Cinderella

Walt Disney's 1950 animated classic softens and sweetens the classic fairy tale with music, comic asides, and a supporting cast of colorful animals. In this brightly-designed version, the pretty and plucky Cinderella endures the abuse of her wicked stepmother and snotty stepsisters, who have turned the bright, sunny young woman into their servant. Cinderella has the mice on her side, of course, a squeaky army of scurrying do-gooders, and she has a fairy godmother who swoops down to give her a magic transformation into the belle of the ball, where she wins the heart of the bachelor prince. This bright, lively musical delight hails from the second half of Disney's classic animation period, and while it doesn't boast the rich character of classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Bambi, its clean style, vivid imagery, and strong storytelling have made it a beloved perennial. Disney's new "Diamond Edition" Blu-ray features a high-definition remaster, along with a slew of extras, including an alternate opening sequence, the new animated short "Tangled Ever After" (with the characters of Tangled), a featurette on the real woman who inspired the fairy godmother, a segment on the new Disney Princess Fantasyland attraction, and a French animated short on glass slippers. Also included is a bonus DVD edition with previously-available supplements, including the 'making-of' documentary "From Rags to Riches," a tribute to Disney's 'Nine Old Men,' deleted scenes, and more. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker) [Blu-ray Review—July 2, 2019—Disney, 75 min., G, Blu-ray: $39.99—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 1950’s Cinderella features a fine transfer with DTS-HD 7.1 audio. Extras new to this release include an 'In Walt’s Words: The Envisioning of Cinderella' audio commentary with picture-in-picture bonus material and a 'Try This Trivia On for Size' featurette (5 min.), along with classic extras from previous releases, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: this is the same transfer as the 'Diamond' edition release with a slightly different extras package.]