(1950)
4.5
Craig Butler
Possibly the best version of what may be the most-told story of all time, Cinderella was a delightful return to form for Walt Disney and the Disney Studio. Directors Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske lavished a great deal of care and attention on the production, and it shows. The character designs are specific and precise, yet created without extraneous detail, making for easy, fluid animation. The transformation-for-the-Ball scene and the escape from the Palace, especially, are splendidly done. The story is compact and economical (notice how the picture moves from the breaking of the glass slipper to the wedding in a matter of seconds), yet maintains all of the necessary particulars. It has even been expanded to include the now-familiar Disney-talking animal friends. Here, they are charming and amusing -- and provide Cinderella with someone to talk to. Ilene Woods makes a marvelous Cinderella, her voice a combination of girlishness and sophistication; she also possesses a serenity and assurance which makes one feel she is more in control of her life than might be guessed by her surroundings. Eleanor Audley is an icily menacing Stepmother and Verna Felton's Fairy Godmother is the picture of warm befuddlement. Buoyed by a lovely score, Cinderella is a treat that bears many repeated viewings.
Cinderella on AllMovie
Cinderella (1950)
