Cinderella Review

Personally, I really enjoy watching the original Cinderella. There are many aspects that I enjoy about it and the first being the sheer fact that it is an old animation. The technology at the time was not like it is now; therefore, the details are not as sharp and the video itself is a little "crackly" or blurry per say (which I enjoy). With old animation also comes an older way of singing. The way Llene Woods sings is very relaxing and makes me feel like I am a part of her time. The old time animation is a part of history that will be watched for decades and decades. Another aspect that I enjoyed was the Fairy Godmother and her song, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo. The Fairy Godmother reminds me of my own Grandma which gives the movie a personal connection. The entire scene where she is helping Cinderella is a feel good moment with singing and magic. Who wouldn't like that? It also seems hard to dislike this movie because I used to watch Cinderella frequently when I was a child, so I believe I have a bias towards it. 

There were some aspects of Cinderella that I hadn't caught when I was younger. First was the use of the secondary characters. I did not realize how much time the mice, the step family, the King and his servant were given in this animation. To be completely honest I believe all of these characters combined receive more scenes than Cinderella and the Prince themselves. For instance, the mice are always running away from Lucifer or trying to help Cinderella (making the dress), and the Sisters are fighting or complaining about something. Another aspect I didn't pick up on was the different types bullying that was directed towards Cinderella. Growing up I always thought that the evil Step-Mother was the main villain because, well, she has evil in her name. What seems to be the case is that both the Step-Sisters, the Step-Mother and Lucifer are all the villains, but they just show it in different ways. The Step-Mother shows passive aggressive bullying towards Cinderella in the way that she doesn't seem to outright say cruel things to her. For instance, the Step-Mother makes the sisters realize Cinderella took their discarded jewelry by merely pointing out how pretty they are. The Step-Sisters outright bully Cinderella when the rip her dress to shreds and order her around. Lucifer, much like the Sisters, chases the mice constantly and agrees with all of the Step-Mothers evil plans. 

After watching the animation after a long time I did find that the love story between Cinderella and the Prince was a tad ridiculous. Yes, the movie is based off of love at first sight, but that sort of love is not reality. Prince Charming had never seen nor talked to Cinderella in his life and all the sudden she is singing about "oh this is love." Even though I am a romantic at heart, the immediate love for me seems exaggerated and over the top. I still love Cinderella though :)

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