Cinderella (1950 film)

In 1922, Walt Disney produced a Laugh-O-Gram cartoon based on "Cinderella", and he had been interested in producing a second version in December 1933 as a Silly Symphony short. Burt Gillett was attached as the director while Frank Churchill was assigned as the composer. A story outline included "white mice and birds" as Cinderella's playmates. To expand the story, storyboard artists suggested visual gags, some of which ended up in the final film.[7] However, by early 1938, the story proved to be too complicated to be condensed into a short so it was suggested as a potential animated feature film, starting with a fourteen-page outline written by Al Perkins.[8][9] Two years later, a second treatment was written by Dana Cofy and Bianca Majolie, in which Cinderella's stepmother was named Florimel de la Pochel; her stepsisters as Wanda and Javotte; her pet mouse Dusty and pet turtle Clarissa; the stepsisters' cat Bon Bob; the Prince's aide Spink, and the stepsisters' dancing instructor Monsieur Carnewal. This version stuck closely to the original fairy tale until Cinderella arrives home late from the second ball. Her stepfamily then imprisons Cinderella in a dungeon cellar. When Spink and his troops arrive at the la Pochel residence, Dusty takes the slipper and leads them to free Cinderella.[10]

By September 1943, Disney had assigned Dick Huemer and Joe Grant to begin work on Cinderella as story supervisors and given a preliminary budget of $1 million.[11] However, by 1945, their preliminary story work was halted.[12] During the writing stages of Song of the South (1946), Dalton S. Reymond and Maurice Rapf quarreled, and Rapf was reassigned to work on Cinderella.[13] In his version, Cinderella was written to be a less passive character than Snow White, and more rebellious against her stepfamily. Rapf explained, "My thinking was you can't have somebody who comes in and changes everything for you. You can't be delivered on a platter. You've got to earn it. So in my version, the Fairy Godmother said, 'It's okay till midnight but from then on it's up to you.' I made her earn it, and what she had to do to achieve it was to rebel against her stepmother and stepsisters, to stop being a slave in her own home. So I had a scene where they're ordering her around and she throws the stuff back at them. She revolts, so they lock her up in the attic. I don't think anyone took (my idea) very seriously."[14]

In spring 1946, Disney held three story meetings, and subsequently received treatment from Ted Sears, Homer Brightman, and Harry Reeves dated March 24, 1947. In the treatment, the Prince was introduced earlier in the story reminiscent of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937),[15] and there was a hint of the cat-and-mouse conflict. By May 1947, the first rough phase of storyboarding was in the process, and an inventory report that same month suggested a different approach with the story "largely through the animals in the barnyard and their observations of Cinderella's day-to-day activities".[15]

Following the theatrical release of Fun and Fancy Free (1947), Walt Disney Productions' bank debt declined from $4.2 million to $3 million.[16] Around this time, Disney acknowledged the need for sound economic policies but emphasized to the loaners that slashing production would be suicidal. To restore the studio to full financial health, he expressed his desire to return to producing full-length animated films. By then, three animated projects—Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953)—were in development. Disney felt the characters in Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan were too cold, while Cinderella contained elements similar to Snow White, and greenlit the project. Selecting his top-tier animation talent, Ben Sharpsteen was assigned as supervising producer while Hamilton Luske, Wilfred Jackson, and Clyde Geronimi became the sequence directors.[17] Nevertheless, production on Alice resumed so that both animation crews would effectively compete against each other to see which film would finish first.[18]

By early 1948, Cinderella had progressed further than Alice in Wonderland, and was fast-tracked to become the first full-length animated film since Bambi (1942).[15] During a story meeting on January 15, 1948, the cat-and-mouse sequences began to grow into an important element in the film so much that Disney placed veteran story artist Bill Peet in charge of the cat-and-mouse segments.[19]

By the late 1940s, Disney's involvement during production had shrunken noticeably. As he was occupied with trains and the filming of Treasure Island (1950), the directors were left to exercise their own judgment more on details.[20] Although Disney no longer held daily story meetings, the three directors still communicated with him by mailing him memoranda, scripts, Photostats of storyboards, and acetates of soundtrack recordings while he was in England for two and a half months during the summer of 1949. When Disney did not respond, work resumed and then had to be undone when he did.[21] In one instance, when Disney returned to the studio on August 29, he reviewed Luske's animation sequences and ordered numerous minor changes, as well as a significant reworking of the film's climax. Production was finished by October 13, 1949.[22]

Mack David and Jerry Livingston had asked Ilene Woods to sing on several demo recordings of the songs. They had previously known her from her eponymous radio show, which was broadcast on ABC. The show featured fifteen minutes of music, in which David and Livingston had their music presented.[23] Two days later, Woods received a telephone call from Disney, with whom she immediately scheduled an interview. Woods recalled in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, "We met and talked for a while, and he said, 'How would you like to be Cinderella?'," to which she agreed.[24]

For the role of Lucifer, a studio representative asked June Foray if she could provide the voice of a cat. "Well, I could do anything," recalled Foray, "So he hired me as Lucifer the cat in Cinderella".[25]

Starting in spring 1948, actors were filmed on large soundstages mouthing to a playback of the dialogue soundtrack.[26] Disney had previously used live-action reference on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), and Fantasia (1940), but as part of an effort to keep the production cost down, the footage was used to check the plot, timing, and movement of the characters before animating it.[27] The footage was then edited frame-by-frame onto large Photostat sheets to duplicate, in which the animators found too restrictive as they were not allowed to imagine anything that the live actors did not present since that kind of experimentation might necessitate changes and cost more money. Additionally, the animators were instructed to draw from a certain directorial perspective to avoid difficult shots and angles.[28] Frank Thomas explained, "Anytime you'd think of another way of staging the scene, they'd say: 'We can't get the camera up there'! Well, you could get the animation camera up there! So you had to go with what worked well in live-action."[27]

Walt Disney hired actress Helene Stanley to perform the live-action reference for Cinderella, allowing artists to draw animated frames based on the movements of the actress.[29] She later did the same kind of work for the characters of Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Anita Radcliffe in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961).[29] Animators modeled Prince Charming on actor Jeffrey Stone, who also provided some additional voices for the film.[30] Claire Du Brey served as the live-action reference for the Fairy Godmother,[31] although the design for the character was based on Mary Alice O'Connor (the wife of layout artist Ken O'Connor).[32]

By 1950, the animation board, which had been established as early as 1940 to help with the management of the animation department,[33] had settled down to nine supervising animators, including Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Les Clark, Wolfgang Reitherman, Eric Larson, Ward Kimball, Milt Kahl, John Lounsbery, and Marc Davis.[34] Although they were still in their thirties, they were jokingly referred by Disney as the "Nine Old Men" after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's denigration of the Supreme Court.[35]

Walt Disney referred to Cinderella's dress transformation, animated by Marc Davis, as his most favorite piece of animation.[36]

Eric Larson and Marc Davis were both tasked with designing and animating Cinderella.[37] Larson was the first to animate the character whom he envisioned as a "sixteen-year-old with braids and a pug nose".[38] However, Disney grew displeased with this approach and assigned Davis as the second supervising animator,[39] whose designs suggested a "more the exotic dame" with a long swan-like neck.[38] To minimize the differences and set the final design, Disney assigned animator Ken O'Brien who, as Larson said, made "his gals and Marc's gals look like the same gal."[39] Due to the extensive use of the live-action reference for the film, Helene Stanley's physical features also influenced the character's final appearance.[40]

Frank Thomas was assigned as the supervising animator of Lady Tremaine,[41] which he was "astounded" with,[42] since he had previously mainly specialized in more "charming" characters, like Pinocchio or Bambi.[43]

Milt Kahl was the directing animator of the Fairy Godmother, the King, and the Grand Duke.[43] Originally, Disney intended for the Fairy Godmother to be a tall, regal character as he viewed fairies as tall, motherly figures (as seen in the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio (1940)), but Kahl disagreed with this characterization. Following the casting of Verna Felton, Kahl managed to convince Disney of his undignified concept of the Fairy Godmother.[19]

Unlike the human characters, the animal characters were animated without live-action reference.[44] During production, none of Kimball's designs for Lucifer had pleased Disney. After visiting Kimball's steam train at his home, Disney saw his calico cat and remarked, "Hey—there's your model for Lucifer".[45] Reitherman animated the sequence in which Jaq and Gus laboriously drag the key up the flight of stairs to Cinderella.[46]

Original songs performed in the film include:

A 4K remastered version of the film premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 19, 2023, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company.[62] The restoration was described as a "multi-year effort" involving Disney's Restoration and Preservation team and key members of Walt Disney Animation Studios, including Eric Goldberg, Michael Giaimo, Dorothy McKim, and Bob Bagley. It involved obtaining the original 35mm Technicolor negative from the Library of Congress and re-scanning it in 4K resolution, with dirt digitally removed frame by frame to bring the film back "to its original grandeur, authentic to the artistic ambitions of the Studio's creative team, and which looks and sounds better than ever."[63] The 4K version began streaming on Disney+ on August 25.[64]

The film became a critical success garnering the best reception for a Disney animated film since Dumbo. In a personal letter to Walt Disney, director Michael Curtiz hailed the film as the "masterpiece of all pictures you have done." Producer Hal Wallis declared, "If this is not your best, it is very close to the top."[65] A review in Chicago Tribune remarked: "The film not only is handsome, with imaginative art and glowing colors to bedeck the old fairy tale, but it also is told gently, without the lurid villains which sometimes give little tots nightmares. It is enhanced by the sudden, piquant touches of humor and the music which appeal to old and young."[66] Time magazine wrote that "Cinderella is beguiling proof that Walt Disney knows his way around fairyland. Harking back to the style of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), a small army of Disney craftsmen have given the centuries-old Cinderella story a dewy radiance of comic verve that should make children feel like elves and adults feel like children."[67]

However, the characterization of Cinderella received a mixed reception. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, "The beautiful Cinderella has a voluptuous face and form—not to mention an eager disposition—to compare with Al Capp's Daisy Mae." However, criticizing her role and personality, Crowther opined, "As a consequence, the situation in which they are mutually involved have the constraint and immobility of panel-expressed episodes. When Mr. Disney tries to make them behave like human beings, they're banal."[68] Similarly, Variety claimed the film found "more success in projecting the lower animals than in its central character, Cinderella, who is on the colorless, doll-faced side, as is the Prince Charming."[69]

Contemporary reviews have remained positive. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three out of four stars during its 1987 re-release.[70] Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader wrote the film "shows Disney at the tail end of his best period, when his backgrounds were still luminous with depth and detail and his incidental characters still had range and bite."[71] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported the film received an approval rating of 98% based on 40 reviews with an average score of 8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The rich colors, sweet songs, adorable mice and endearing (if suffering) heroine make Cinderella a nostalgically lovely charmer."[72]

The film was Disney's greatest box office success since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,[22] earning nearly $4.28 million in distributor rentals (the distributor's share of the box office gross) from the United States and Canada.[73] It was the fifth highest-grossing film released in North America in 1950. It was the fifth most popular movie at the British box office in 1951.[74] The film is France's sixteenth biggest film of all time in terms of admissions with 13.2 million tickets sold.[75]

The success of Cinderella allowed Disney to carry on producing films throughout the 1950s by which the profits from the film's release, with the additional profits from record sales, music publishing, publications, and other merchandise gave Disney the cash flow to finance a slate of productions (animated and live-action), establish his own distribution company, enter television production, and begin building Disneyland during the decade, as well as developing the Florida Project, later known as Walt Disney World.[43]

Cinderella has had a lifetime domestic gross of $93 million,[2][76][77][78] and a lifetime worldwide gross of $182 million across its original release and several reissues.[2] Adjusted for inflation, and incorporating subsequent releases, the film has had a lifetime gross of $565 million.[79]

In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "10 Top 10"— the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Cinderella was acknowledged as the 9th greatest film in the animation genre.[86][87]

American Film Institute recognition:

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
  • Lady Tremaine (Stepmother) – Nominated Villain
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
  • Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo – Nominated
  • A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes – Nominated
• AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals – Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated
• AFI's 10 Top 10 – #9 Animated film

Cinderella was released on VHS and LaserDisc on October 4, 1988, as part of the Walt Disney Classics collection. The release had a promotion with a free lithograph reproduction for those who pre-ordered the video before its release date. Disney had initially shipped 4.3 million VHS copies to retailers, but due to strong consumer demand, more than seven million copies were shipped.[88] At the time of its initial home video release, it was the best-selling VHS title until it was overtaken by E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).[89] The VHS release was placed into moratorium (i.e., into Disney Vault on April 30, 1989,[90][91] with 7.2 million copies sold and having grossed $108 million in sales revenue.[92]

On October 4, 1995, a digitally remastered edition of film was released on VHS and LaserDisc as part of the "Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection", and later in the UK on November 24, 1997. Both editions were accompanied by "The Making of Cinderella" featurette. A Deluxe LaserDisc included the featurette, an illustrated, hardcover book retelling the story with pencil tests and conceptual art from the film, and a reprint of the film's artwork.[93] Disney shipped more than 15 million VHS copies, of which 8 million were sold in the first month.[94]

On October 4, 2005, Disney released the film on DVD with a digitally remastered transfer. This release was the sixth installment of the Walt Disney Platinum Editions series. According to Home Media Magazine, Disney sold 3.2 million copies in its first week, which earned over $64 million in sales.[95] The Platinum Edition was also released on VHS, but the only special feature was the "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" music video by the Disney Channel Circle of Stars. The Platinum Edition DVD, along with the sequels to the film, went into the Disney Vault on January 31, 2008. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a "Royal Edition" of Cinderella was released on DVD on April 4, 2011, to commemorate the UK Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. This release had a unique limited edition number on every slipcase and an exclusive art card.[96]

On October 2, 2012, a 3-disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo Diamond Edition was released. The Diamond Edition release also included a 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo and a 6-disc "Jewelry Box Set" that included the first film alongside both its sequels. A 1-disc DVD edition was released on November 20, 2012.[97] The Diamond Edition release went back into the Disney Vault on January 31, 2017.

Cinderella was re-released on HD digital download on June 18, 2019, with a physical media re-release on Blu-ray on June 25, 2019, as part of the Walt Disney Signature Collection commemorating the film's 70th anniversary.[98]

On March 18, 2023, Cinderella was re-released on 4K Ultra HD as a Disney Movie Club exclusive, with a steelbook packaging release on August 1 as well as a standard release on October 17 as part of the Disney100 promotion. It utilized the 4K remastered print from the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival screening, marking it as the first animated film made during the studio's "golden era" to receive this treatment.[99] The 4K version, dubbed as the "Ultimate Restoration," began streaming on Disney+ on August 25.[63][64]