Cinderella (Two-Disc Special Edition) Reviews

• Don't miss the next Disney release!

  
  By A281NPSIMI1C2R on 2000-10-12
  Cinderella
  
  This favorite Disney classic has enchanted generations of children. It has the message that if you dream, your dream can come true.
  
  "A dream is a wish your heart makes." --Cinderella sings
  
  Cinderella lives in a run down house and sleeps up in the tower. The view of the king's castle is like a beacon of hope for her. Hope for something in the future gives children meaning in life and promotes optimism. They can also relate to the sibling rivalry between the sisters! The cat is just so naughty and the mice adorable.
  
  Cinderella also sees the good in life. Even though she has to clean, cook and is basically the maid in her own home, she still even finds good in life and even the evil cat, Lucifer. While she is washing the floor, she sings and bubbles float in the air. Each bubble carries an image of her scrubbing the floor and the harmony is just beautiful as you hear many voices (all hers) singing.
  
  The pumpkin transformation is my favorite part and Cinderella's dress is just sparkling. I never noticed it before but there is sparkling everywhere like diamond dust. It really adds a touch of magic to this enchanting story. Perfect for October! Even at 33, I still love this movie.
  
  ~The Rebecca Review
  
  

• Enchanting!

  
  By AXJTNYD3UK1BP on 2003-08-06
  Cinderella is a story of a young girl who's only living family left is her (mean) step-mother and (equally rude) step-sisters. Cinderella is forced to be the housekeeper, cook, chore girl, etc. She takes care of all needs of the step-family. Her only friends are the animals she takes care of, except for Lucifer, the mean old cat.
  It is made known that the Prince is looking for a bride. The animals help Cinderella by creating a beautiful gown from an old dress. When the step-sisters become jealous of how beautiful Cinderella looks, they rip her dress to shreds and leave her to stay home while they attend the ball. This is where Cinderella's Fairy Godmother steps in and creates a nite worth remembering for her.
  I hesitate to say anymore for fear of ruining the movie for you! This is a Disney classic that should be in every family's video library. My 2 girls, ages 4 &5, love this movie! After watching it, you'll find them in their room, dressed up, pretending to be Cinderella for days!
  Wonderful family movie!
  
  1smileycat :-)
  
  

• Disney's Cinderella; The Best Disney Classic Yet?

  
  By on 2002-09-10
  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.
  
  

• Magical

  
  By A2I6MHMAZZDCRX on 2005-10-08
  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.
  
  

• Way over priced

  
  By on 2000-03-14
  e-toys has this for 19.99
  
  
• An ok movie with 60% fluff for extras.
  By A283NP8NG7X11F on 2005-11-14
  While Disney may no longer have the magic of being able to make a good movie that the whole family can enjoy (did anyone see Valiant? That's what I thought), they're doing a good job lately with restoring their classics in the Platinum/special edition series line of discs. And while their order of releasing them is questionable (Pocahontas before The Fox & The Hound?), I'm sure to snatch them all up after missing Snow White and Sleeping Beauty when they were released a few years ago. So when Cinderella was announced, I was hyped to get one of the most memorable of Disney tales. Well, after watching it for the first time in 10 years, I was a little disappointed. While it's a good movie for younger kids, I don't see why this one did as well as it did. Prince Charming has no redeeming qualities that we're aware of aside from being rich.
  
  The movie starts out with us being introduced to a little group of mice that run around in colorful clothes in a big house. They're tormented by the house cat: Lucifer, but other than that, lead a pretty good life, and they're buddy-buddy with some birds. After a few comical moments from these guys, we're introduced to Cinderella, a kind hearted young woman who lives in that house with her stepmother and her hideous stepsisters. It just so happens, that her dad found something decent about her, and they got married a few years back. Now, the stepmother has Cinderella around if only to have as a maid. Why Cinderella didn't "accidentally" push them down a flight of stairs after all these years is beyond me. At the same time, the king is freaking out, curious why his son isn't seeking women (I still find myself laughing at this. What an innocent question back then). So in order to carry on the family name, he holds a ball for all the single women in the land, hoping that his son finds someone. Cinderella is told that she can go as long as she provides her own dress, and the mice and birds begin to help make one for her. It's beautiful, up until the stepsisters trash it. She goes outside, cries over how it isn't fair, and a magical Fairy Godmother shows up. Why she shows up just now, after all these years of Cinderella being mistreated, is a better question. But she basically turns Cinderella into a princess, and she's off to the ball. You know how the rest goes.
  
  While I don't want to make it sound like I didn't enjoy the movie, Cinderella hardly lives up to the hype Disney gives it. This pales to Snow White, Aladdin, Bambi, and Lady and the Tramp. Most people don't even remember half of the movie- they just know the whole glass slipper, evil stepmother and stepsisters, singing mice, and Bibbity Bobbity Boo. And all of that happens in the last third of the movie. You could almost call the rest of the movie filler, as much as I hate to say. But Cinderella is a good film to show the kids, and something to relive some of your youth with. Though I still cringe every time Lucifer meets his demise. While it's not graphic, I just hate seeing bad things happen to cats. Heck, I still skip over a certain scene in Willard, and I'm 20.
  
  Disney did a phenomenal job cleaning up the film. It looks like it was made yesterday. There's not a single bit of grain, artifacts, or any other issue that's frequent with older animated pictures. No jaggies here. I was speechless the moment I got past the still pictures that introduced the main story. Anyone who's never seen the movie will almost deny that it was made such a long time ago after seeing this transfer. The audio's good, but not great. Face it, the movie's entirely center speaker focused, and there's little point in Disney giving it the 5.1 surround treatment. This is as good as the movie can sound though. You have to remember that fixing sound glitches isn't as easy as painting over marks in animation cels.
  
  The first disc has some of the most pointless special features I've seen on a Disney disc to date. Starting with a music video for A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes performed by a bunch of Disney Channel "stars". Of the entire group, I only see any talent in the crew of That's So Raven and Brenda Song. I laughed for a few minutes at this one curly haired blonde girl with a huge mouth, who looks like an even uglier Hilary Duff. I guess her name is Alyson Michalka. But her tongue looks like it's trying to escape her mouth. You'll have more fun seeing the rejects that parade in this video than listening to them repeat the chorus for almost 4 minutes. Even worse is a short Making of the Video, which doesn't really show us how they made it. It's mostly the singers (and I use that term loosely) talking about how they like the song. There's also a video montage of Disney princesses to the song Everybody Can Be a Princess. Whether or not this promotes certain sexual lifestyles, I'm unsure. Even more useless is Cinderella Stories, which runs for almost 34 minutes, and has nothing to do with the movie. Rather than give us a good commentary track from film historians or former Disney employees who worked on the film, we get a collection of underdog moments from ESPN. If you're into sports, you'll like this, if not, don't even bother. I was amazed though, that Disney actually let them mention what kind of cancer Lance Armstrong had at first here, after they cut down videos by Bare Naked Ladies on the Disney Channel, calling them "BNL". Fortunately, disc 2 has some decent extras. Like two deleted scenes with an intro from Don Hahn. We get two songs that were cut from the movie. One is newly recorded from the sheet music, and plays to story boards. It's cool to see that one of the songs was turned into a scene in Sleeping Beauty a few years later. In the Music & More section, there's a gem in the Cinderella and Perry Como. It's from an old show from the "golden age of tv" (read- Leave it to Beaver was considered risky), and I watched this feature a good 3 times in a row. Picture 3 women from that era dressed as mice singing the work song, and then a talk show host singing Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo. They all look like they want to die right then and there. There's also an original title song demo recording, unused songs (in demo form), and some radio performances. It's so obvious that they're following a script, that they're worth a listen. Most of the good featurettes are in the Backstage Disney section, that covers how Disney wasn't sure if the movie was going to help Disney in their financial slum. It's very interesting to see how long it took to get the story to the big screen. There are also some interviews with current animators, a great gallery on Mary Blair's artwork, and much more. It's just a shame that these don't give us as much info as the extras in Bambi's special edition.
  
  I don't think they can release a better edition of the movie at this point, but if they can include some of the special features that I've heard were on the Cinderella laserdisc 10 years ago, then we'd truly have everything regarding how the film was made. Is Cinderella a good movie? Not really, but it's something everyone should watch at least once. If anything, animation students can really appreciate how far along animation's come since these times, when animators would trace over real people's dance movements to get more realism. Now, you can get 2 years' worth of animation done in about 5 hours with any high-tech PC. But just pick up Cinderella now before it's gone for another 10 years.
  
  
• This is a Classic?
  By A3GKPMHV4U64IY on 2006-01-05
  My daughter loves the story of Cinderella and she has become very familiar with the Disney character designs so I decided to get this movie for her. But this is no Rodgers and Hammerstein telling of the tale. My daughter found it disappointing and will stick with her other versions.
  
  I was very surprised when I watched this with her. Unlike many versions, this one does a good job of setting up the family dynamics and how Cinderella found herself with such unagreeable family. But after that goes downhill. Cinderella is very kind-hearted and tries to find the good in everybody. She has made friends with mice and birds and even made clothes for them. Unfortunately fully half, yes, half, of the movie is made up of mice trying to get away from a cat. I couldn't believe it! Here I am looking for a classic Cinderella story and I get a game of cat and mouse.
  
  When the film is not busy showing us the cat and mice, it does attempt to tell the story. The ending is handled in a slightly different way and there is no Queen (just the King and Prince). When it was all over I felt that I had spent too much on the movie and had wished it had been a rental (I doubt it will get played again). I also did not find myself humming or singing the music. My advice is to stick with the Lesly Ann Warren version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic.
  
  
• Walt Disney's Best Movie
  By A84Z6XUMGRMJ1 on 2006-07-22
  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.
  
  
• a DVD review
  By A2B7BUH8834Y6M on 2005-10-06
  A DVD review is more than just a review of the film. Yes, we get DVDs to keep an archived version of the film to watch for years to come, but the nature of the format is that it has the capacity to hold much more than just the film.
  
  Dedicatioin to integrity:
  The film has been digitally remastered, making the colors and outlines really pop out on my HDTV... even though I have a 7-year-old DVD player without progressive scan, it looks nice on screen and there is no distortion in wide format. Viewers can listen to the DVD in English, Spanish or French. Subtitles are in English only, however. The film is a timeless classic, with upbeat, memorable songs, easy-to-hate villains and a rags to riches story where young lovers live happily ever after... replete with singing, altruistic animals. This is a film that can be enjoyed for generations ad infinitum by all ages - a great addition to any established DVD library.
  
  Picture & Sound:
  Digitally enhanced on both ends - sound is almost surround quality, the original soundtrack has been digitally restored as has the visuals.
  
  Games & Activities:
  Macintosh owners be warned - the Royal Life DVD-ROM does NOT work on a Mac. There is no note ANYWHERE on the disc or the packaging to tell you what the computer requirements are. You can use the DVD player to view the film and access the various features of the DVD, but the Royal LIfe DVD-ROM just shows a preview - then tells you to put the disc into the DVD-ROM drive of your computer. Considering it was in my computer when it said that, one can only conclude that Macs are left in the cold. Shame on Disney for this - a flash-based or Java based game would work on both platforms.
  
  The House of Royalty section features some un-named hipster 11-year-old who tries to become the ultimate princess. Some parents may object to the notion that being a princess is so important and that the best clothes and a custom-designed bedroom are the key to being a princess. It's a sweet story for young girls - but should 11-year-olds (and younger) be so pre-occupied with lasso-ing Prince Charming? What about making mud pies, catching butterflies and doing other kid stuff first? It's entertaining, but this is a section I'd personally want to be present for when my children were watching so I could pepper in some parental wisdom on what is truly important in life.
  
  The Princess Pajama Jam seems a little ridiculous if you ask me. It's just some out-takes from other Disney films involving dancing that is over quickly and then it says "Play again?" as though you've just played a game... I didn't feel like I did a thing. Perhaps if I was 7 and had a bunch of girls over for a slumber party, we'd dance to this without being bored for maybe about 4 seconds - it is lame and doesn't need to be in there - or it should have been redone.
  
  Deleted Scenes:
  This is a misnomer - there are no missing or deleted full-motion sections that are visible. There are sketches that are set to music that didn't make it. Interesting, but not deleted scenes in the true sense of the word - more like "the scenes that were considered but never rendered"....
  
  To me, the best bonus features are the interviews with the animators and voice talent that went into the film, including a commentary by the voices of Cinderella, Prince Charming and Anastasia.
  
  The Cinderella Stories section presented by ESPN Classics is an apparent attempt to make little brothers sit still while their sisters enjoy the film. Personally, I think the film is enjoyable for both genders and all ages - the animals and their antics cross the gender lines - and while I doubt there is any little boy out there that asks for Cinderella for Christmas, it's still a film that a young boy could enjoy watching.
  
  Sneak Previews:
  The continuous theme of "Coming Soon!" will really date these DVDs - in 10 years when you've already seen the new films a million times. I personally would have preferred to see the original movie trailer for Cinderella!
  
  I haven't seen Cinderella II, but the preview for Cinderella III is disturbing, in my opinion. The evil stepmother now has the ability to cast a spell and rewind time to before the ball. This transcends evil and segues into witchcraft and the desire to control the destinies of other people. If my kids were watching this film, we'd be skipping that trailer and the movie of which it previews. Ech!
  
  The second DVD with the fun interviews does not have closed captioning. I am not hearing impaired but not everyone on earth articulates well - I like closed captioning to supplement the audio. Plus, if you are deaf or hearing impaired, you're not going to be able to enjoy the second DVD. That is a pity.
  
  I am relieved that Disney does not force commercials as they have in other DVD installments, in which the menu button does not work and you have to sit through 20 previews everytime you pop in the DVD. They have finally heeded the voice of their audience. In a nutshell, a great film, an OK DVD.
  
  
• Great restored picture and sound do justice to the classic. Extras are mixed.
  By A3M2WW0PO34B94 on 2005-10-21
  Restored film and sound *****
  Extras ****
  
  Disney has, once again, released a great DVD edition of one of their classics. These titles are what DVDs were meant to be; great editions of the film, tons of extras, a joy to watch. But haphazard organization of the extras, glaring examples of corporate synergy and a couple of minor glitches mar the overall presentation.
  
  "Cinderella" is one of the most celebrated classics created by the late filmmaker. A gentler reworking of the fairytale, the film remains extremely popular among young and old. The DVD edition features a restored picture bringing all of the brilliant pastel colors to life and a digital soundtrack allowing all of the memorable songs to be heard as though they were recorded yesterday.
  
  Cinderella's (Ilene Woods) wicked stepmother and two step-sisters have taken over the house once owned by her beloved father who has died. Stepmother spends every cent on her two daughters, singing lessons, dresses, every luxury, leaving Cinderella to do all of the housework in the large chateau, an indentured servant in her own home. Cinderella's only friends are the mice, including Gus and Jacques, and other animals that help her through the day. The King decides to host a ball for his returning son, the Prince, insisting that every eligible woman in his kingdom attend. After working her to the bone, Stepmother leaves Cinderella behind and takes her daughters. Distraught Cinderella loses all hope until her Fairy Godmother (Verna Felton) appears.
  
  Summarizing an animated film is difficult. So many different things contribute to the success that merely describing it, without giving everything away, doesn't seem to give the film its due, to capture the magic.
  
  "Cinderella" is a magical blend of great animation, fun songs and amusing animal characters. From the moment the book opens and the animation starts, you realize you are in for something special. Artist Mary Blair helped to create the look of the film, a blend of pastel colors perfectly evoking the period of storybook France in which the story is set. If anything, the restoration has made these colors a little too crisp, but they are bright and beautiful to look at.
  
  The film is filled with classic Disney music. From "Bippi Boppi Boo" to "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", some of the most fondly remembered music in the Disney library included in this classic. Clearly, very fond of this story, Disney worked on it for a long time. When the finished product was released, and praised, it became a hallmark of his work, a template for many, many animated efforts. It isn't a coincidence that he chose to put Cinderella's castle smack dab in the middle of his first theme park. In 1955, with Disneyland about to open, he realized that this film was one of his best and would continue to endure. Now, every version of the Magic Kingdom has a Cinderella Castle.
  
  After watching Cinderella's horrible life with her wicked stepmother and step sisters, the moment when the Fairy Godmother transforms her, complete with 1950s era gown and hairstyle, is truly magical. Watching Cinderella get a taste, no matter how small, of the life she truly deserves is a gratifying experience. Maybe it's just me, but does it confuse anyone else why the Fairy Godmother makes the mice into horses and the horse into the coach driver? It seems a bit like putting the cart before the horse.
  
  All of this magic more than makes up for the rather simplistic view of love presented in the film. The prince falls in love with Cinderella because she looks beautiful. He wants to dance with her before they even speak. He shuns all of the other women, rolling his eyes, simply because they aren't beautiful. Also, don't forget to "leave the sewing to the women". Great lessons for the little girls watching. I guess this was appropriate for 1950.
  
  As with most of the recent deluxe DVD sets, "Cinderella" is filled with extras. I haven't had a chance to go through them all, but a few are worth mentioning.
  
  Unlike in the past, the extras aren't organized quite as well. The first disc features the restored film but also includes "ESPN's Cinderella Stories", short documentaries on Joe Namath's New York Jets' team, the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team, Mia Hamm and the Williams Sisters. This is taking corporate synergy to an all new, ugly level. Joe Namath on "Cinderella"? There are also "Coming Attractions" for other Disney releases. I'm glad to see "The Little Mermaid" and "Lady and the Tramp" will both get the Platinum treatment next year.
  
  The second disc contains material for both young and old. In previous releases, Disney has included all of the kid related material on the first disc, along with the film, leaving the second disc for the archival material. For "Cinderella", almost everything is combined on disc number two.
  
  Perhaps the most interesting extras are two songs which were recorded for the film, but ultimately deleted. They are included with original concept art. If you need any evidence about how important it was to restore the soundtrack, just listen to the "Cinderella Work Song" and "Dancing on a Cloud", both in their original recordings. It is fun to watch the art, and hear the music, but they sound like recordings made from old LPs. Also, there was a minor glitch with my DVD. I chose the PLAY ALL function. After a brief intro, it skipped the first song and went directly to the next.
  
  An interesting side note: "Dancing on a Cloud" would later be adapted for "Sleeping Beauty".
  
  There are also seven deleted songs. Again a glitch seems to be present; it skipped two of these offerings when I pressed PLAY ALL. Like most classics, deleted material was usually deleted for good reason and none of these songs is particularly memorable.
  
  The most interesting extras are four short documentaries. "The Cinderella That Almost Was" tracks Disney's work with this project over the years. "From Rags to Riches" is a more traditional "making of" documentary. "The Art of Mary Blair" explores her contribution to the look and feel of this project. As noted earlier, she was responsible for the beautiful pastel look so important to this film. Last but not least is "From Walt's Table: A Tribute to Disney's Nine Old Men". The nine old men are the guys who worked on most of Disney's best films, shaping the look, the characters, everything that helped to make them memorable today.
  
  A variety of radio and television programs promoting the film are included, including bits with Perry Como and an excerpt from "The Mickey Mouse Club".
  
  The least interesting extras involve more corporate synergy. "House of Royalty" is a featurette tied into "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and features Sally, from the Disney Channel. Just the description scared me away.
  
  The obligatory music videos featuring current popular acts singing the classic songs, games and CD Rom material are included, along with a preview of "Cinderella III" and a 1922 Laugh-o-Gram based on the same fairy tale.
  
  Any time Disney releases one of these Platinum Edition DVDs or the super deluxe editions they did for "The Lion King" and "Snow White", I will eagerly plunk down my money for a copy. But I wish they would return to a format of putting the kids stuff on the same DVD as the movie and putting all of the historical, technical and encyclopedic extras on a separate disc. I don't want to have to wade through music videos with tween singers and games about dress-up in my quest to learn everything I can about the making of a classic.
  
  "Cinderella" is a full-fledged classic and a must for every library. Kids will love it. Adults will remember it fondly. Film buffs and historians will love the informative extras. Go. Buy it!
  
  
  
• Don't throw your VHS copy away just yet!!!
  By A1P8U9DXXW614T on 2005-10-05
  Why did Disney decide to change Cinderella's dress color from silver to blue? The answer is $MARKETING$!! They market Cinderella in a blue dress when the original color was a silver. I turned back and forth from the VHS and the DVD. Disney not only lost the original color of the dress during the ball and the escape from the ball scenes, but also lost the quality! Her dress was more detailed and sparkled more in the original silver color. The DVD makes her dress look like they painted by number!!! I am very upset!!!!
  
  
• Timeless Animated Classic
  By A2AOZQ3WTNVVOK on 2006-06-09
  "Cinderella" is an animated movie from Disney Studios that will be a family favorite to the end of civilization. The 2-disc special edition DVD actually is an edition worth having. The picture is sharp and clear and the multitude of extras has enough high spots to justify paying a bit more.
  
  Walt Disney kept the story basic, which is where the beauty of this movie lies. Cinderella lives with her step-mother, who is subtly wicked, and her two shallow, mean step-sisters. Cinderella has to take care of the house, her step-sisters and her step-mother, while dressing in rags. As we know, the house originally belonged to Cinderella's father. In spite of Cinderella's oppression, she remains upbeat and manages to thrive; somehow keeping the treatment she receives from affecting her.
  
  We also know that the king wants his son to marry because he hungers for the pitter-patter of little feet running about the castle. The king conspires to have a ball in which all the eligible maidens of the kingdom are invited.
  
  Cinderella sees a chance to have some joy in her life. Cinderella really does not care if she meets the prince; she just wants to do something other than be a handmaiden, housekeeper and cook. Cinderella's step-mother cleverly has her daughters destroy the dress made by Cinderella's animal friends, and Cinderella at last feels the despair that comes to a person held in slavery.
  
  When all hope appears lost, Cinderella's fairy godmother appears, and with a bit of bibbidi-bobbidi-boo Cinderella is ready for the ball, glass slippers, carriage and all. The ending of the story is all ready for to give us a good feeling.
  
  The magic that Walt Disney gives this film comes from the colorful imagery and the comic relief provided by a host of critters. Cinderella's main allies in this film are mice. The continuing battle between the mice and Lucifer, a cat with a disposition much like that of Cinderella's step-mother and step-sisters, allows behavior that would have been inappropriate for the character of Cinderella. The mice are permitted to voice the anguish that Cinderella usually is unable to.
  
  The animation of this 1950 film is outstanding. Remembering that each cell of this movie was hand-drawn and painted makes the achievement nothing less than incredible. The scenes involving the castle and Cinderella's costume are superb examples of hand animation at its best.
  
  This movie was nominated for seven significant awards and won four awards. There are surprises in the awards. One nomination was for the 1950 Hugo award for dramatic presentation. The Hugo awards are for science fiction, and the nomination of "Cinderella" appears somewhat a field from the intent of the award. The other surprises are that many of the nominations and awards came years and decades after the original 1950 release, including a 2005 nomination for a satellite award for this 2-disc special edition.
  
  In addition to the Disney classic are dozens of features that extend for hours. Some of the features are directly related to "Cinderella." Some, such as those from ESPN, are more of a stretch. Some of the features are interesting and enjoyable; others will be interesting to you depending on your tastes.
  
  Once upon a time Walt Disney was the source for classy animated movies. A few of these movies are timeless classics that will intrigue audiences and professionals alike. This movie is one of those. Enjoy!
  
  This review is based on a DVD provided to me by Amazon and Disney Studios.
  
  
  
• Disney's Fairytale that all others are measured by.
  By A3E832FY3AIKFT on 2004-10-02
  Well, only a year to wait...
  This two disc Platinum Edition will follow Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Aladdin and (Easter 2005) Bambi as Disney's jewels in their DVD crown when it is released next October.
  Whilst seemingly forgetting how to produce a decent animated film lately, the folks at Disney sure know how to produce DVD packages. Expect deleted songs, artwork, games, docs, commentaries and much more!
  Just avoid the embarassingly bad sequel.
  
  
• Great movie but a extras are hit and miss
  By A2XRZV63X79YSJ on 2006-02-11
  There are two well known versions of Cinderella, the French version and the German Brothers Grimm. Disney and Rodgers & Hammerstein used the more family friendly French version and Sondheim & Lapine used the more grisly Brothers Grimm.
  
  The story is very simple. A young girl's father remarries to vain and cruel woman with two daughters of her own. Her father dies and the stepmother turns Cinderella into a servant.
  
  The King wants his only child, the Prince to marry. So he holds a ball with all the eligible maidens. The evil stepmother and her two daughters attend but make sure that Cinderella does not. Come to the rescue Fairy Godmother. She does her magic and uses Cinderella's animal friend. The Prince sees Cinderella and instantly falls in love. But she has to leave before midnight and only leaves her glass slipper.
  
  A search for true love begins!
  
  This is a fun version of the fairy tale with the most violent villains of all three main versions of the story. This is still a great movie but if you want the best get the Leslie Ann Warren version of the Rogers & Hammerstein TV special.
  
  DVD EXTRAS:
  Disc One -
  Cinderella Stories presented by ESPN Classic: Joe Namath host 10 sports "Cinderella Stories" from teams like NY Jets in Superbowl III and 1980 US Hockey Team to individuals like Lance Armstrong and Mia Hamm. You can watch all ten or just the ones that you want. These are superficial but can be inspirational for young kids. (Total running time 34 minutes)
  
  Music & More - Two music videos and a making of video (9 minutes total) A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes is done by Disney Channel stars and shows that with today's technology anyone can be made to sound alright. It also shows how you can take a great song and make it into drivel. This is followed by making of video. Every Girl Can be a Princess which uses clips from all the Disney "Princess" films. The song was written for a Princess album. It actually is very nice.
  
  Disc Two -
  Deleted Scenes - Two deleted scenes and an introduction by Don Hahn (Producer of Beauty and the Beast. The Cinderella Work song is newly recorded and has the original storyboards. Dancing on a Cloud is the original recording with the original storyboards. (10 Minutes)
  
  Music & More -
  Cinderella & Perry Como: A 7 minute excerpt of his show promoting the film. Perry narrates with Ilene Woods (Cinderella) and the Fontaine Sisters as the mice singing the song live. The end is a jazz version of Bibbidy Boobity Boo by Perry, Ilene and the sisters - this is great.
  Cinderella Title Song: Original demo recording probably by the song writers (no storyboards). (2 minutes)
  
  Unused Songs: 7 songs not used in the film - audio only (17 minutes). Disney animated films always had unused songs. Usually, the scene that it is used in was cut but sometimes it just didn't advance the story and this was the number one rule of songs. They do not give singing credits on these.
  
  Radio Programs: Three radio program excerpts promoting Ilene Woods (12 minutes) - Village Store introduces Ilene as Disney's choice for Cinderella and she sings When You Wish Upon a Star. Gulf Oil Presents Ilene sings A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. Scouting the Star with no singing.
  
  Games & Activities -
  House of Royalty: Three six minute vignettes on Look - Live - Act Like a Princess. These are for the youngsters only and they probably will not watch them more than once. Although Act Like a Princess has some tips everyone could use.
  
  The Royal Life - DVD ROM game in which you can point and click to make your dream castle, ball gown or bedroom.
  
  Princess Pajama Jam - A really silly 3 minute game on dancing like a princess. It would have been better if this lasted longer as a child's exercise program but it is really an advert for the Princess Party DVD.
  
  Backstage Disney -
  From Rags to Riches: The Making of Cinderella - Four featurettes totaling 39 minutes. This is actually an indepth look at not only the film but Disney and has interviews (from 1995) with the original animators. The section on the voice casting is really interesting as many of the voices were well known character actresses. It is really great.
  
  The Cinderella That Almost Was: This is a 14 minute featurette on the genesis of the story from a Silly Symphony to various early incarnations that were never used. It is very interesting to see what didn't make it into the film.
  
  From Walt's Table: A Tribute to Disney's Nine Old Men - This is a 22 minute round table discussion with today's top animated film makers discussing the original nine animators. It is nice but nothing special.
  
  The Art of Mary Blair - A fifteen minute tribute to the artist who helped conceive the style of many Disney animated features.
  
  Storyboard to Film Comparison: Opening Sequence - A seven minute comparison of the film to the original story boards or live action reference shot. These are always fun to watch.
  
  Cinderella Still Galleries - Massive stills galleries from concept drawings to posters
  
  1922 Laugh-o-Grams: Cinderella - An early animated short based on Cinderella set in current times.
  
  Excerpt from The Mickey Mouse Club with Helene Stanley (1955): A four minute sequence with live action model Helene Stanley.
  
  
  
• Cinderella
  By on 2002-10-16
  I am simply amazed with the animation technology. When watching you don't actually realize that the actors are portrayed by cartoon characters. It is so realistic, and harmoniously pleasing to the ears. The musical scenes intertwined with the storyline is simply outstanding. When you watch a movie I believe that the main objective is to be entertained and taken away from the daily grind, transported to a magical, pleasing and positive place. This movie based on a fairytale does exacting that. It is a story about a young girl whose only living relatives are a mean and vicious stepmother and two equally dispicable stepsisters. She is turned into the one and only household servant whose only friends are the animals that surround her and assist her with her chores whenever possible. They even help her recreate and old dress to wear to the ball. Their efforts were only to be thwarted by the wicked stepsisters who shred the dress. It is then that Cinderella meets her fairy godmother. She makes her dream come true and goes to the ball in style-with a few interesting stipulations. A wonderful family movie to be enjoyed by all ages young and old.
  
  
• Simply Wonderful!
  By A1RECBDKHVOJMW on 2005-07-24
  I like to walk on the dark side. Film noir is my thing, and in fiction, grim is good. I could lie, (just a little white one), and say I purchased "Cinderella (Disney Special Platinum Edition)" for my daughter, a niece, nephew, or neighbor's child. But I'll admit it! I bought Cinderella for me, myself! It's one of my Top 5 favorite movies, and has been at the top of my list since the first time I saw it at age five. OK! It's no "Chinatown" or "Double Indemnity," but something happens to me when I hear, "Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo - put them together and what have you got?" A terrific feeling in your heart...a warmth deep down inside that spreads, and for a brief moment, actually for the length of the film - 76 minutes - the world is a beautiful, safe place filled with optimism and love and happily ever after! "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" is not the Rolling Stones - but once I hear the tune, I go around singing it for days. Great cut! It doesn't drive me crazy. It makes me feel wonderful!
  
  Walt Disney's adaptation of this glorious fairy tale, that as a feminist I should be dissing, is the best! This digitally restored 2 disc set includes "Rags to Riches," a short about the making of Cinderella, documentaries - "Cinderella That Almost Was" and "House of Royalty," some newly discovered deleted scenes, reconstructed songs, and new games and music videos. Gus and Jaq are better than ever - such charisma - Jude Law, watch out!!
  JANA
  
  
• Why Disney's Cinderella is Still the Best
  By A1CY6RGVEG9XOL on 2005-10-06
  Cinderella was originally released in 1950 by Disney. There have been at least 40 alternative versions of Cinderella released both before and since then, both animated and with live actors.
  
  What sets Disney's version of 1950 apart? It is the central role of the animated mice and birds, Lucifer the ever-scheming troublemaker of a cat, and Bruno, the loveable old hound who dreams of catching Lucifer. The mice and birds are constantly helping Cinderella compensate for the oppressive work overload assigned by her stepmother and two stepsisters. The mice have to overcome Lucifer's constant efforts to catch and eat them and to get Cinderella into horrendous trouble with her stepmother.
  
  The basic Cinderella plot line serves merely as a frame holding a canvas on which these animal characters play out the main parts of the story line through their cat and mouse games. It is these antics, communicated through short pidgin English phrases from the mice and deliciously evil facial expressions and body language of the cat, that endear the film so much to children and to the child in us all.
  
  The setup menu offers 4 audio options:
  
  - English 5.1 Dolby Digital sound track
  - French 5.1 Dolby Digital sound track
  - Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital sound track
  - Restored original monophonic sound track, which is Dolby Digital and includes both a center channel track and a sub-woofer track
  
  To my ears, the new 5.1 channel English sound mix makes the mice's pidgin English conversations much shriller and much more muddied, so I found it harder to understand what the mice were saying than the restored original sound track, which is much clearer.
  
  It's interesting that when the mice break out in song together, they sound much like the munchkins singing together in The Wizard of Oz, released 11 years earlier by MGM in 1939.
  
  Cinderella was nominated for 3 Oscars in 1950, but lost to other films:
  
  Best Sound, Recording: lost to "All About Eve", 20th Century Fox Sound Dept.
  
  Best Music, Original Song; lost to "Captain Carey, U.S.A." song "Mona Lisa", Paramount
  (Cinderella was nominated for the song "Bibbidy-Bobbidi-Boo")
  
  Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture: lost to "Annie Get Your Gun", MGM (starring Betty Hutton as Annie Oakley)
  
  The only prize Cinderella won in 1950 was a special award at the Venice Film Festival in Italy. However, in the years since then Cinderella has won the hearts of children around the world for the special characters it brought to life, especially the mice Gus and Jacques and the cat Lucifer.
  
  The mice Gus and Jacques as well as the dog Bruno were all voiced by James MacDonald, a Scot who was also the "second voice" of Mickey Mouse from 1946 to 1976 (Disney had several voice-over artists in its stable of Mickey Mouse voices).
  
  Amazon.com's Editorial Review above of Disney's Cinderella mentions several other versions of this movie, such as the Rodgers & Hammerstein productions of 1957, 1965 and 1997, The Slipper and the Rose in 1976 starring Richard Chamberlain, Gemma Craven and Margaret Lockwood; Shelly Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre version in 1982 starring Jennifer Beals, Matthew Broderick, Jean Stapleton and Eve Arden; and Ever After in 1998 starring Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, and Dougray Scott.
  
  Additional Cinderella films that one could mention include the 48-minute "lite" version from Goodtimes DVD (ASIN: B000069HPF), and the hilarious "Cinderfella" of 1960 (ASIN: B0002NY8SA) starring Jerry Lewis, in which he plays a persecuted stepbrother with an evil stepmother, and gets some help from his "fairy godfather" to meet a "princess charming" looking for a husband at a ball. The "princess charming" is played by the beautiful Anna Marie Alberghetti.
  
  Among this funny film's special treats are a live jazz performance by Count Basie and his world renowned band, Jerry's inimitable jazz dancing, and a tremendous amount of physical comedy that is Jerry Lewis' trademark.
  
  All these films serve to compliment, highlight and confirm the classic status of the one and only Disney Cinderella.
  
  
  
• Cinderella sparkles like never before
  By ABH4G7TVI6G2T on 2005-11-16
  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.
  
  
• Keep your VHS tapes, folks!
  By AL3VD837WBU4B on 2005-11-25
  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.
  
  
• For All Princesses Everywhere
  By A28OB1QLXN5BM6 on 2008-08-24
  Everyone knows the story of Cinderella; her story is perhaps the most well-loved princess story of all time. At three years old, my young daughter is enamored of all things princess, and Cinderella is clearly the most beloved princess of all. We recently were lucky enough to take a fabulous Disney cruise. When my daughter actually got to meet Cinderella, to hug her and to talk to her, she was quite literally quivering. I truly thought she might faint from the excitement. It was her dream come true.
  
  Disney's classic masterpiece brings Cinderella's story to life, in full, rich, beautiful color, with familiar, catchy, adored songs, and gorgeous, detailed, vivid animation. This tale is endearing to princesses of all ages, young and old alike. We watch Disney's CINDERELLA several times a week in our house, and every time, my daughter watches straight through from beginning to end, completely enchanted. Heck, I am still completely enchanted, even after all these years. It is lovely, charming, sweet, and happy. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all princesses everywhere.
  
  
  
• A Disney movie that a 3yr old is not afraid of
  By on 2002-11-18
  Other than Winnie the Pooh, this is one of very few Disney films that doesn't have at least one scary scene in it.
  My twins are almost three and this is the first full length film they have loved. Its magical and has great music.
  
  
• Cinderella an Outstanding Platinum Edition
  By A7Y6AVS576M03 on 2005-10-03
  I was privileged to an advance copy of this DVD and I must say that Walt Disney's CINDERELLA was and will continue to be an endearing classic for the entire family. This new DVD Platinum Edition is outstanding. It is the best copy to be issued since the Laserdisc versions. The restoration is brilliant. The extras are truly extraordinary going far beyond some of the other recent Disney restored animated classics that have been issued. The Backstage material was very good. I liked the new digital 5.1 enhanced surround sound. It gave the film a whole new dimension of brilliance and emotional impact. I liked this new DVD immensely.
  
  
  
• Great Special Editon but is Disney Getting Better or Worse with Special Features?
  By A3QSWMU9C7AW31 on 2005-10-06
  I love Cinderella and I think we can all agree it is a classic and the film is really grand in it's use of animation and of course the wonderful ideas presented by Mary Blair were a huge contribution to the film. I want to deal a little bit more on the Special Features side and stir up the suits at Disney a bit.
  
  Collecting Disney animated films is a great hobby and I have been doing this even before DVD and I own many LaserDisc box sets that Disney has released over the years and we are talking 125.99 sets! (DVDs are far cheaper I don't want to hear from readers talking about how expensive some sets are on DVD. When you pay 125.99 for a DVD set of a SINGLE film then we will talk. These sets are not even have the cost. One of the best laserdisc sets that was released in 1995 was Cinderella, housed in a elegant looking box. Most tasteful presentation! It really was a Special Edition with bonus features that were easy to dive into. Suddenly with DVD the executives at Disney I think have went through lengths thinking they are doing the great things by doing page to page artwork gallerys that I'm sorry to say is so badly executed. What happned to the SIMPLER WAY! Do a menu breakdown of what art work we will see backgrounds concept art etc and let us go through these images to our hearts content I don't care if there are 300 in that listing so be it. It is SO much easier than taking the time to look at say 10 of them then making the buyer have to go to the next "gallery" to see the next set. let us just forward to the next piece of art and let it flow. If you are older lovers of Disney you know what I am talking about. Every special edition uses this form of artwork presentation and it really is not fun and makes many just say forget it. Especially if they own the LaserDisc sets I would rather hang on to these sets to look at all the artwork it is 300 times easier.
  
  Adding bonus features like Princess Pajama Jam parties or whatever is I have to say really REALLY cute but lets be really honest Who came up with that? Let us stick to the film and present it with special features that don't dumb it down. Take a Criterion type of approach better yet license them to Criterion and let them release a more adult Special Edition minus idiotic song rendetions of classic songs by Disney Channel artists. Include commentary tracks by worthy people like Canemaker and let them talk to us with all technical terms and not dumb things down. Let's hear about animation techniques and history. We don't even get any great secondary audio recordings hardly ever anymore of older Disney laser sets we were even given isolated score and sound effects tracks. Those days are gone.
  
  It is all nice and fun to be very dramatic in the making of by saying it was the studios biggest gamble but come on I've been through it so much. It is fine to include that information but lets not push it you'd think the place was gonna explode back in 1949! Mention it but move on use some class.
  
  Plus when you release a "Gift Set" it seems to want to cater to the more older Disney fan so why are you still including big but while I admit the artwork is wonderful lets add some great text not storybooks for children. Step up with some intellgence. When one pays SO MUCH MORE for a nice Box Set make it just that. They is no way the cost warrants the bargin bin goodies we recieve. The actual cover art on these sets like Cinderella - Lion King - and Aladdin are wonderful very nice job I'm sure Little Mermaid will be nice also. It seems these box sets feature a more refined cover art look like those great laserdisc box sets of before. Let's stick to that but give the buyer some goods! The film transfers are really great i would suggest not to rip out the original RKO Distribution title cards it sort of cuts the films and takes away form the presentation. Please include the Walt Disney Pictures log but then go into the films with the RKO intros. it is the correct presentation of the laserdisc release of 1995. I rate this film 5 statrs but I have to say the Special Gift Set Edition should only rate a 3 at most cause of lack of adult oriented bonus features and while they are included they seem to be more of a bother to access.
  
  I hope people from Disney read this and take into consideration changes that would make their bonus features more worth while and not a waste of energy and time. and please stop degrading the original classics by releasing direct to video sequels that are only made to make a buck and cheapen the original films.
  
  
• Beautiful clarity, awful color
  By A1XGJXNLTOOTSM on 2005-10-05
  Although this DVD is crisp and beautiful, it is a shame that Disney chose to alter the color of Cinderella's dress through out the ball scene. Her dress should be silver, as it is when her fairy godmother created it, and the color changes to blue in the moonlit scenes. But, in an effort to justify it's vast merchandising of a blue dressed Cinderella, Disney has chosen to alter the color in several indoor scenes, so that the dress is seen to be blue more often then silver. Why couldn't they just restore it correctly?
  
  
• THE ULTIMATE FAIRY TALE NOW ON DVD!
  By A27NTH2Y9DAR31 on 2005-04-17
  This animated feature saved the Disney studio from almost cetain bankruptcy; there hadn't been a big hit since Snow White, and the studio was foundering, badly. Cinderella came along and put on the glass slipper and showed it to the world and the rest, as they say, is history. The songs from Cinderella have stayed with me all my life, and are a fixture I carry with me from many years ago when I saw this magical movie for the first time, my favorite being "So This is Love..." Cinderella contained a scene that Walt himself stated was his personal favorite of all from the wonderful features he created, and that is when Cinderella gets her dress from her Fairy Godmother. The dress, if you notice, is a color that literally defies description and really does seem to come from the magic wand of the FG; the entire scene is fantastic, the mice turned into beautiful, horses to pull the exquisite coach, created from a lowly pumpkin, that dances on it's vine over to the FG so she can transform it into the thing of splendor, the Fairy Coach. The stars and twinkles from the dress and the transformations are spectacular, and it is hard to imagine the meticulous detail the animators used to draw these fairy dust particles that add such enchantment to the scene. Cinderella's old horse becomes a buck-toothed coachman and is clearly delighted to be included in the excitement of the night. An actress/dancer named Ilene Woods was rotoscoped (a technique where the actors are filmed and then drawn over) for her part as Cinderella and it is her movements that became Cinderella's. The Wicked Stepmother is a great Disney Villain, voiced by Eleanor Audley, who later voiced Maleficent for Sleeping Beauty; her voice is fantastic, the perfect blend of sophistication and malevolence. When first seen in her vast bedroom, stroking the wretched cat Lucifer, she seems to be a real witch with her familiar, and her face remains in shadow for a time...The mice are wonderful little characters, the cutest, IMHO, is Gus-Gus, a tubby little guy Cinderella finds in a trap and rescues and gives him, as all her little mice friends have, tiny clothes including shoes. Lucifer the cat is dreadful, such a bad kitty you dislike him all the way, and Bruno, Cinderella's old hound dog saves the day and sends Lucifer to his just reward. Jacques, the lead mouse, is the real hero, and saves the day at a critical point toward the end. There is a wonderful scene of the King lamenting his son's lack of a suitable wife to the Grand Duke, another great and very amusing character, and yearns for grandchildren while looking at portraits of the Prince from childhood up until the present day, and as the Prince gets older, the portraits get bigger and bigger and the last one is so enormous it has to hang in a castle of truly magnificent and royal proportions.
  This is the all-time classic fairy tale, originally written by Charles Perrault, who also wrote Sleeping Beauty, another of my favorite Disney classics in ever sense of the word. I have this on VHS, and have watched it too many times to count; and now I cannot even imagine how beautiful and rich the colors will be on DVD; I cannot wait to get my copy and look forward to many viewings of this wonder that saved the Disney stuido from disaster, for the unending benefit of all of us children, from infants to 100+ year olds. Enjoy!
  
  
• If you are conventionally pretty you can marry a rich prince
  By A3A5WH3CKX5K6L on 2005-10-04
  I cannot think a film is decent if it makes the good-looking people morally "correct" and the unattractive people villains. There are many people who look lovely on the outside and are hideous on the inside.
  
  Just as some of the most conventionally unappealing people have the purest most beautiful hearts.
  
  This film sends the wrong message.
  
  
• A classical must have!!
  By A3C6CZC2JP67VK on 2005-12-01
  I was excited also when this story came out on DVD. This edition is great and I love the color enhancement. It's great to see my daughter enjoy the same movie that I once watch.
  Certainly one of the most important themes of the story is that dreams can come true if you stay optimistic and keep wishing; however, one of the messages that I really like my kids to see is that no matter what life throws at you, you chose how to react to it. Cinderella certainly has a hard life being treated so badly, but she still wakes up every morning singing and trying to stay positive. She has her moments when it is just overwhelming, and just feels like crying -- which is okay, too. Although Cinderella is a fictional character, her character is very much like many good people in the world. We should all strive to be so positive and good to others.
  
  This delightful tale will enchant both children and adults alike. This classic story is brought to life in wonderful Disney fashion, with beautiful music, colorful animation, and, of course, animals who can talk. I recommend anyone who likes classic animated movies to get "Cinderella."
  
  P.S. Grab this one fast before Disney place it back in it's vault.
  
  
  
• Dreamy and fantastic
  By on 1999-03-26
  Cinderella is a delightful tale that will enchant both children and adults alike. This classic story is brought to life in wonderful Disney fashion, with beautiful music, colorful animation, and, of course, animals who can talk. Every young girl's fantasy is lived out through the humble Cinderella, whose hard work pays off when she is paid a visit by her fairy godmother on the night of the ball, when Cinderella falls in love with and marries Prince Charming, despite the ill wishes of her stepfamily. The humorous addition of Cinderella's "friends," the mice, birds, and household pets whom she so sweetly adores, add to the overall effect of the film, which is one of magic and make-believe, hope and wonder.
  
  
• Will Cinderella ever escape her dreadful step family?
  By A2QRB6L1MCJ53G on 2001-02-19
  "Cinderella" is a movie about Cinderella, a girl who's father died and she has no choice but to live with her sickeningly wicked stepmother and her equally hateful stepsisters. Cinderella is nothing but a slave to all three of them, they make her do every chore in the house while they do what what they want to. But Cinderella thinks she might have a chance to go to the Ball at the castle where the prince will choose a wife. Cinderella's stepmother tells Cinderella that she can go to the Ball if she does all her chores and if she has something to wear, with IF being the main word. Of course, the stepmother and the two stepsisters will do everything they can to keep Cinderella from having a chance to go to the Ball or have anything else go good for her. But with the help of Cinderella's many animal friends, especially the mice, and her Fairy Godmother, she just might have a chance to go to the Ball and escape from her current, dreadful life.

  Ever since I was a kid, I've always enjoyed watching "Cinderella." What makes "Cinderella" a great movie are all the entertaining characters that are in the movie. All the characters from the wicked stepmother, to Cinderella, and even the animals are well done and they're all entertaining in their own way. The songs in "Cinderella" are pretty good, but they're not some of the best from the Disney movies in my opinion. But "Cinderella" does have some of the best animation out of any of the classic Disney animated movies, and it has many memorable parts such as when the mice are toying with Lucifer the cat, when the Fairy Godmother helps Cinderella out, and of course, the part that everyone remembers, when Cinderella loses her glass slipper. I recommend anyone who likes classic animated movies to get "Cinderella."
  
  

• OCTOBER 4, 2005!!!!!
  By ANNQ5O2341T1R on 2005-03-04
  It's finally coming! There is a preview for it on the new Bambi disc!
  
  My well-worn tape from the mid-90s will at long last be replaced by a DVD! They've made us wait so long for this one and Bambi -- my Bambi tape is from 1989, quite fuzzy and dark -- I could hardly stand it!
  
  Rejoice, Disney animation fans! The date is set!
  
  

• Aladdin (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
• Dumbo (Big Top Edition)
• Alice in Wonderland (Masterpiece Edition)
• Bambi (2-Disc Special Platinum Edition)