Whoops, were you expecting the 2015 version!? Well, it’s always good to look back to the originals first as it will be easier to compare it to the newer version while it is fresh in your mind. This very well could be the most popular Disney Princess although most of the classics would like to contend with that. (Snow White!) This title was better than Aladdin, but not quite as good as Sleeping Beauty so it’s in the middle when compared to those two. It’s certainly nostalgic when watching this title though.

Cinderella’s father died (not mysteriously in this version) so the step mom took over the family fortune and squandered it on her two daughters. She never liked Cinderella and forced her to become a slave. One day, a large party is to be held in the castle and Cinderella wants to go. The Step Mom stops that from happening and quickly scampers off. Cinderella’s fairy god mother gives Cinderella a quick wardrobe change and a mode of transportation as well. The catch is that she must be back from the party by 12! Cinderella rushed off, knowing that missing the deadline is the last thing she would do!

All right, the story is certainly classic so you are likely familiar with the plot. Cinderella is a pretty nice main character. She goes through some difficult times and always gets through them cheerfully. It is a bit much to see her just agree with everything that the step relatives are doing though. It’s not like they could do much in a fight. The worst scene for her is probably when the villains lock the door. Breaking it down shouldn’t be too difficult for her. Ah well, for the most part she takes it all in stride. I do think it would be great if she was a little more defiant, but that isn’t for everyone.

Naturally, the whole love at first sight thing will still make you wince, but at this point it is just part of the legend. The Prince seems like a good guy so at least she’ll have a good future. It would have been nice for her to have had a reason to like him though. Maybe saving her from a dragon or if they had engaged in a good game of Chess. That could have made the bond a little more real. As it stands, the King was a little more charismatic here. He’s not actually a nice guy as he just wants Cinderella to be married to the Prince so that he can have grandchildren, but at least he’s serious about his goals. His minion doesn’t seem to value his life quite as much as he takes many risks with the King. There are several times where you may begin to think that it will be the end for the attendant!

The step sisters are both pretty annoying and are made to be unlikable characters from the start. There are no redeemable qualities for them or for the step mom. Every film needs an antagonist I suppose, but I much prefer some of the other villains like the witch in Snow White or Maleficent. These villains can’t fight and they can only use their social standing to battle. That’s probably why I couldn’t really take them seriously here.

Naturally, the animation looks good. For its time, the animation is pretty great. It’s a 50’s show, but it looks just as good as a 2015 cartoon like Teen Titans Go, which is very embarrassing for the latter. It was certainly a tough and tedious task making each frame hand by hand back in the day. It’s one that would be very tough for the average animator to do today, but it was worth it since Cinderella holds up to this day. Considering that Cinderella didn’t need fancy computers, that gives it an edge over the 2015 cartoon.

The soundtrack is not quite as good as some of the other classics though. I think the singers just weren’t as charismatic although it could also be the songs. They’re not bad of course and they did get quite popular so it will all depend on your style. We also didn’t really have a chance to get any danger or battle themes here since there wasn’t any action. We’ll have to leave that to Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty this time.

One thing that I definitely don’t miss from the old days of Disney are the unique voices. The mice speak in such a high pitched voice that it is very difficult to hear what they are saying. This isn’t a good thing as you will just start to tune out what they are talking about and imagine that they are simply squeaking. It will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. There were a lot of animals who appeared, but one of them was the villain, which isn’t quite as fun as when they’re all nice. The heroes have to fight the cat at times and it results in animal fights that are not a blast to watch. It’s all in slapstick Tom and Jerry style so it’s not actually violent or anything, but you can still feel bad for the cat at times. He’s made to be unlikable of course, but he’s still a cat.

Cinderella is a very short film so it will be over before you know it. It’s one of Disney’s sadder films though as things don’t go Cinderella’s way until we near the very end of the film. It’s why I’m a little wary of the modern film as I hope they don’t drag on the Cinderella being a slave part for too long. That’s certainly the worst part of the film, but it naturally picks up from there. Cinderella could have avoided the last bit of trouble if she had handled the glass shoe situation with more tact, but it all ended up working out thanks to the mice.

I think the main thing that hurts Cinderella here aside from the animals plot and the being a slave plot is probably the lack of action. It’s not quite as exciting as the other Disney classics. There’s rarely any danger to be found here as Cinderella’s life is unpleasant, but not dangerous in the least. I can’t think of any scene where you are fearing for her health. Naturally, you can surpass this with great writing, but it’s still hard to get around. A quick scuffle or a random band of thieves for the prince to fight would have been pretty neat.

Fans who have seen this many times may wonder why Cinderella’s shoes stayed though. Was it a gift, Did the prince grabbing it cause the shoes to stay, was it a plot hole, or was it just one of those things that we try to forget? It’s pretty interesting and my favorite option to pick is still the plot hole although it is certainly debatable. After all, what’s a good film without a plot hole right? It’s also Cinderella’s fault for forgetting about the time. That was something that she should never have forgotten considering how dire the circumstances were at the time.

Overall, Cinderella’s a decent film. I think it’s not quite exciting enough to be called a downright good film though. There’s nothing exceptional about it. The writing, soundtrack, and characters are all there, but they don’t really stand out. The animation does stand out for its time though so that’s a plus. The most enjoying part of the plot is actually the banter between the king and his adviser. They could have likely held their own film and it would have been interesting to see how it would have been. Their brief fight atop the bouncing mattress was pretty fun and it shows that the film could have handled a sword fight. Will this film beat the 2015 version? I’d assume so as this is the kind of story that typically doesn’t translate well into Live Action due to a number of reasons. Live Action is simply limited when it comes to stories that take place in this old era because the actual film tends to look dated at times. Still, maybe it will surprise my like Maleficent. I recommend checking this out if you are going to watch the new version of if you like the Disney classics. Otherwise, I have to recommend going with the modern Disney thriller, Frozen, this time. That one defeats this film in just about every category.

Overall 5/10