Martina Rosazza
Notes on the movie “Cinderella” by The Walt Animation Studios
Cinderella is in my opinion the most misunderstood story in the history of animation. Cinderella gets the wrong stereotype of being a victim saved by a prince, but if one rewatched the actual movie with focus, they would understand that she’s the opposite of a victim. What makes a character a victim isn’t how bad their circumstances are but their attitude towards the challenges that they are facing. Cinderella displays a strong character, a positive attitude and grace throughout the whole movie and is not only likable, but inspiring. When her stepmother says that she can’t go to the dance she insists and argues for herself until her stepmother agrees to her going if she meets the conditions of finishing her chores and finding an appropriate dress. Even at these seemingly impossible conditions, Cinderella smiles, thanks her, and gets to work in getting everything done and finding a dress. This kind of positive mindset and proactive character makes for a great hero. I think other inspiring characters in Disney movies that have these traits are Aladdin who is cheerful and proactive even if poor and stealing to survive and Rapunzel who uses her creativity to find ways to entertain herself even if locked in a tower.
Cinderella is the kind of unique flat character arc in which the character has great traits from the beginning and doesn’t have growth per se, but rather is able to change her circumstances/society/other characters/the audience by being such an inspiring person. Other great examples of this character arc are Elle Woods from "Legally Blonde", Vivian from "Pretty Woman" and Toru Honda from the anime “Fruits Basket”. I think it can be eye opening to compare Asha from “Wish” to Cinderella. Asha also does not have a character arc with growth (which is what characters like Aladdin, Tarzan, Moana, Rapunzel and Flynn have) but in her case it doesn’t work because she’s not a strong character who displays inspiring traits and a positive core belief. She is a victim of her circumstances because her reaction to unfortunate circumstances is to be sad, not say anything and run away. This is the opposite of Cinderella who throughout even just the first act replies and stands up for herself in 2 scenes (when her stepmother keeps saying “silence” after she’s called in the bedroom after the Gus in the tea cup accident and when her stepmother says she can’t go to the ball), has a positive attitude towards her chores, always keeps her head high even when scolded (this can be seen when she enters the bedroom knowing that she’s about to be scolded) and even makes fun of the villains when she opens her eyes with sarcasm saying that she should better “end the… music lesson”.
Another good element this movie has is comedy for every age. There’s a lengthy scene of the mice trying to steal breakfast in the first act, which from an adult analyzing story structure point of view may seem quite long (it’s a full 5 minutes) but this seems to wildly entertain very young kids who laugh the whole time and are scared/excited when the mice almost get caught by Lucifer. At the same time there seems to be comedic scenes meant for adults as well. Examples of this are after the king asks that every girl in town should try the shoe on, the king’s assistant points out that there may be more than one girl being able to fit in the shoe and the king then replies “Well, that’s his problem” referring to the prince. Another funny moment meant for adults is when Cinderella arrives at the castle in her beautiful dress and all the guards are looking exactly the same and staying in the same pose in line looking straight but one of them moves their eyes because unable to not notice Cinderella’s beauty. I find kids do not understand the joke here, but these scenes do bring a smile on adults’ faces. So, I think that this movie has different kinds of comedy catered to all age groups who may be watching, and I find that thoughtful.
Finally, Cinderella has a wholesome and heartwarming message that hope should not be lost, not even in the harshest circumstances because anything can happen to change that and give us a better life. This message is not only very suited to Disney’s values, but much needed in the world. If any little girl in bad circumstances watches this movie and inspired by it finds the strength in herself to believe that just like Cinderella she also should not lose hope, she also should stay kind and keep fighting for a better life then I think Disney and the people behind this movie will have done a great service not only as storytellers and animators, but as human beings. This kind of needed positive message is what I think has made Disney so beloved and cherished in the world, what has inspired a lot of people and what is the true essence of Disney. I think this studio should make an active effort to go back to these roots if it wants to keep creating stories as inspiring as Cinderella.
FIRST ACT
Fairytale initial sequence sets the mood for magical story to start
First sequence sets the tone to understand that Cinderella is not a victim, despite her circumstances
In the first sequence the narrating voice says that while Cinderella has to work as a servant in her own house, she continues to be kind because she wakes up every morning with the hope that a better day is about to start.
People completely misunderstand Cinderella and this movie because they think she’s a victim, but she is the exact opposite of that. A person feeling happy, being kind and hopeful for a change despite being a slave is not a victim. I find Asha in “Wish” to present more traits that make her a victim as she portrays sadness every time something doesn’t go her way (when king Magnifico silences her, doesn’t give her the job and then when her grandparents don’t believe her at the dinner table) and does not do anything about it. What makes a character a victim isn’t how bad their circumstances are but their attitude towards the challenges that they are facing. This is why Cinderella is likable and Asha isn’t.
First song great in getting to know Cinderella and understanding her positive philosophy in life
Cinderella saving Gus shows active and kind character and boosts her likability
Cinderella doing her chores with good attitude further displays her great attitude towards life and boosts her likability as well as sympathy for her in the viewer
Cinderella trying to say something nice about Lucifer and not coming up with anything is funny while further illustrating the great quality of kindness this character has
Mice trying to get breakfast is too long considering this scene doesn’t lead to anything but it seems to be extremely enjoyable for very young kids, so I wonder if this was made for them
As an adult watching this movie for story analysis purposes, I think this whole scene is too long (it’s almost 5 minutes long) considering that it doesn’t serve any major purposes to the story other than Gus ending up inside the cup of tea when delivered to the stepsister causing trouble. However, I have watched this with younger kids, and they seem so wildly amused by this sequence that I wonder if this was made for them.
Cinderella being more concerned to save Gus then herself when the stepsister is upset about having found a mouse in her teacup, shows again strength in character
Cinderella’s animation of her going into the stepmother’s room with grace, calm and keeping her head high even knowing she’s about to be scolded shows great strength in character
This kind of attitude towards life is what makes a hero a hero and is what in my opinion was completely lucking in Luca from Pixar and Asha from Wish.
Cinderella speaking back to her stepmother even if she keeps saying “silence!” shows again a strong character always trying to stand up for herself
King wanting prince to marry is realistic plot line
Stepsisters being terrible at singing and Cinderella being very good at it is a good metaphor of real beauty not being linked to ones’ life circumstances
Bubble scene artistically creative and beautiful
Lucifer dirtying the floor Cinderella just cleaned good in making the villain group a strong one
Cinderella opening her eyes with sarcasm when she says “Maybe I should interrupt… the music lesson” is funny and conveys the idea of her not being a victim as she’s the one, for once, making fun of the villains
Cinderella insisting that she should be allowed to go to the dance as well and getting her stepmother to agree to that shows again an active main character willing to stand up for herself and fight for what they want
This is the type of reaction Asha from “Wish” should have had when Magnifico silenced her and told her she didn’t get the job.
Stepmother adding impossible conditions to her being allowed to go to the dance (she needs to finish her endless list of chores and find an appropriate dress) makes a great villain
Cinderella accepting said horrible conditions with a smile, grace and a positive attitude that she can figure it out makes her even more likable than she already is
