Beautiful young woman, orphaned and living with her evil stepmother and two jealous stepsisters, hopes to attend the Royal Ball in the castle on the hill but may be thwarted by her cruel keepers and a decidedly nasty cat named Lucifer. Animated classic from Walt Disney has the company's signature style, but the scenarists skimp on the background details. Walt wasn't exactly into character development, and our heroine seems a bit of a masochist (one has to wonder, especially in this age, why she doesn't stick up for herself; does she feel trapped or is her isolation a comfort to her after her father's demise?). The friendly, chattering mice who help Cinderella provide comic relief, and there are at least two excellent songs ("Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" and "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes"), but the movie is on the slim side--running a scant 74mns--and is reminiscent of "Snow White" besides. There are moments of gorgeous animated magic, and yet the picture is loaded up with villains. The pacing seems to stall in the third act when what we could have used was more of the grandmotherly Fairy Godmother (who literally vanishes). Nonetheless, "Cinderella" is exquisite to look at and has some very funny slapstick. *** from ****
Review of Cinderella
