MattH.

HTF REVIEW: CINDERELLA III

A Twist in Time

The Film

Disney’s first sequel to its classic 1950 animated tale Cinderella was a miserable affair, lacking in story, music, and artistic intention. A skimpy collection of three shorts tied to a forgettable framing story, the first sequel subtitled “Dreams Come True” was actually something of a nightmare.

So, I was quite surprised to find this second sequel to have some actual merit. There is a real story, some surprising character development, and an honest attempt to fashion a feature that celebrates the achievement of the original movie in this follow-up more than half a century later rather than simply trying to make another buck off the name of something wonderful that had come before.

Months after marrying her cherished prince, Cinderella seems to have it all, but her stepsisters and stepmother are reduced to doing their own chores and living in poverty. There’s hope for change, however, when the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand comes into the possession of the wicked stepmother. She casts a spell that turns back time and enables her daughter Anastasia’s foot to fit the original glass slipper thus insuring that her daughter and not Cinderella will be married to the prince.

Truth be told, the plot has only a few twists and turns that aren’t unexpected, and the slim themes of love’s eternal power and that good is inside all of us are all too obvious. No, Cinderella III breaks no new ground, but there’s a certain modest pleasure, I guess, in knowing these homilies will prove triumphant once again. And the writers have included a goodly amount of slapstick antics to keep the young amused. What’s more, you may find yourself getting surprisingly attached to stepsister Anastasia as she bumbles her way through the film. It’s really as much her story as it is the title character’s.

The musical score by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner doesn’t contain any winners, but they begin the film with "Perfectly Perfect Year" that reminds one however faintly of "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast in its ambitious desire to provide the viewer with exposition through words and music. The other songs aren’t nearly as elaborate. "So Much More Than a Dream" gives Cinderella a modern day power ballad that never would have been found in the original film while "At the Ball" offers the mice a playful song that has dim echoes of "The Work Song" they sang in the original movie.

Of course, made on a tight budget, the animation can’t possibly compare to the original in depth or complexity. Where in the original there were hoards of mice and birds who were Cinderella’s friends, in this sequel (and in the first sequel), we are reduced to the two mice Gus-Gus and Jaq and two bluebirds who come to the aid of their friend. Still, even within its limitations, the animation is solid. A marble floor in the ballroom, for example, is beautifully conveyed, and the primary characters seem to have been copied from the original drawings with a watchful eye to keep things consistent. True, there aren’t the shadow detail and consistent brilliance in the drawing that the original contained. Still, for a made-for-video sequel, it’s more than adequate.

The voice cast, of course, can’t begin to match the originals, particularly among the human characters. Susanne Blakeslee, who has mimicked the voices of Broadway stars for years in Forbidden Broadway, does the best job matching Eleanor Audley’s magisterial tones as the stepmother, but Verna Felton’s fluttery Fairy Godmother could never be approximated, and certainly Russi Taylor doesn’t come close here. Jennifer Hale as Cinderella is an adequate match for Ilene Woods from the original, though Woods did her own singing (beautifully), and here Hale gives way to Tami Tappan Damiano in the singing chores.

Video Quality

The 1.78:1 aspect ratio of the film is presented in anamorphic video, a beautiful job of encoding the mix of pastels and bright, rich colors that have been used to bring this sequel to life. The image appears rock solid and evinces no edge enhancement or noise in the colors that I could discern. It’s a solid entry in Disney’s made-for-video sequel library.

Audio Quality

The liner notes state that the DVD contains both a Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 track, but on the disc I had for review, only Dolby Digital 5.1 was present among the English options. It’s an excellent surround track, mind you, with dialog firmly centered and the surrounds offering not only the sweep of the orchestral music but also a fair array of discreet sounds throughout the film. Other reviews that I have read for the DVD seem to indicate that some discs that reviewers received did indeed have both Dolby Digital and DTS sound options, but my DVD did not. French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes are also present.

The only subtitle option is English for the Hearing Impaired.

Special Features

The producers of the DVD have not loaded the disc, but there’s a fair array of bonus features to be found. Hayden Panettiere (Claire on NBC’s hit Heroes) is featured in a full screen music video of “I Still Believe” which she sings over the closing credits. There’s a search and find game using the magic wand that should entertain the smaller fry in the house, and for preteen girls, there’s a DVD-ROM feature called “Cinderella’s Ballroom” that allows simple dancing and photo manipulation to turn the child into a princess.

Some of the Disney made-for-video sequels have contained a “making of” documentary, but when I came across “The Making of Twice Charmed,” I was disappointed that this had nothing to do with the Cinderella III DVD but rather is a crafty type of infomercial hawking Disney’s cruise division and the Cinderella stage show that is presented there.

And to add even more pitches for their product to the mix, there are sneak peeks at upcoming DVD and theatrical releases including The Little Mermaid III, Mickey’s Great Clubhouse Hunt, Peter Pan Platinum Edition, Tinker Bell (this did look interesting), Enchanted Tales, and the upcoming summer 2007 release of Disney-Pixar’s Ratatouille. There is also that tantalizing preview heralding Disney classics coming on Blu-ray disc, but no release date was given.

In Conclusion

I’ve rather appreciated some of Disney’s previous video sequels of their classics: Bambi II, Return to Never Land, The Lion King 1 ½, and Lady & the Tramp II. Cinderella III fits right among these. No, it’s no classic, but it’s an entertaining way for a family to spend an evening together watching something comfortingly familiar.

Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC