and I have to say I really like this one and that was a surprise. It's no doubt my favorite.

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