Cinderella is a 1950 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault. Twelfth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film had a limited release on February 15, 1950 by RKO Radio Pictures. Directing credits go to Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske and Wilfred Jackson. Songs were written by Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman. Songs in the film include "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo", "So This Is Love", "Sing Sweet Nightingale", "The Work Song", and "Cinderella".

Plot[link]

Cinderella is the much-loved only child of a widowed aristocrat. After deciding that his beloved daughter needs a mother's care, Cinderella's father marries Lady Tremaine, a proud woman with two daughters from her first marriage, Drizella and Anastasia. Plain and socially awkward, these stepsisters are bitterly envious of the beautiful and charming Cinderella. After the death of Cinderella's father, Lady Tremaine and her daughters take over the estate, and begin to abuse and mistreat Cinderella out of jealousy, and even allow their cat, Lucifer, to torment her. Despite being forced into servitude in her own home, Cinderella becomes a kind woman and befriends the animals living in the barn and many of the mice and birds who live in and around the chateau.

At the royal palace, the King is distressed that his son does not intend to marry. Determined to see grandchildren, the King and the Duke organize a ball for Prince Charming in an effort to enable his son to marry, with every eligible maiden in the kingdom requested to attend. When the invitation to the ball arrives, Cinderella asks her stepmother if she can attend, since she too is an eligible maiden. Lady Tremaine agrees, provided Cinderella finishes her chores. Her animal friend, led by Jaq and Gus, fix a gown that belonged to Cinderella's mother. When Cinderella wears her dress just before departing, Lady Tremaine complements Cinderella's gown, subtly pointing out the beads and sash. Angered by the apparent theft of the discarded items, the stepsisters destroy the gown, forcing Cinderella to remain behind while her stepfamily leaves for the royal ball.

At the point of giving up her dreams, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother appears and bestows upon Cinderella a blue dress with glass slippers, and transforms a pumpkin and various animals into a carriage with horses, a coachman and a footman. Cinderella departs for the ball after the godmother warns her that the spell will break at the stroke of midnight, meaning that her dress and everything else will change back to the way they were. At the ball, the Prince rejects every girl, until he sees Cinderella. The two fall in love and dance alone throughout the castle grounds until the clock starts to chime midnight. Cinderella flees to her coach and away from the castle, inadvertently dropping one of her glass slippers. After the Duke tells the King of the disaster, they plan to find Cinderella with the slipper they recovered during her exit.

The next morning, the King proclaims that the Grand Duke will visit every house in the kingdom to find the girl who fits the glass slipper, so that she can be married to the Prince. When this news reaches Cinderella's household, her stepmother and stepsisters prepare for the Grand Duke's arrival. Cinderella, overhearing the news, begins dreamily humming the song from the palace ball the previous night. Upon realizing that Cinderella is the girl who danced with the Prince, Lady Tremaine locks Cinderella up to her attic bedroom.

When the Grand Duke arrives, the mice steal the key to Cinderella's room, but before they can deliver it they are ambushed by Lucifer. The animals alert Bruno, Cinderella's bloodhound, who scares Lucifer out of the house. As the Duke prepares to leave after the stepsisters unsuccessfully try on the slipper, Cinderella appears and requests to try it on. Knowing that the slipper will fit, Lady Tremaine trips the footman, causing him to drop the slipper, which shatters into hundreds of pieces. The Duke laments over the broken slipper, but Cinderella then produces the other glass slipper, much to her stepmother's horror. Delighted at this indisputable proof of the maiden's identity, the Duke slides the slipper onto her foot, which fits perfectly. Soon after, Cinderella and the Prince celebrate their wedding, surrounded by confetti tossed by the King, the Grand Duke and the mice.

Cast[link]

• Betty Lou Gerson as Narrator
• Ilene Woods as Cinderella
• Eleanor Audley as Lady Tremaine
• Luis Van Rooten as Grand Duke and the King
• Jimmy MacDonald as Jaq, Gus, and Bruno
• William Phipps (Mike Douglas, singing) as Prince Charming
• Lucille Bliss as Anastasia Tremaine
• Rhoda Williams as Drizella Tremaine
• Verna Felton as Fairy Godmother
• Don Barclay as Footman
• June Foray as Lucifer

Production[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Made on the cusp between the classic "golden age" Disney animations of the 1930s and 1940s and the less critically acclaimed productions of the 1950s, Cinderella is representative of both eras.

Cinderella was the first full-bodied feature produced by the studio since Bambi in 1942; World War II and low box office returns had forced Walt Disney to produce a series of inexpensive package films such as Make Mine Music and Fun and Fancy Free for the 1940s. Live action reference was used extensively to keep animation costs down. According to Laryn Dowel, one of the directing animators of the film, roughly 90% of the film was done in live action model before animation, using basic sets as references for actors and animators alike.

Both Helene Stanley (Cinderella's live action model) and Ilene Woods (Cinderella's voice actor, selected from 400 other candidates) heavily influenced Cinderella's styling and mannerisms. Actress Helene Stanley was the live-action model for the title role and would be so again for Sleeping Beauty and Anita Radcliff in One Hundred and One Dalmatians.^[2] Mike Douglas was the Prince's singing voice while William Phipps acted the part.

In earlier drafts of the screenplay, the Prince originally played a larger role and had more character development than what he ultimately received in the final version of the film. In one abandoned opening, the Prince was shown hunting a deer, but at the end of the sequence, it was to be revealed that the Prince and the deer were actually friends playing a game. In an abandoned alternate ending, after the Duke discovered Cinderella's identity, she was shown being brought to the castle to be reintroduced to the Prince, who is surprised to learn that Cinderella was actually a modest servant girl instead of the princess he thought she was, but the Prince's feelings for her were too strong to be bothered by this and he embraced her; the Fairy Godmother was to reappear and restore Cinderella's ball gown for the closing shot. Walt Disney himself reportedly cut the alternate ending because he felt it was overlong and did not give the audience its "pay off", but the scene would later be incorporated in the video game, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.

Other deleted material included an abandoned song that was tentatively titled the "Cinderella Worksong", which was part of a fantasy sequence that was set to take place after Lady Tremaine told Cinderella that she could only attend the ball if she finished her chores and found a suitable dress. In this abandoned sequence, Cinderella imagined herself multiplying into an army of maids in order to deal with her massive workload, all the while pondering what the ball itself would be like; the sequence was cut, but the title was applied to the song the mice sing when they work on Cinderella's dress. Additionally, there was a scene that took place after the ball in which Cinderella was seen returning to her home and eavesdropped on her step family, who were ranting about the mystery girl at the ball, and Cinderella was shown to be amused by this because they were talking about her without realizing it. Walt Disney reportedly cut the scene because he thought it made Cinderella look "spiteful" and felt the audience would lose sympathy for her.

For the first time, Walt turned to Tin Pan Alley song writers to write the songs. The music of Tin Pan Alley would later become a recurring theme in Disney animation. Cinderella was the first Disney film to have its songs published and copyrighted by the newly created Walt Disney Music Company. Before movie soundtracks became marketable, movie songs had little residual value to the film studio that owned them and were often sold off to established music companies for sheet music publication.

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" became a hit single four times, with notable versions by Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters. Ilene Woods beat exactly 309 girls for the part of Cinderella, after some demo recordings of her singing a few of the film's songs were presented to Walt Disney. However, she had no idea she was auditioning for the part until Disney contacted her; she initially made the recordings for a few friends who sent them to Disney without her knowledge. Reportedly, Disney thought Woods had the right "fairy tale" tone to her voice.

Interestingly, almost 30 years before he made "Cinderella" into a feature-length animated film, Walt Disney already made a short film of it as the last of the Laugh-O-Gram series, as a Roaring 20's version. This short is included as an extra on the Cinderella Platinum Edition DVD.

Music[link]

• "Cinderella" - The Jud Conlon Chorus, Marni Nixon
• "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" - Cinderella
• "Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale" - Drizella, Cinderella
• "The Work Song" - The Mice
• "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" - The Fairy Godmother
• "So This Is Love" - Cinderella, Prince Charming
• "So This Is Love (reprise)" - Cinderella
• "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes (reprise)" - The Jud Conlon Chorus

On Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic, this includes "The Work Song" and "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" on the first disc, "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" and "So This Is Love" on the second, and "Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale" on the fourth. On Disney's Greatest Hits, "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" is included on the first volume and "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" on the second.

Release[link]

The film was originally released in theaters on March 4, 1950, followed by theatrical re-releases in 1957, 1965, 1973, 1981, and 1987.^[3]

Home media[link]

It was released on VHS video and laserdisc in 1988 as part of the Walt Disney Classics collection, becoming the first video to feature the "Sorcerer Mickey" Classics logo before the film. This release also had a promotion with a free lithograph reproduction for those who pre-ordered the video before its release date. In 1995, the film received a Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection video issue with a 1950s Buena Vista logo added. Disney then restored and remastered the movie for its October 4, 2005 release as the sixth installment of the Walt Disney Platinum Editions series. According to Studio Briefing, Disney sold 3.2 million copies in its first week and earned over $64 million in sales.^[4] The Platinum Edition DVD of the original movie along with its sequels went on moratorium on January 31, 2008. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a "Royal Edition" of Cinderella was released on DVD on April 4, 2011. This release had a unique limited edition number on every slip case and an exclusive art card.^[5] Disney will release a Diamond Edition in October 2, 2012 in a 3-disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo, a 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo and in a 6-disc "Jewelry Box Set" that includes the first film alongside its two sequels. A 1-disc DVD edition will be released on November 20, 2012.^[6]

Reception[link]

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.

Walt Disney had not had a huge hit since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The production of this film was regarded as a major gamble on his part. At a cost of nearly $3 million, Disney insiders claimed that if Cinderella failed at the box office, then the Disney studio would have closed (given that the studio was already heavily in debt).^[7] The film was a huge box office success and allowed Disney to carry on producing films throughout the 1950s.^[8]

Awards[link]

The film received three Academy Award nominations for Best Sound (C. O. Slyfield), Original Music Score and Best Song for "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo".^[9] At the 1st Berlin International Film Festival it won the Golden Bear (Music Film) award and the Big Bronze Plate award.^[10]

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.^[11][12]

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

Sequels and other media[link]

• A direct-to-video sequel Cinderella II: Dreams Come True was released on February 26, 2002.
• A second direct-to-video sequel Cinderella III: A Twist in Time was released on February 6, 2007.
• Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother have appeared as guests in Disney's House of Mouse.
• Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother appear in the video game Kingdom Hearts and a world based on the film, Castle of Dreams, appears in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. All the main characters sans Gus, Major and the King appear.
• A scaled-down stage musical version of the film known as Disney's Cinderella KIDS is frequently performed by schools and children's theaters.^[13]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Cinderella at the Internet Movie Database
• Cinderella at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Cinderella at AllRovi
• Cinderella at Rotten Tomatoes

Cinderella
Gustave Doré's illustration for Cendrillon
Folk tale
Name:	Cinderella
Data
Country:	Worldwide
Published in:	The Pentamerone (1634) Mother Goose Tales (1697) Grimm's Fairy Tales (1812)

"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" (French: Cendrillon, ou La petite Pantoufle de Verre, Italian: Cenerentola, German: Aschenputtel) is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world.^[1] The title character^[2] is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune. The story was first published by Charles Perrault in Histoires ou contes du temps passé in 1697.^[3]

The word "cinderella" has, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes are unrecognised, or one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect. The still-popular story of "Cinderella" continues to influence popular culture internationally, lending plot elements, allusions, and tropes to a wide variety of media.

Early versions and versions from different countries[link]

The Cinderella theme may well have originated in classical antiquity. The Ancient Greek historian Strabo (Geographica Book 17, 1.33) recorded in the 1st century BC the tale of the Greco-Egyptian girl Rhodopis, "rosy-cheeked", who lived in the Greek colony of Naucratis in Ancient Egypt. It is often considered the oldest known version of the story:

They tell the fabulous story that, when she was bathing, an eagle snatched one of her sandals from her maid and carried it to Memphis. While the king was administering justice in the open air, the eagle, when it arrived above his head, flung the sandal into his lap. The king, having been stirred both by the beautiful shape of the sandal and by the strangeness of the occurrence, sent men in all directions into the country in quest of the woman who wore the sandal. When she was found in the city of Naucratis, she was brought up to Memphis and became the wife of the king...^[4][5]

Herodotus, some five centuries before Strabo, supplied further information about Rhodopis in his Histories, writing that Rhodopis came from Thrace, and was the slave of Iadmon of Samos, and a fellow-slave of Aesop. She was taken to Egypt in the time of Pharaoh Amasis, and freed there for a large sum by Charaxus of Mytilene, brother of Sappho, the lyric poet.^[6][7]

The story later reappears with Aelian (ca. 175–ca. 235),^[8] showing that the Cinderella theme remained popular throughout antiquity.

Another version of the story, Ye Xian, appeared in Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang by Duan Chengshi around 860. Here, the hardworking and lovely girl befriends a fish, the reincarnation of her mother, who was killed by her stepmother and sister. Ye Xian saves the bones, which are magic, and they help her dress appropriately for the New Year Festival. When she loses her slipper after being recognized by her stepfamily, the king finds her slipper and falls in love with her (eventually rescuing her from her cruel stepmother).

Another version of the story, which is similar to the Chinese version, exists in the Philippines. The story is known as "Mariang Alimango" (Mary the Crab). The ill-treated Maria wins the heart of the prince during his coming-of-age celebration, and overcomes the cruelty of her stepmother and evil stepsisters. In this version, the spirit of her dead mother reincarnates as a crab, hence the title, and serves as her "fairy godmother". The slipper-test is also present, and it has a huge resemblance to the Cinderella tales of the Middle Eastern countries.

In the Vietnamese version Tấm Cám, Tam is mistreated by both her father's co-wife and half-sister, who stole her birthright by winning a wager of fishing unjustly proposed by the stepmother. The only fish that was left to her was killed and eaten by her step-family, but its bones served as her protector and guardian, eventually leading her to be the king's bride during a festival. The protagonist however, turns into the antagonist in part two of the story, by boiling her stepsister alive and then fooling her stepmother into cannibalism by feeding her own daughter's flesh.

There is a Korean version, too, named "Kongjee Patjee(콩쥐팥쥐)". It deals a story about a kind girl Kongjee who was constantly abused by her stepmother and stepsister Patjee. The step-family forces Kongjee to stay at home while they attend the king's ball, but a fairy appears like that in Perrault and gives her an attire more beautiful than everyone else. The motif is same, concerning also a king falling in love with her. But some minor details have changed because this fictional story is taking place in Korea. That includes the slipper's details and the usual festivals that happen in the Cinderella stories.

Several different variants of the story appear in the medieval One Thousand and One Nights, also known as the Arabian Nights, including "The Second Shaykh's Story", "The Eldest Lady's Tale" and "Abdallah ibn Fadil and His Brothers", all dealing with the theme of a younger sibling harassed by two jealous elders. In some of these, the siblings are female, while in others, they are male. One of the tales, "Judar and His Brethren", departs from the happy endings of previous variants and reworks the plot to give it a tragic ending instead, with the younger brother being poisoned by his elder brothers.^[9]

Aspects of Cinderella may be derived from the story of Cordelia in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. Cordelia is the youngest and most virtuous of King Leir of Briton's three daughters, however her virtue is such that it will not allow her to lie in flattering her father when he asks, so that he divides up the kingdom between the elder daughters and leaves Cordelia with nothing. Cordelia marries her love, Aginippus, King of the Franks, and flees to Gaul where she and her husband raise an army and depose her wicked sisters who have been misusing their father. Cordelia is finally crowned Queen of the Britons. However her reign only lasts five years. The story is famously retold by Shakespeare, but given a tragic ending.

Cenerentola, Cinderella and Aschenputtel[link]

Aschenputtel at her mother's grave, with birds

Giambattista Basile, a Neapolitan soldier and government official, wrote Lo cunto de li cunti (The Story of Stories), or Pentamerone. It featured the tale of Cenerentola, which features a wicked step mother and step sisters, magical transformations, a missing slipper, and a hunt by a prince for the owner of the slipper. It was published posthumously in 1634.

Plot (Cenerentola)[link]

A widowed prince has a daughter, Zezolla (the Cinderella figure), who is tended by a beloved governess. The governess, with Zezolla's help, persuades the prince to marry her. The governess then brings forward six daughters of her own, who abuse Zezolla, and send her into the kitchen to work as a servant. The prince goes into the island of Sardinia, meets a fairy who gives presents to his daughter, and brings back for her, a golden spade, a golden bucket, a silken napkin, and a date seedling. The girl cultivates the tree, and when the king gives a ball, Zezolla appears dressed richly by a fairy living in the date tree. The king falls in love with her, but Zezolla runs away before he can find out who she is. Twice Zezolla escapes the king and his servants. The third time, the king's servant captures one of her slippers. The king invites all of the maidens in the land to a feast with a shoe-test, identifies Zezolla after the shoe jumps from his hand to her foot, and eventually marries her.^[10]

One of the most popular versions of Cinderella was written by Charles Perrault in 1697. The popularity of his tale was due to his additions to the story, including the pumpkin, the fairy-godmother and the introduction of glass slippers.^[11]

Another well-known version was recorded by the German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 19th century. The tale is called "Aschenputtel" ("Cinderella" in English translations) and the help comes not from a fairy-godmother but the wishing tree that grows on her mother's grave.

Plot (Aschenputtel)[link]

A wealthy gentleman's wife lay on her deathbed, and called her only daughter to her bedside.She asked her to remain kind and generous, and God will protect her. She then died and was buried. After a transition of seasons (winter and spring) the widower married another woman, who had two daughters of her own; they were beautiful yet cruel and wicked. The stepsisters stole the girl's fine clothes and jewels and forced her to wear only rags; they banished her into the kitchen to do the worst chores, and gave her the nickname "Aschenputtel." Despite all of this the girl remained good and pious, and would always go to her mother's grave to cry and pray to God to give better circumstances for herself.

One day, the gentleman visits a fair, promising his stepdaughters gifts of luxury. The eldest asked for beautiful dresses, while the younger for pearls and diamonds. His own daughter merely asks for the first twig that will hit his hat off on the way. The gentleman goes on his way, and acquires presents for his stepdaughters. While passing a forest he gets a hazel twig, and gives it to his daughter. She plants the twig over her mother's grave, waters it with her tears and over the years, it grows into a glowing hazel tree. Under it the girl would pray for thrice a day, and a white bird would always come to talk and grant her everything she would ask for.

The king decides to give a festival that will last for three whole days and nights, and invites all the beautiful maidens in the land to attend, because the prince is supposed to select from one of them a bride for himself. The two sisters were also invited, but when Aschenputtel begged them to allow her to go with them into the celebration, the stepmother refused because she had no dress nor shoes to wear. When the girl insisted, the woman threw a dish of lentils into the ashes for her to pick up, guaranteeing her permission to attend the festival, and when the girl accomplished the task in less than an hour with the help of two, white doves sent by God from Heaven, the stepmother only redoubled the task and threw down even a greater quantity of lentils. When Aschenputtel was able to accomplished it in a greater speed, not wanting to spoil her daughters' chances, the stepmother hasted away with them to the ball and left the crying stepdaughter behind.

The girl retreats to the graveyard to ask for help. The white bird drops a silver gown and silk shoes. She goes to the ball, with the precaution of leaving before midnight. The prince dances with her, but she eludes him before midnight strikes. The next evening, the girl appears in a grander apparel. The prince falls in love with her and dances with her the whole evening, but when midnight comes, she leaves again. The third evening, she appears dressed with gold. Now the prince is determined to keep her, and has the entire stairway smeared with pitch. Aschenputtel loses track of time, and when she runs away to leave, one of her golden slippers gets stuck on that pitch. The prince proclaims that he would marry the maiden whose foot would fit the golden slipper.

The next morning, the prince goes into Aschenputtel's house and tries the slipper on the eldest stepsister. The sister is advised by her mother to cut off her heel in order to fit the slipper. While riding with the stepsister, the two doves from Heaven tell the Prince that blood drips from her heel. Appalled by her treachery, he goes back again and tries the slipper on the other stepsister. She cut off her toe in order to get in her foot in the slipper, and again the prince is fooled. While riding with her to the king's castle, the doves alert him again about the blood on her foot. He comes back to inquire for another girl. The gentleman tells him that they kept a kitchen-maid in the house - yet does not mention that she is his own daughter - and the prince asks him to let her try the slipper. The girl appears after washing herself, and when she puts on the slipper, the prince recognizes her as the stranger with whom he had danced at the ball.

In the end, during Aschenputtel's wedding, as she is walking down the aisle with her stepsisters as her bridesmaids, for they had hoped to worm their way into her favor, the doves from Heaven fly down and strike the two stepsisters eyes, one in the left and the other in the right. When the wedding comes to an end, and Aschenputtel and her prince march out of the church, the doves fly again, striking the remaining eyes of the two evil sisters blind, a punishment they have to endure for the rest of their lives.

Aschenputtel's relationship with her father in this version is ambiguous; Perrault's version states that the absent father is dominated by his second wife, hence why he does not prevent the abuse of his daughter. However, the father in this tale plays an active role in procuring Aschenputtel's request of a branch, and it is not explained why he tolerates the mistreatment of his child. He also describes Aschenputtel as his "first wife's child" and not his own.

Plot (taken from Perrault)[link]

Oliver Herford illustrated the fairy godmother inspired by the Perrault version

(See above for many variations)

Once upon a time, there was a widower who married a proud and haughty woman as his second wife. She had two daughters, who were equally vain. By his first wife, he'd had a beautiful young daughter, a girl of unparalleled goodness and sweet temper. The Stepmother and her daughters forced the first daughter into servitude, where she was made to work day and night in menial chores. After the girl's chores were done for the day, she would retire to the barren and cold room given to her, and would curl up near the fireplace in an effort to stay warm. She would often arise covered in cinders, giving rise to the mocking nickname "Cinderella". Cinderella bears the abuse patiently and dares not tell her father, since his wife controls him entirely.

One day, the Prince invites all the young ladies in the land to a ball, planning to choose a wife from amongst them. The two Stepsisters gleefully planned their wardrobes for the ball, and taunted Cinderella by telling her maids were not invited to the ball.

As the sisters depart to the ball, Cinderella cries in despair. Her Fairy Godmother magically appears and immediately begins to transform Cinderella from house servant to the young lady she was by birth, all in the effort to get Cinderella to the ball. She turns a pumpkin into a golden carriage, mice into horses, a rat into a coachman, and lizards into footmen. She then turns Cinderella's rags into a beautiful jeweled gown, complete with a delicate pair of glass slippers. The Godmother tells her to enjoy the ball, but warned that she had to return before midnight, when the spells would be broken.

At the ball, the entire court is entranced by Cinderella, most especially the Prince. At this first ball, Cinderella remembers to leave before midnight. Back home, Cinderella graciously thanks her Godmother. She then greets the stepsisters, who had not recognized her earlier and talked of nothing but the beautiful girl at the ball.

Another ball is held the next evening, and Cinderella again attends with her Godmother's help. The Prince has become even more entranced, and Cinderella in turn becomes so enchanted by him she loses track of time and leaves only at the final stroke of midnight, losing one of her glass slippers on the steps of the palace in her haste. The Prince chases her, but outside the palace, the guards watch only a simple country wench leave. The Prince pockets the slipper and vows to find and marry the girl to whom it belonged. Meanwhile, Cinderella keeps the other slipper, which did not disappear when the spell was broken.

The Prince tries the slipper on all the women in the kingdom. When the Prince arrives at Cinderella's villa, the stepsisters try in vain to win over the prince. Cinderella asks if she might try, while the stepsisters taunt her. Naturally, the slipper fits perfectly, and Cinderella produces the other slipper for good measure. The stepsisters both plead for forgiveness, and Cinderella forgives them for their cruelties.

Cinderella marries the Prince, and the stepsisters also marry two lords.

The first moral of the story is that beauty is a treasure, but graciousness is priceless. Without it, nothing is possible; with it, one can do anything.^[12]

However, the second moral of the story mitigates the first one and reveals the criticism that Perrault is aiming at: "Another moral: Without doubt it is a great advantage to have intelligence, courage, good breeding, and common sense. These, and similar talents come only from heaven, and it is good to have them. However, even these may fail to bring you success, without the blessing of a godfather or a godmother."^[12]

Types[link]

Folklorists have long studied variants on this tale across cultures.^[13] In 1893, Marian Roalfe Cox, commissioned by the Folklore Society of Britain, produced Cinderella: Three Hundred and Forty-Five Variants of Cinderella, Catskin and, Cap o'Rushes, Abstracted and Tabulated with a Discussion of Medieval Analogues and Notes.^[13]

Further morphology studies have continued on this seminal work.^[13]

Cinderella is classified as Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine. Others of this type include The Sharp Grey Sheep, The Golden Slipper, The Story of Tam and Cam, Rushen Coatie, Fair, Brown and Trembling and Katie Woodencloak.^[14]

Adaptations[link]

Massenet's opera Cendrillon

Cinderella Christmas exhibit in Minden, Louisiana

The story of "Cinderella" has formed the basis of many notable works:

Opera[link]

• Cendrillon (1749) by Jean-Louis Laruette
• Cendrillon (1810) by Nicolas Isouard, libretto by Charles-Guillaume Étienne
• Agatina o La virtù premiata (1814) by Stefano Pavesi
• La Cenerentola (1817) by Gioachino Rossini
• Aschenbrödel (1878) by Ferdinand Langer
• Cendrillon (1894-5) by Jules Massenet, libretto by Henri Caïn
• Cinderella (1901-2) by Gustav Holst
• La Cenerentola (1902) by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
• Cendrillon (1904) by Pauline García-Viardot
• Aschenbrödel (1905) by Leo Blech, libretto by Richard Batka
• La Cenicienta (1966) by Jorge Peña Hen
• Cinderella, a "pantomime opera" (1979) by Peter Maxwell Davies
• Cendrillon, children's opera (1994) by Vladimir Kojoukharov

Ballet[link]

• Cinderella (1893) by Baron Boris Vietinghoff-Scheel
• Aschenbrödel (1901) by Johann Strauss II, adapted and completed by Josef Bayer
• Das Märchen vom Aschenbrödel (1941) by Frank Martin
• Soluschka or Cinderella (1945) by Sergei Prokofiev
• Cinderella (1980) by Paul Reade
• Cinderella (2010) by David Bintley
• Cinderella - A Tragic Tale (2011) by Terence Kohler for Finnish National Ballet, Music by Lera Auerbach
• Cinderella (2012) - Adaptation by Covenant Ballet Theatre of Brooklyn

Ice Show[link]

• Cinderella (2008) by Tim A. Duncan and Edward Barnwell

Verse[link]

• Assepoester (1981) by Jan Kal

Theater[link]

Pantomime[link]

Cinderella debuted as a pantomime on stage at the Drury Lane Theatre, London in 1904 and at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1905. Phyllis Dare, aged 14 or 15, starred in the latter. In 1926, Cinderella was caught on film in the London Palladium, starring Lennie Dean in the lead role.

In the traditional pantomime version the opening scene is set in a forest with a hunt in sway and it is here that Cinderella first meets Prince Charming and his "right-hand man" Dandini, whose name and character come from Gioachino Rossini opera (La Cenerentola). Cinderella mistakes Dandini for the Prince and the Prince for Dandini.

Her father, Baron Hardup, is under the thumb of his two stepdaughters, the Ugly sisters, and has a servant named Buttons, who is Cinderella's friend. Throughout the pantomime, the Baron is continually harassed by the Broker's Men (often named after current politicians) for outstanding rent. The Fairy Godmother must magically create a coach (from a pumpkin), footmen (from mice), a coach driver (from a frog), and a beautiful dress (from rags) for Cinderella to go to the ball. However, she must return by midnight, as it is then that the spell ceases.

A version debuted in the USA at the El Portal Theatre, NoHo in 2010. It was produced by Lythgoe Family Productions of So You Think You Can Dance fame and MPI Entertainment.

Musical theatre[link]

• Cinderella: The Musical by Landon Parks (book & lyrics) and Ioannis Kourtis (music) is an English language musical stage show written in 2009, and based on the opera Cendrillon by Jules Massenett.
• Cinderella by Rodgers and Hammerstein was produced for television three times:
  • Cinderella (1957) features Julie Andrews as Cinderella, Jon Cypher, Kaye Ballard, Alice Ghostley and Edie Adams (broadcast in color, but only black-and-white kinescopes exist today).
  • Cinderella (1965) features Lesley Ann Warren as Cinderella, Stuart Damon as the Prince, Ginger Rogers as the Queen, Walter Pidgeon as the King, Celeste Holm as the Fairy Godmother and Jo Van Fleet as the Stepmother.
  • Cinderella (1997) features Brandy as Cinderella, Paolo Montalbán, Whitney Houston, Whoopi Goldberg, Victor Garber, Bernadette Peters, and Jason Alexander.

The Rodgers and Hammerstein version has also been staged live at times. A successful version ran in 1958 at the London Coliseum with a cast including Tommy Steele, Yana, Jimmy Edwards, Kenneth Williams and Betty Marsden. This version was augmented with several other Rodgers and Hammerstein's songs plus a song written by Tommy Steele, "You and Me" which he sang with Jimmy Edwards. Bobby Howell was the musical director. A 2005 version featured Paolo Montalbán and an ethnically diverse cast, like the 1997 TV version. Broadway Asia Entertainment produced a staged International Tour starring Lea Salonga and Australian actor Peter Saide in 2008.

• Mr. Cinders, a musical which opened at the Adelphi Theatre, London in 1929. Filmed in 1934
• Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim (1988), in which Cinderella is one of many fairy tale characters who take part in the plot. This is partly based on the Grimm Brothers version of "Cinderella," including the enchanted birds, mother's grave, three balls, and mutilation and blinding of the stepsisters.
• The Return of The Glass Slipper by Mary Donelly
• Cinderella by Kate Hawley is written in the style of British pantos.
• Cindy, a 1964 Off-Broadway musical composed by Johnny Brandon
• Золушka (or Zolushka), a 2002 made-for-TV Russian pop musical
• Cinderella (2007), a pantomime written by Stephen Fry for the Old Vic Theatre
• Cinderella the Musical (2008), features J-Pop group Morning Musume and the Takarazuka Revue
• Cinderella Sillyious Musical (2008/09), a musical comedy produced by Ross Petty for the Elgin Theatre Toronto
• If the shoe fits (2011) Riverside Theater Guild
• Cinderella the Musical "Moscow operetta"

Films and Television[link]

Over the decades, hundreds of films have been made that are either direct adaptations from Cinderella or have plots loosely based on the story. Almost every year at least one, but often several such films are produced and released, resulting in Cinderella becoming a work of literature with one of the largest numbers of film adaptations ascribed to it.

• Cinderella (1899), the first ever film version, produced in France by Georges Méliès.
• Cinderella (1911), a silent film starring Florence La Badie
• Cinderella (1914), a silent film starring Mary Pickford
• Aschenputtel (1922) silhouette shadow play short by Lotte Reiniger.
• Cinderella, an animated Laugh-O-Gram produced by Walt Disney, first released on December 6, 1922. This film was about 7.5 minutes long.
• A Kick for Cinderella (1925), a Bud Fisher animation featuring Mutt and Jeff.
• Cinderella (1925), a Walter Lantz animation in the Dinky Doodle series.
• Poor Cinderella (1934), a Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop
• Cinderella Meets Fella, (1938), a Merrie Melodies animated short film featuring Egghead, the character who would eventually evolve into Elmer Fudd, as Prince Charming.^[15]
• First Love (1939), musical modernization with Deanna Durbin and Robert Stack
• Cinderella (Зо́лушка) (1947), a Soviet musical film by Lenfilm studios, starring Erast Garin and Faina Ranevskaya
• Cinderella, (1950) a Disney animated feature released on February 15, 1950, now considered one of Disney's classics as well as the most well-known film adaptation. A direct-to-video sequel, Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, was released in 2002. A second direct-to-video sequel Cinderella III: A Twist in Time was released in 2007.
• Aschenputtel (1955), West German film, dubbed into English and released in the USA in 1966 as Cinderella.
• The Glass Slipper (1955), feature film with Leslie Caron and Michael Wilding
• Cinderfella (1960), notable in that the main character is a man, played by Jerry Lewis
• Cinderella (1965), Rodgers and Hammerstein musical starring Ginger Rogers, Walter Pidgeon, Lesley Ann Warren, and Stuart Damon. Written by Joseph Schrank.
• The story also inspired an episode of The Flintstones entitled, Cinderellastone, which originally aired on October 22, 1964. In it, Fred, mad because he was not invited to Mr. Slate's party, dreams he is Cinderella (complete with a Fairy Godmother voiced by June Foray) and goes to the party. The next day, he gets a big promotion and finds that he wasn't invited due to a clerical oversight.
• Popelka (Cinderella, 1969), a Czech musical film
• Hey, Cinderella! (1970), a 60-minute film produced by the Jim Henson Company. This comedy version features Jim Henson's trademark Muppets (including a small role by Kermit the Frog).
• Sinderella Kül Kedisi (1971) Turkish film with Zeynep Değirmencioğlu
• A number of Cinderella-based skits from The Electric Company, with Judy Graubart as Cinderella, Rita Moreno as the Stepmother, two Short Circus girls as the Stepsisters and Hattie Winston as the Fairy Godmother.
• Tři oříšky pro Popelku / Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel (Three Nuts for Cinderella; known in the UK as Three Gifts for Cinderella), a Czech-German movie released in 1973
• The Slipper and the Rose, a 1976 British Sherman Brothers musical film starring Gemma Craven and Richard Chamberlain.
• Cinderella, a 1977 American erotic musical comedy starring Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith, Brett Smiley and Sy Richardson, directed by Michael Pataki
• Cindy (1978), made for television
• Zolushka, a 1979 musical Soviet animated film.
• The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin (1981), an Oscar-nominated animated short from the National Film Board of Canada^[16]
• Fresh (1985), a music video for the song by Kool & the Gang features a Cinderella theme.
• Working Girl (1988), starring Melanie Griffith, a reworking of the Cinderella story, set in corporate America.
• Hello Kitty's Cinderella (1989), an anime short film starring Hello Kitty, was released in Japan.
• Hello Kitty - Cinderella was released in the U.S. as part of the Hello Kitty and Friends anime series.
• Ashpet: An American Cinderella, a 1990 Southern "Appalachia" version of the story, adapted from the Brothers Grimm, starring Louise Anderson and directed by Tom Davenport.
• If the Shoe Fits (1990), modern take on the Cinderella story set in France starring Rob Lowe and Jennifer Grey
• Cinderella (1994), produced by Jetlag Productions and distributed by GoodTimes Entertainment, premiered on video.
• Cinderella Monogatari (1996) Japanese Anime version of Cinderella. Consisted of 26 episodes.
• Cinderella (1997), Rodgers and Hammerstein musical starring Brandy Norwood as Cinderella, Whitney Houston as Fairy Godmother, Bernadette Peters as the Stepmother, Jason Alexander as Lionel the valet and Whoopi Goldberg as the Queen. Remake of 1957 and 1965 TV films.
• Ever After (1998), starring Drew Barrymore, a post-feminist take on the Cinderella myth.
• Cinderella (2000), a British television film production set in mid-20th century and starring Kathleen Turner
• Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (2002), A look at the classic "Cinderella" story from the perspective of one of her 'ugly' stepsister adapted from Gregory Maguire's book of the same name^[17]
• A Cinderella Story (2004), a modernization featuring Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray
• Ella Enchanted (2004), a modernistic comical adaptation featuring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy
• Cinderella Man (2005), an American drama film about the life of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock starring Russel Crowe.
• A segment of the 2005 Turkish anthology film Istanbul Tales made up of five stories based on popular fairy tales is based on this tale in which Cinderella is a prostitute
• Cinderelmo, a Cinderella story featuring Sesame Street's Elmo and Keri Russell
• Happily N'Ever After (2007)
• Year of the Fish (2008)
• Another Cinderella Story (2008) starring Selena Gomez and Drew Seeley
• Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale (2010) starring Sterling Knight and Ashlee Hewitt
• Grazilda (2010), a Philippine TV series. It tells the story of Cinderella but its focused on what happened after happily ever after.
• A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song (2011) starring Lucy Hale. A modern day story about Katie (Cinderella), her music, and her Prince Charming.
• Cinderella (2013) starring Amanda Seyfried^[18]

Books[link]

• Cox M.-R. Cinderella. Three Hundred and Forty-five Variants of Cinderella, Catskin, and Cap 0’ Rushes, abstracted and tabulated, with a discussion of mediaeval analogues, and notes, by Marian Roalfe Cox. L., 1893.
• Rooth A.B. The Cinderella cycle. Lund: Gleerup, 1951.
• 50 Ways To Retell A Story: Cinderella by Alan Peat, Julie Peat and Christopher Storey: Published by Creative Educational Press Ltd 2010. ISBN 978-0-9544755-5-0.

Novels[link]

• Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
• Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Garner. In this version, Cinderella is dressed in a gown "woven of silk which was stolen from unsuspecting silkworms" and has all the men fighting to death over her. This enables the women to take over the government and pass the law that women should only wear comfortable clothes.
• Bound by Donna Jo Napoli
• Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. Maguire's style of writing is to twist fairy tales. In his novel, Cinderella is the spoiled child, whose confinement to the heath is self-imposed after the death of her mother.
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine Ella was put under a spell at birth that forces her to obey any order given to her. An unusual twist as it features the ball only in the last few chapters, dealing more with Ella's struggle against the curse and because the prince (Charmont) knows Ella before the ball but does not recognize her as she is in disguise.
• Cinderellis and the Glass Hill by Gail Carson Levine
• I was a Rat! or The Scarlet Slippers by Philip Pullman
• Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley
• Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
• Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart
• The Glass Slipper by Eleanor Farjeon
• Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey
• Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett
• The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
• Jim C. Hines Princess series of books include Danielle Whiteshore (Cinderella) after her marriage to the prince.
• Ash by Malinda Lo. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults, A Kirkus Best Book for Young Adults & A William C. Morris Award YA Debut Award Finalist.^[19]
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer An alternate take on Cinderella, with androids and Lunars, people from the moon.

Comic books[link]

• Cinderella appears as a character in Bill Willingham's Vertigo series, Fables. She also appeared in her own spin-off comic, Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love.
• Cinderalla by Junko Mizuno

Songs[link]

• Cinderella Stay Awhile a song by Michael Jackson from his 1975 album Forever, Michael.
• Cinderella by Firefall, released 1977.
• Cinderella by Vince Gill, released 1987.
• Hey Cinderella (1993) by Suzy Bogguss.
• Cinderella Blue (1994) by Robert Lucas of the band Canned Heat.
• Cinderella Undercover (1998) by Oingo Boingo.
• Snoopfella a song by Snoop Dogg from his album No Limit Top Dogg (1999).
• Cinderella a song by Britney Spears from her 2001 album Britney.
• Cinderella, a 2001 single by Sweetbox.
• Cinderella by Shakaya, released 2002.
• Cinderella a 2003 single by The Cheetah Girls.
• The Glass Slipper by The Dresden Dolls from debut live album A Is for Accident, that first released in 2003 and leaked on the internet in 2009.
• Cinderella by Tata Young from her 2004 album I Believe.
• Cinderella song by Steven Curtis Chapman from This Moment (2007).
• A Cinderella Story by Mudvayne's fourth album The New Game (2008).
• It's Midnight Cinderella by Garth Brooks
• Cinderella Man by Eminem from his album Recovery (2010)
• Romeo and Cinderella from Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, released in 2010.
• Cinderella Romance by Hatsune Miku
• Cendrillon by Hatsune Miku and KAITO (a retelling of "Cinderella" with a dark twist)
• Cinderella's Curls by Waxing Gibbous.
• Not Your Cinderella by Catherine Britt
• Stealing Cinderella by Chuck Wicks
• C\C (Cinderella\Complex) by High-King
• Cinderella 신데렐라 by Korean pop singer Seo In-Young
• Cendrillon (The French name for Cinderella) by French rock group Téléphone
• Rindercella by Archie Campbell
• Cinderella by Sajjad Ali
• 21mi made no Cinderella by Berryz Kobo
• Hadashi no Cinderella Boy by NEWS
• Shi no Butou~Romance of the Cendrillon by Malice Mizer
• Cinderfella Dana Dane by Dana Dane
• Cinderela by the late Portuguese singer Carlos Paião
• Barefoot Cinderella by Hannah Montana
• Cinderella by Damien Burner Blazé Jackson
• Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman
• Cinderella from the Broadway musical 110 in the Shade by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt
• Cinderella, Darling from the Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying by Frank Loesser

Cinderella jumprope song[link]

There is a jumprope song for children that involves Cinderella^[20]:

Cinderella dressed in yellow, went upstairs to kiss her fellow, by mistake she kissed a snake, how many doctors will it take? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 etc. (Go to 20 then go down to the next line)
Cinderella dressed in blue, went upstairs to tie her shoe, made a mistake and tied a knot, how many knots will she make? 1, 2, 3, etc.
Cinderella dressed in green, went downtown to buy a ring, made a mistake and bought a fake, how many days before it breaks? 1, 2, 3, etc.
Cinderella dressed in lace, went upstairs to fix her face, oh no oh no, she found a blemish, how many powder puffs till she's finished? 1, 2, 3, etc.
Cinderella dressed in silk, went outside to get some milk, made a mistake and fell in the lake, how many more till she gets a break? 1, 2, 3, etc.

The counting continues as long as the jumper avoids missing a jump. If they do then the counting starts again.

Variations:

Cinderella dressed in yellow, went downtown to meet her fellow (or "to buy some mustard"). On the way, her girdle busted. All the people were disgusted.
(Heard in Jackson Heights, Queens, late 1950s)

Cinderella dressed in yellow, went upstairs to kiss her fellow. how many kisses did she give him?
(Heard in Northern Ireland)

Cinderella dressed in yell'a, went downstairs to kiss a fell'a. Made a mistake and kissed a snake, how many stitches (or "doctors") did it take?"

Cinderella dressed in yell'a, went downtown to kiss her fell'a. How many kisses did he get? 1,2,3 etc. (Heard in Leesburg, Florida, Early 2009)

Cinderella dressed in yell'a, tell me the name of your sweet fella a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z (The jumper runs out when the first letter of their crush or boyfriend/girlfriend's name is called and shouts their name at the same time)

Video games[link]

In 2005, Disney released Disney's Cinderella: Magical Dreams for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance.^[21] Cinderella was also featured in Disney-Square's video game Kingdom Hearts, where she is one of the seven Princesses of Heart which are needed to open the door to darkness. She, along with her entire world, also appear in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.

In other languages[link]

This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (January 2012)

See also[link]

Folklore portal

• Cinderella effect
• Cinderella complex

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cinderella

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Cinderella

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Cinderella.

• Project Gutenberg compilation, including original Cendrillon
• Photos and illustrations from early Cinderella stage versions, including one with Ellaline Terriss and one with Phyllis Dare
• http://covenantballet.org/company.html Covenant Ballet Theatre of Brooklyn link to their ballet adaptation of Cinderella