Thank you to everyone that reads my reviews. I will always try and return a rate. If you read me but...
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Member since:08.09.2004
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When I was younger we had a collection of all of the Disney videos, my brother had his favourites and I had mine, but one that we would both sit happily together and watch was Cinderella. I doubt that there are many people who do not know the story of Cinderella, the fairy tale is a magical one that children have loved for years.
The video begins in the form of a book where it tells the beginning of the story and then leads into the actual film. The video tells the story of how a young girl named Cinderella is forced to live with her wicked stepmother and two stepsisters when her father dies. Her stepmother had wasted all the money that Cinderellas father had left and they ended up forcing Cinderella to do all the household chores and be their general slave. Cinderella has to put up with her stepmother and sisters being consistantly mean to her but she never gives up hope that one day things will get better.
Everything is miserable for Cinderella until her Fairy Godmother comes into her life and makes some magical changes.
Cinderellas only friends are her dog Bruno and the mice that live in the castle. The mice are really cute, wear clothes which Cinderella make for them and sing some brilliantly catchy songs and they play their part in helping Cinderella escape the clutches of her evil stepmother as well as helping her with her chores.
As with any fairy tale there is a handsome prince whose father is trying to make him marry a suitable young woman. Other characters include Lucifer the cat who is evil and vindictive and belongs to Cinderellas Stepmother. Lucifer causes problems for Cinderella and im sure he is part of the reason that I have never like cats as he is just evil!! Cinderellas fairy godmother is a very chirpy, round woman who is kind and loving and brings the magic into the story.
One of my favourite things about Cinderella is the songs. Near the beginning of the story Cinderella sings "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" which is a beautiful song and shops Cinderellas hopeful and loving character. The mice sing the well known song 'Cinderelly' which is sung in their little voices and is one you find yourself singing for a couple of days after watching the film! Cinderellas fairy godmother sings the song Bibbity-bobbety-boo which is a bouncy song and another one you will find yourself randomly singing!!
One of the things I like about the film is how it shows that beauty on the inside creates beauty on the outside. Cinderellas stepsisters have very ugly personalities and it shows on the outside as they are pretty hideous! Cinderella is kind and loving and although she is forced to wear rags she still comes across as being beautiful. The story also shows that good triumphs in the end, even if there is a struggle for it to do so.
The animation is brilliant, the mice are fantastic and when they make a dress for Cinderella the animation is so detailed. I had read the book of Cinderella before I watched the film and Disney have managed to make the characters look exactly the same as I had imagined them so they have done a pretty good job!
The film was made by Walt Disney in 1950, is rated U (suitable for anyone to watch) and lasts 90 minutes. There are no 'scary bits' in the film so a child can be left in front of it without the worry that something will send them into fits of hysteria! The storyline is a simple one and most children will already know it before they watch the film but it is the way Disney have portrayed the characters and included the fantastic songs that makes it special.
I have watched the film a couple of times since my youngest brother was born and unfortunately because there is no 'fighting' or 'proper badies' in it he wasn't overly thrilled so I think it is more of a film for the girlies. The story is simple and predictable which might make it a bit boring for adults but it does make it an easy going film to watch. I do recommend watching Cinderella but mainly for young girls as I doubt it would appeal to boys much over the age of 4! However, it is a great family film and is nice to snuggle up on the sofa and watch the magic unfold.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Great story, songs and characters; all of the elements from the best Disney classics. Disadvantages: The DVD edition is very disappointing, with poor picture quality and lack of interesting material.
very helpful by (63%):
helpful by (22%):
somewhat helpful by (15%):
