“CINDERELLA” is getting an Anniversary Edition Blu-ray release to give fans of the iconic Disney classic a great collection of features to round out this timeless animated tale. There are two ways to watch this film, the original theatrical version and another called “In Walt’s Words: The Envisioning of Cinderella” that adds many layers of insight, much like the Infini-film releases from the early 2000’s. Disney has always shown a strong track record of filing their home entertainment releases with a large amount of bonus material. This special-edition provides over two-hours of informative features making it worthy of being the ninth film given the Signature Collection label.
The standout feature in my opinion is the documentary style look at the creation of “Cinderella” from the conceptual design, to the various technical aspects of animating in the era. This feature focuses on the group of animators that created these characters, and with commentary from these artists it truly does explore the mindsets behind the designs, and the overall creative process. It also explores the importance of this film to the Disney company at the time, and covers the stakes that were involved with the film being a success. It was an incredible story and after watching it only adds more respect for the accomplishments it did achieve in the face of the pressure.
This segment is loaded with archival-footage and various stages of conceptual-art from storyboards to pencil sketches. It captures not only the creation of this movie, but how the art-form at the time was produced before the age of computers. I felt it effectively builds an endless amount of appreciation for the attention to detail, and sheer skill of hand that this era of animators possessed. It was fascinating to see how things have evolved over the years. The characters were also looked at more in-depth in terms of the motivation behind the look to certain characters, and what the intention was behind some of the more subtle details in this film that was intriguing to learn.
Disney films are known for the music and “Cinderella” is no different. The various classic’s in this one are also given an inside-look to showcase the creative layers of this dynamic to the film. There is also a fun trivia feature for those wanting to test their knowledge. Ruth Righi and Ava Koller from the Disney Channel’s “Sydney to the Max” host this feature that edits in film footage as a series of trivia questions test your memory. In the end this film being added to the Disney Signature Collection is a given. As is the decision of adding it to your home video library. Having two options of how to watch this movie are worth it alone. One conjures the nostalgia of the original format release, and the other provides endless amounts of insight from the film-making side of things. Pairing this with a feast of special-features does create the full package for those wanting to own this classic.
