Movies - Cinderella

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	Movies - Cinderella

Cinderella is the twelfth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was produced by Walt Disney, and released to theaters on February 15, 1950 by RKO Radio Pictures. In the film, a young girl abused by her stepmother and step-sisters is still able to go the ball and win her prince, with the help of a fairy godmother, a half dozen mice, and a pumpkin. The evil stepmother Lady Tremaine and her malevolent cat Lucifer, make foils for Cinderella and her allies in this musical version of the fairy tale.

The film was directed by Clyde Geronomi, Hamilton Luske and Wilfred Jackson, adapted from the fairy tale "Cinderella", drawing primarily from the version by Charles Perrault. Songs were by Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman. Songs in the film include "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo", "So This is Love," "Sing Sweet Nightingale", and "Cinderella".

History

Production

Made on the cusp, between the classic "golden age" Disney animations of the 1930s and 1940s, and the less critically acclaimed productions of the 1950s, Cinderella is representive of both eras.

Cinderella was the first full-bodied feature produced by the studio since Bambi in 1942; World War II and low box office returns had forced Walt Disney to produce a series of inexpensive package films such as The Three Caballeros
, Make Mine Music
and Fun and Fancy Free
for the duration of the 1940s.

Unlike most Disney films in which, during production, there were more removals than additions, Cinderella was just the opposite. Just as the role of the cricket was intensified during the production of Pinocchio, so were the roles of the mice in Cinderella. They became some of Cinderella's closest friends during the film and also helped her with the making of the dress. Additionally, according to Marc Davis, one of the directing animators of the film, roughly 90% of the movie was done in live action model before animation. Even Lucifer the cat was modeled after animator Ward Kimball's cat. Animators were having trouble coming up with a good design for that cat, but once Walt Disney saw Kimball's furry calico, he declared, "There's your Lucifer."

In music, Walt tried again to call on Larry Morey and Charles Wolcott to create the songs, but all were dreadful. So, for the first time, Walt turned to Tin Pan Alley song writers to write the songs. This would later become a recurring theme in Disney animation.

Release

Walt Disney had not had a huge hit since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The production of this film was regarded as a major gamble on his part. At a cost of nearly $3,000,000, Disney insiders claimed that if this movie had failed at the box office, it would have been the end of the Disney studio. Luckily, the film was a big hit, allowing Disney to carry on producing films throughout the 1950s (both animation and live-action alike) while other studios were cutting back in terms of output and quality.

Re-release schedule and home video

Cinderella has been re-released theatrically in 1957, 1965, 1973, 1981, and 1987. It was released on VHS video and laserdisc in 1988 ("The Classics" video issue, becoming the first video to feature the "Sorcerer Mickey" Classics logo before the film) and 1995 (Masterpiece Collection video issue). Then it was remastered for DVD in 2005 as the sixth installment of Disney's Platinum Edition series. It sold 2.5 million copies in its first week, earning over $64 million in sales.

Cinderella theatrical release history

February 15, 1950 (original release)
February 14, 1957
June 9, 1965
March 23, 1973
December 18, 1981
November 20, 1987

Titles in different languages

Catalan: La Ventafocs
Chinese: 仙履奇缘
Czech: Popelka
Danish: Askepot
Dutch: Assepoester
Estonian:Tuhkatriinu
Finnish: Tuhkimo (also known as Satu Tuhkimosta)
French: Cendrillon
German: Cinderella (also known as Aschenputtel)
Greek: Σταχτοπούτα
Hebrew: סינדרלה
Italian: Cenerentola
Japanese: シンデレラ (Shinderera)
Norwegian: Askepott
Polish: Kopciuszek
Portuguese: Cinderela: A Gata Borralheira
Russian: Золушка
Serbian: Pepeljuga
Spanish: La Cenicienta
Swedish: Askungen
Turkish: Külkedisi

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