Cinderella was the first film of the Silver Age for Walt Disney Animation and this new era lasted until Walt Disney’s death in 1966. The Jungle Book, released shortly after Walt’s death, would mark the end of the Silver Age. The team behind Cinderella put all of their heart and resources into the project, resulting in one of the most beloved animated films of all times. In a way this film saved the Walt Disney Studios animation department with such a financial success and it would bring in the start of the funds for a new project called Disneyland.
Premiered on: February 15, 1950 in Boston, Massachusetts
Directed by:
Clyde Geronimi
Hamilton Luske
Wilfred Jackson
Produced by: Walt Disney
Based on: Cendrillon by Charles Perrault
Sequels:
Cinderella II: Dream Come True (2002)
Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007)
Cast:
Ilene Woods – Cinderella
Eleanor Audley – Lady Tremaine
Rhoda Williams – Drizella
Lucille Bliss – Anastasia
Verna Felton – Fairy Godmother
William Phipps – Prince Charming (speaking voice)
Mike Douglas – Prince Charming (singing voice)
Luis Van Rooten – The Grand Duke / The King
Jimmy MacDonald – Jaq / Gus
June Foray – Lucifer
Betty Lou Gerson – Narrator
Directing Animators:
Marc Davis
Ollie Johnston
Milt Kahl
Ward Kimball
Eric Larson
John Lounsbery
Wolfgang Reitherman
Frank Thomas
Les Clark
Norman Ferguson
Music by:
Oliver Wallace
Paul Smith
Jerry Livingston
Al Hoffman
Mack David
Songs:
“Cinderella”
“A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”
“Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale”
“The Work Song”
“Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”
“So This is Love”
Academy Awards:
Best Sound (nomination)
Best Original Score (nomination)
Best Song – “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (nomination)
The Story:
The film begins with opening credits with a chorus singing “Cinderella.” A storybook is then shown titled Cinderella and a narrator begins the story with “once upon a time in a far away land.” A stately chateau is shown where a widowed gentleman lives with his daughter Cinderella. The father remarried a woman with two daughters around Cinderella’s age, Drizella and Anastasia. After the father’s untimely death, the step-mother’s true nature was revealed. She was very jealous of Cinderella’s beauty and grace and put her own daughter’s provisions ahead of Cinderella’s. Her daughters shared her cruel and bitter character. Cinderella became a servant in her own house but she never gave up hope. She was still kind and full of grace and always believed that her dreams could come true.
Up in the attic of the chateau, little birds pull up the curtains of an open window and fly into the room. They try to wake up Cinderella by whistling by she only yawns and ignores them. After Cinderella finally wakes up, she tells the birds that she had a lovely dream. The birds whistle as if to ask what they dream was about but Cinderella tells them that she is unable to say. This is because if you tell a wish, it will not come true and she starts to sing “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” More birds arrive to listen to the song and then some mice appear as well. All of Cinderella’s little animal friends have outfits on that she made for them. The tower clock at the castle chimes 6 o’clock and Cinderella is very annoyed. She calls the clock an old killjoy and says that it cannot order her to stop dreaming. She starts to hum “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” while making her bed and getting ready for the day with the help of the mice and birds.
Two mice come racing in to say that a new mouse is in the chateau. Cinderella opens up a drawer filled with little mice clothing and says that the new mouse will need a dress. The mice start laughing and say that the new mouse is a boy. So Cinderella pulls out a jacket and hat instead but then Jaq the mouse says that she must hurry because the new mouse is in a trap! They hurry down the stairs and find the cage where the new mouse is trapped. He is so scared that he will not come out so Jaq goes into the cage to explain how nice the other mice and Cinderella are. The new mouse warms up to them and comes out of the cage. Cinderella gives him his new clothes and names him Octavius, but for short calls him Gus.
Cinderella heads down to where the other bedrooms are and opens up her step-mother’s door to call for Lucifer the cat. He is very resistant and snobby about leaving his comfy bed in Lady Tremaine’s room but Cinderella does not put up with it. As Lucifer is leaving, Jaq shows Gus what Lucifer looks like and warns Gus to stay away from the mean cat.
Downstairs in the kitchen, Bruno the dog is having a dream about chasing Lucifer. Cinderella warns him about Lady Tremaine hearing him because he then might have to sleep outside. She suggests that he should learn to like cats. Lucifer teases Bruno and ends up scratching the dog, causing Bruno to growl, and Cinderella sends him outside with a warning that the two should at least try to get along. Cinderella then goes out to the farmyard to feed the chickens their breakfast. The mice are watching from a window above and are very excited about the chicken feed. They sneak down to the kitchen through their passageways but Lucifer is blocking the door out to the farmyard. Jaq gets an idea that one mouse must distract Lucifer in order for the others to go outside to get the food. They all put their tails in the middle and Jaq chooses one at random. He ends up choosing his own tail and becomes the mouse who must stay behind. Jaq sneaks up to Lucifer and kicks his elbow, making the cat fall into his milk bowl. The mouse then runs into a hole in the wall and continues to distract Lucifer, giving the other mice a chance to run out of the kitchen.
Cinderella notices the mice and gives them some of the chicken feed. Poor Gus is too slow and cannot get the feed away from the chickens in time. Cinderella helps him out by shooing away the chickens and giving Gus his pick of the feed. The other mice only carry a piece or two, but Gus picks up such a huge handful that he cannot carry it all. He drops all of the feed and this causes him to catch Lucifer’s attention. Gus and Lucifer come face to face but Jaq pushes a broom onto the cat which allows the poor mouse to escape. Gus disappears and Jaq thinks that the other mouse got away so he leaves through his little passageway. However, Gus ends up on the kitchen table and under a teacup and Lucifer spies him. The cat tries to catch Gus but does not have time before Cinderella comes in to bring the food up to her step-mother and step-sisters, all of whom are ringing their bells and yelling for their breakfast.
Cinderella brings the three breakfast trays upstairs by having one on each arm and one balanced on her head. Lucifer is following to try and get the teacup with Gus hiding under it. Cinderella loses a shoe on the stairs and turns around to get it, causing Lucifer to miss his opportunity. Cinderella goes into Drizella’s room first and is given ironing to do by her step-sister. Next is Anastasia’s room, who gives Cinderella mending to do. And finally, Cinderella goes into Lady Tremaine’s room, who gives her laundry to do. Suddenly, Anastasia lets out a huge scream and Gus goes scurrying out underneath her bedroom door and right into Lucifer’s paws. Now both Anastasia and Drizella are screaming and go running into their mother’s room. Cinderella rescues poor Gus from Lucifer and allows him to escape. Lady Tremaine yells for Cinderella and ends up giving her step-daughter extra chores for the “practical joke.” The chores include washing the windows, gardening, sweeping the halls and the stairs, cleaning the chimney, and even giving Lucifer a bath.
The next scene zooms up on the castle and focuses on a window. A crown abruptly gets thrown through the window and the King is yelling about how his son is avoiding getting married and settling down. The King wants grandchildren and is complaining to the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke suggests being patient and letting the right conditions happen on their own but the King wants to arrange the right conditions for the Prince to meet his bride. The King gets an idea to throw a ball to celebrate the Prince’s return and to invite all of the eligible maidens in hopes that the Prince will fall in love with one of them. And the King wants the ball to happen tonight.
Back at Cinderella’s chateau, Lady Tremaine is having music lessons with Drizella and Anastasia. Anastasia is playing the flute with Drizella singing along to “Oh Sing, Sweet Nightingale”, and they are both terrible! Lucifer cannot stand the noise and leaves the room. The shot zooms down to the foyer where Cinderella is washing the floor and singing the same tune, though her voice is beautiful. Her reflections in the bubbles start to sing the harmonies. Suddenly she notices that Lucifer has made dusty footprints all over her clean floor before running away. Before Cinderella can do anything there is a knock on the door. A voice calls out “open in the name of the King!” Cinderella opens the door and a royal messenger hands her an urgent message from His Royal Majesty. Cinderella decides to go up and interrupt the music lessons.
Upstairs, Anastasia and Drizella have gotten into a fight when Cinderella knocks on the door. Lady Tremaine is enraged at Cinderella for interrupting but Cinderella quickly tells them about letter from the palace. Drizella and Anastasia grab the letter from their step-sister and fight over who gets to read is but Lady Tremaine takes the letter from her daughters and reads about the ball that is happening tonight for the Prince. Every eligible maiden is to be in attendance. Cinderella wants to attend as well but Drizella and Anastasia only make fun of her. Lady Tremaine agrees that she can go but only if she gets all the chores done and finds something suitable to wear. The step-mother puts a lot of emphasize on the word “if.”
In her attic, Cinderella pulls out an old dress of her mother’s. She tells her mice friends that it might be a little old fashion but she will fix it into a new dress. However, her step-mother and step-sisters start yelling for her to help them out before Cinderella even has a chance to get started. The mice decide to fix the dress as a surprise for Cinderella and sing “The Work Song.” Jaq and Gus are sent downstairs to find some trimming. They head down one of their secret passageways and spy Drizella and Anastasia heaping on chores for Cinderella to do. The step-sisters throw down their “trash” beads and sash and storm out of the room. Jaq and Gus decide to burrow those items for Cinderella’s dress and sneak past a sleeping Lucifer. The cat wakes up and spots the mice but cannot catch them before the mice escape to their hole with the sash. Another mouse hole opens up near the abandoned beads and Jaq walks out. He distracts Lucifer by taking buttons from a clothes pile and Gus runs out to snatch up the beads. After many mishaps and cat chases, Jaq and Gus finally get the beads and sash back up to the attic where all the other mice and birds are hard at work. The animals are singing a reprise of “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.”
The clock at the castle strikes 8 o’clock and carriages are dropping off the eligible maidens at the castle steps. At the chateau, a carriage pulls up and Cinderella sadly tells the others that it is here. Lady Tremaine mocks surprise that Cinderella is not ready for the ball and Cinderella says that she is not going. She heads up to her attic and stares out the window at the distant castle. Cinderella tries to convince herself that the ball would be dull and boring but she really knows that it would be simple wonderful. Her wardrobe slowly opens to reveal her beautiful dress and all the mice yell “Surprise!” Except for Gus who shouts “Happy Birthday!”
Lady Tremaine and her daughters sashay down the stairs and towards the front door when Cinderella comes running after them, asking them to wait for her. She is very proud of her restored dress and Drizella and Anastasia start freaking out. Lady Tremaine says that they did have a bargain with Cinderella and that she never goes back on her word. She casually points out the beads around Cinderella’s neck to Drizella, who gets very angry about Cinderella stealing the beads and rips them off. Anastasia then notices her old sash on the front of the dress and rips that off. The two sisters destroy Cinderella’s dress and then leave for the ball with their mother. Cinderella is left all alone with her destroyed dress. She goes running into the backyard, knees with her head on a bench and cries. Her animal friends watch and feel very sad for her. A chorus starts to sing a reprise of “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” and sparkles start to gather around Cinderella.
The sparkles materialize in a Fairy Godmother. She pulls her want out of thin air and says that the first thing she needs is a pumpkin. The Fairy Godmother starts to sing “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” and the pumpkin becomes lively and turns into a carriage. Next on the Fairy Godmother’s list are mice and the four mice turn into beautiful white horses. Thirdly, another horse is needed and Major the horse is turned into the coachman. Next a footman is needed and Bruno the dog is turned into a footman. Each time the Fairy Godmother mentions that something is needed to aid in the transformation, Cinderella thinks that she is referring to her dress. However, the Fairy Godmother then tells Cinderella to hop into the carriage and not waste time when she suddenly notices the torn dress. In a beautiful piece of animation, the Fairy Godmother turns the torn dress into a beautiful ball gown, complete with glass slippers. She then warns Cinderella that her dreams coming true can only last until midnight and at the stroke of twelve, everything will be what it was before. And the carriage races off towards the castle.
At the palace, all of the maidens are being introduced to the Prince by a royal announcer as the King and Grand Duke watch from a balcony above. The Prince is clearly uninterested in anyone and keeps yawning. The King is frustrated and complains to the Grand Prince. Cinderella arrives at the castle at the same time Drizella and Anastasia are presented. The King then gives up hope as even he is not impressed with Drizella and Anastasia. The Grand Duke sarcastically starts to tell a fake story of what he thought the King was expecting. That the Prince would bow and the suddenly stop and look up. There she stands, the girl of his dreams, the maid destined to be his bride! As the Grand Duke is telling the story, the events are actually playing out. The King notices that the Prince and Cinderella have met and that the Prince is leading her to the dance floor. He excitedly shows the Grand Duke and yells at the band to start playing the waltz. The King now wants to head off to bed since the Prince has picked a girl, but tells the Grand Duke to stay and make sure that there is a proposal! The Grand Duke must inform the King immediately when it happens and if anything goes wrong; it will be considered his fault! The King dances off to bed.
Lady Tremaine, Drizella, and Anastasia are watching the dancing couple and think that there is something familiar about her. The couple dance off onto a regal balcony and the Grand Duke draws a curtain so that they are alone. They start to sing “So This is Love” until the clock chimes midnight. Cinderella takes off suddenly and the Prince is confused and tries to chase after her. He is held up by the guests of the ball so the Grand Duke continues the chase. Cinderella loses a glass slipper on the front steps of the castle but keeps running. The Grand Duke picks it up and sends the guards after her. On the twelfth chime, everything changes back to the way it was. The palace guards run right past Cinderella and don’t even notice her in her rags. Cinderella is only left with one glass slipper.
Back at the castle, the Grand Duke is preparing to the King that the young lady has disappeared. The King is fast asleep in his giant bed and is dreaming about playing with his grandchildren. He thinks that the Grand Duke must be there because the Prince proposed and will not let the Grand Duke get a word in over his excitement. The King is even going to knight the Grand Duke when he is informed that the maiden got away. The King is extremely angry and chases the Grand Duke around with a sword. The Grand Duke explains the situation that the Prince is in love with the girl and that she left a glass slipper as a clue. The King demands that the Grand Duke finds the girl who fits the slipper and a royal proclamation is shown posted onto the gates of the castle that every maiden in the kingdom must try on the glass slipper.
In the morning at the chateau, Lady Tremaine is anxiously looking for Cinderella to bring the breakfast trays up to her daughters. As Cinderella brings the trays up, Lady Tremaine is explain to Drizella and Anastasia that they haven’t a moment to lose and the Grand Duke will be there any minute. He is looking for the girl from the ball, whom the Prince is madly in love with, and only has a glass slipper as a clue. Cinderella is so surprised at the news that she drops a breakfast tray. Drizella and Anastasia think that there is no point in trying anymore since the Prince is already in love with that girl but Lady Tremaine explains that whoever fits the lost glass slipper will be the Prince’s bride! The step-sisters go into hurriedly get ready for the Grand Duke and Cinderella is just daydreaming and the absentmindedly leaves to get dressed. As she is leaving she is singing to herself “So This is Love,” making Lady Tremaine suspicious. The step-mother follows Cinderella up to the attic and locks her in. Jaq and Gus witnessed everything and decide to find the key for Cinderella to escape.
The Grand Duke arrives and Lady Tremaine presents her daughters. The Grand Duke sleepily reads the royal proclamation as Drizella and Anastasia start to fight over the glass slipper the moment it is presented. Jaq and Gus sneak into the parlour room and get close to Lady Tremaine’s pocket where the key is and Jaq goes inside to fetch the key. Anastasia is the first to try on the slipper and makes up all sorts of excuses as to why it does not fit. The Grand Duke falls asleep, which gives Jaq and Gus a little bit more time. The pair succeeds in getting the key and start to drag it up the stairs. Anastasia pushed the royal messenger, who is aiding the Grand Duke in the search, against the piano and wakes the Grand Duke up. He commands that they try the glass slipper on the next young lady. Jaq and Gus finally make it to the top of the stairs with the key but are stopped right at the door when Lucifer traps Gus and the key under a bowl. Other mice and birds come to help out but are unsuccessful. Cinderella suggests getting Bruno to scare away Lucifer. Back downstairs, Drizella is trying to force the shoe on her foot but of course it does not fit.
Bruno reaches the top of the stairs and scares Lucifer out of the window. The key is given to Cinderella and she races down the stairs right when the Grand Duke is leaving. Lady Tremaine and her daughters try to stop the Grand Duke from letting Cinderella try on the glass slipper but he insists. Lady Tremaine then trips the royal messenger who is carrying the slipper and it breaks. The Grand Duke is very upset but then Cinderella presents the other glass slipper and it fits! The mice and birds cheer!
Wedding bells start ringing and the next scene is of Cinderella and her Prince Charming running down the front steps of the castle after their wedding. Cinderella loses a shoe and the King puts it on her foot. She kisses the top of his head and he starts to blush. The couple get in a carriage and ride off, with Major the horse leading the way. The mice and birds are all dressed nicely and are waving them off. Cinderella and Prince Charming wave back to everyone and the story ends with their kiss. The scene turns back into a book and “they lived happily ever after” is written on the page. The book closes and the front cover is shown.
Trivia:
- Art direction and layout artist Ken O’Connor was actually the one who developed the look of the Fairy Godmother. He based her off of his wife Mary Alice O’Connor who became known as the Real Fairy Godmother of Burbank for all of her charitable work.
- An alternative opening was in development that shows Cinderella actually mocking her step-mother and step-sisters to her mice friends. The mice suggest that she run away but Cinderella says that she has too much to do there but that the others can’t order her to stop dreaming.
- Walt had wanted a scene with a princess and her prince dancing on clouds. The first attempt was in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and then again in Cinderella but it just did not work well with the rest of the story. Finally in 1959 in Sleeping Beauty, Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip dance on clouds.
- Many songs were written for this film but ended up being unused such as “I Lost My Heart at the Ball,” The Mouse Song,” and “Sing a Little, Dream a Little.”
- Ilene Woods got the part of voicing Cinderella by quite the accident. Some song writers that she knew wanted to pitch their songs to Walt Disney for the film. They asked Ilene to sing the songs for the demo tape and Walt loved her voice. Not only did she win a part that she did not audition for but she beat out over 300 girls who actually had auditioned.
- Ilene Woods was named a Disney Legend for voicing Cinderella in 2003.
- Walt Disney’s favourite piece of animation of all time is said to be the scene in which Cinderella’s rags turn into her iconic ball gown. This work was done by Marc Davis.
- Ward Kimball’s cat was the inspiration for Lucifer at Walt’s suggestion.
- Cinderella was first filmed entirely in live action and then that footage was used as a guide for the animators. The animators would draw right over it with but would only use the best parts instead of simply tracing.
- Helene Stanley was used as the live action model for Cinderella. She would later act as the model for Aurora from Sleeping Beauty and Anita Radcliffe from One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
- Betty Lou Gerson, who is the gentle voice of the narrator at the beginning of the film later voiced one of Disney’s most iconic villains: Cruella de Vil in One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
- Cinderella was the very first film to have all Nine Old Men in the role of directing animator.
Representation in the Disney Parks:
Cinderella Castle is the iconic castle found at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. In the Magic Kingdom there is a beautiful Cinderella fountain found behind the castle. Inside the castle is the character dining Cinderella’s Royal Table. Tokyo Disneyland has a walkthrough attraction in the castle called Cinderella’s Fairy Tale Hall. There is also a shop called The Glass Slipper in Fantasyland in Tokyo Disneyland.
The carousel in the Magic Kingdom is called Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, formally known as Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel, and in Hong Kong Disneyland there is Cinderella Carousel.
Cinderella and Prince Charming are featured in some of the it’s a small world attractions. The village and castle from the film can also be found on Storybook Land Canal Boats. A boat is even named after Cinderella in both the California and Paris versions of the ride.
Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother, Lady Tremaine, Drizella, Anastasia, and even sometimes the mice can be found at multiple meet and greet locations and character dining locations.
Fairy Godmother’s Cupboard is a quick service location in Fantasyland at Shanghai Disneyland.
At Tokyo Disneyland Hotel there are Cinderella themed character guest rooms.
The Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boutique is at every Disney Parks Resort around the world except for Paris. The locations are:
Disneyland – Fantasyland
Walt Disney World – Fantasyland and Disney Springs
Tokyo Disneyland – World Bazaar
Hong Kong Disneyland – Royal Princess Garden on Main St. USA and the Disneyland Hotel
Shanghai Disneyland – Fantasyland
Cinderellabration was a castle show that celebrated Tokyo Disneyland’s 20th anniversary. It was also briefly shown in the Magic Kingdom in 2005.
Check out the other films of Disney’s Silver Age:
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