Cinderella – Special Edition
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras: B Film: B
Just when you thought everything was out on DVD, which is
far from the case, another classic arrives.
Cinderella – Special Edition is yet another key American film
finally arriving on DVD after only being released previously on tape and even
12” LaserDisc for limited periods. At
one time, the company said they would never issue their classics on home video
of any kind, but that policy changed a long time ago and a set this good makes
everyone happy it did.
The 1950 classic was a key commercial and critical success
for the company, still smaller than even the smallest studios at the time (they
were bigger than Monogram!) and in their RKO distribution deal, they were
struggling to survive the post-World War II malaise all the companies
were. They would survive RKO, Monogram
and television. Though it may seem like
Cinderella was their first film since it defines so much of what the
company decided their artistic and corporate identity would be. However, Disney was an expanding and
developing company, not one that was just built in a few months like some strip
mall.
This film has been the target of all kinds of celebration
and revisionist criticism since, especially from Feminists who find the film
anti-woman or anti-female, but closer examination 55 years later shows
otherwise. Certainly, the film and
Disney Company have never hid the fact that this was a fantasy and fairy
tale picture, while any claim that this is ideologically sinister is
wrong. If anything, the film is rather
bold.
Beginning with a brief description of the happy family, as
Cinderella and her loving father marries another woman with two children, only
for him to pass away prematurely like her mother did a few years before. The stepmother turns out to be exploitive
and diabolical, a legacy she passes on to her ignorant, idiotic, dysfunctional
daughters. Feminists would argue that
the stepmother is possibly and implicitly a lesbian stereotype (angry, suppressed
sexuality as hostility) hating a beautiful, feminine, happy young woman
(Cinderella) with regrets. Her
daughters are following an immoral example, minus much of the sexuality issues,
while Cinderella is always a nice “good girl” who even stays happy while
essentially a house slave to the evil stepfamily who wants to destroy her
dreams and future. There are very dark
moments about that which will surprise those who trivialize the film and other
directions these issues could be taken, but that would be incidental to this
film.
Yes, there is a danger in perpetuating a “good girl”
expectation for any women in a society that has too much misogyny, but there is
a flipside to that. Cinderella may be
dangerously oblivious to evil and may be a tad in the clouds, yet because she
has her individuality, heart and soul together, she ironically has the best
chance to survive the ugly legacy of people who are not on her side, imprison
her, hate her and do not deserve to have a better tomorrow. She deserves The Magic Kingdom because she
is more than ready for it and long overdue to receive entry into it and highly
deserving of its benefits. That is the
crux and basic truth that has kept the film timeless and one of the most
important feature films (animated so nicely at that) that we will ever from
Disney. Add the wonderful side
characters, the music, the device of the glass slipper, the pacing &
well-timed comedy and its no wonder it remains such an achievement. Too bad so many of the imitators missed the
mature, intelligent, dark side of this work of art, which is why most of them
miss the boat in trying to imitate Cinderella. It is more of a one of a kind work than you’d think.
The 1.33 X 1 image is restored and for the most part,
looks very good. The film is one of the
early gems of three-strip Technicolor production in animation, but this is not
such a transfer or print. However, the
colors often come close to looking that good and like Sleeping Beauty
(reviewed elsewhere on this site) is a solid second place behind such coveted
prints. The sound is here in its
original monophonic version as Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, but the Dolby 5.1 remix
is impressive for a film from 1950. The
DTS Company restored the sound, but it is not DTS on this disc, which is a mistake. Otherwise, this is a top-notch presentation.
Extras are many, but DVD 1 only has previews for newer
Disney DVDs, three Music Videos and an ESPN tip of the hat; all the more reason
DTS could have fit. DVD 2 has the bulk
of the goodies, including two deleted scenes, three games activity sections
including DVD-ROM use, stills, six teasers/trailers that cover the original and
several re-releases, six film-based featurettes, the original 1922
Laugh-O-Grams short Walt Disney made on Cinderella and a four-part Music &
More section that includes seven songs not used for the film and three radio
sections as TV was only just arriving.
Once again, when Disney sets it mind to it, they pull out all the stops
for a Special Edition. This is a real
collector’s item that will only be available, as usual, for a limited
time. In this case, it really is
special and unique enough to value highly.
Cinderella – Special Edition is a serious Disney collectible and
one of the great animated films.
- Nicholas Sheffo
