Disney has a long history of animated features the include princesses. In 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Sixty started a long tradition that continues and grows to this day. Sixty-nine years ago they gave us one of their greatest classic princess movies of all time - Cinderella. The tale of the maid who won the prince's heart has been adored by millions of generation after generation. Released on Blu-ray in 2012, Disney has now decided to rereleased it under their signature collection. The new combo pack will be available for purchase beginning on June 25, 2019.
Cinderella (Ilene Woods; On Stage Everybody) lived a happy life with her father and her stepfamily but when her father passed away unexpectedly everything changed. Suddenly her stepmother, Lady Tremaine (Eleanor Audley; Sleeping Beauty) and her step-sisters, Drizella (Rhoda Williams; The Heart is a Rebel) and Anastasia (Lucille Bliss; The Secret of NIMH) because nasty and mean towards her and she was forced to become their servant. She did all the chores while they lived a life of easy and no matter what she did it was never good enough.
One day a message came from the Castle that there was to be a ball in honor of the Prince Charming's (Mike Douglas; The Mike Douglas Show) return and all eligible maidens were to attend. Thinking that meant her too, Cinderella asked to go and was told my Lady Tremaine that if she got all her chores done she could attend. Of course, they added additional chores to make it impossible for her. Crying in the garden, her fairy godmother (Verna Felton; Alice in Wonderland) made her wish come true and she went to eh ball and dance with the prince until she ran away at the stroke of midnight. Leaving behind her shoe the Prince decided to scour the countryside until he found the owner - the woman he fell in love with a.k.a Cinderella.
So much has changed since the early days of Disney animation when talent wasn't made of well-known celebrities. Despite that, Woods had the perfect, gentle, melodic tonal inflection that made Cinderella sweet and beautiful inside and out. Conversely, Audley had a hard edge to her tone that made her the perfect villain in this scenario. Williams and Bliss offered a hoarseness that made the stepsisters voices grate on one's every nerve and Douglas' tone was smooth as glass adding to his "charming" character.
The 1080p video quality is the same that was found on the 2012 Blu-ray release but that doesn't make it any less notable. There is little graininess to be found anywhere on the transfer and the colors and details have been sharpened significantly. Though some may argue that the film should be preserved in its original context, there is no denying that the uptick is terrific and a joy to watch. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 is also wonderful with a clarity one wouldn't expect from the original mono mix. Most of the extras are ported over from the 2012 release with the exception of a five-minute piece called Try This Trivia on For Size and Audio Commentary. Neither adds all that much to the overall appeal of this release.
Cinderella is such a classic and so completely synonymous with Disney that the Theme parks boast replicas of her castle. It is the ultimate fairytale that "Disneyphiles" and lay people alike can't help to enjoy even upon multiple viewings. With adorable animals, beautiful costumes and backgrounds and a timeless story, there isn't much one can find fault with here.
Even though it was released on Blu-ray seven years ago, so many children have been born since then that this Cinderella: The Signature Collection combo pack is an absolute necessity in any new grandparent's home!
Grade: A
