Cinderella (1950)

 

Genre: Musical/Fantasy             Time: 1h 16mins            

Director: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske

Quick summary: When Cinderella's dream of attending the Royal Ball and meeting the Grand Duke is hindered by her cruel stepmother, she gets some astounding help from her Fairy Godmother.

This is a wonderfully delightful movie and is honestly so sweet, it warms my heart so much. It really can't do anything wrong.

In my honest opinion, this film is really for everyone. I'm sure everyone can find something to love about this film. It has such a cute charm to it that really draws you in.

One thing I want to say right away is I adore Cinderella as a character. Even though she is super kind and friendly, she’s also got a great sass and sarcasm to her which is so funny, making some rather snarky comments that surprise you for a film from the 1950s. Yet she’s also remarkably chipper for someone so oppressed; it makes you root for her, to see her demonstrating such inner strength. She’s portrayed in a realistic, relatable manner and this is such a good message to anyone! The overall message of this film is, that good thing come to those who wait, even if things seem at their worst. I think she is a wonderful role model, teaching kids to stick up for themselves too.

Lady Tremaine is also well-written and voice acted so brilliantly, cunningly worming her way out of her bargain with Cinderella after the girl unexpectedly fulfils the terms they agreed upon. You could actually meet a person like this in your life, which is really what makes her so scary. The key to her effectiveness is the understated nature of her performance, which makes her seem real. It's done by maintaining a soft, deadly tone sprinkled with a sort of false sweetness – but when Cinderella tries to interrupt her, she is sharp as a snake in her reproaches. To add to this, the atmosphere really when she is on screen makes her that much more intimidating, everything is dark with an overtone of dark, shadows are huge and cast along the room, and the music lingers in the background only rising when she has acted cruelly towards cinderella. 

Cinderella is an example of rotoscoping used properly, as a guide rather than as a substitute, it allowed them to focus on the story more and animate the keyframes quicker, being able to fill in the gaps more fluidly and easily. My favourite parts of the animation were the animal characters, with their crazy expression and over-the-top emotes. Animation works best when emotions are stretched and exaggerated, filling in for most of the visual gags. My favourite was when one of the mice pulled the short straw for a very dangerous task, he portrays a face of doom that is honestly so funny. 

The animation is honestly so pretty and fluid in this. It's not that detailed when it comes to characters, unfortunately, though I don't mind that considering how well it is animated and how detailed the backgrounds are.

Unfortunately, the songs are kinda forgettable, which is the only one I remember being "so this is love". None of them has enough flair to them, but I will say Ilene Woods's singing is absolutely magical. There is one scene where Cinderella is singing while scrubbing some floors and I was absolutely enchanted by it.

9/10

“Well, there's one thing: they can't order me to stop dreaming.”