Cinderella (1950)
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A kind-hearted girl finds a magical way to attend a royal ball and escape her life of servitude.
The story
In 19th-century France, Cinderella is the daughter of a widowed aristocrat who is forced into servitude by her cruel stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and her two daughters. Despite her hardships, Cinderella remains kind and gentle, caring for the animals in her home. When the King invites all eligible maidens to a royal ball so his son, the Prince, can choose a bride, Cinderella dreams of attending. With the help of her animal friends and a magical intervention from her Fairy Godmother, she gains the opportunity to attend the ball and meet the Prince, though she must navigate the obstacles set by her stepfamily.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Set in 19th-century France, Cinderella is the daughter of a widowed aristocrat. After her father's death, her stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and her two daughters, Drizella and Anastasia, treat her as a servant. Cinderella remains kind and befriends the household animals, including mice named Jaq and Gus. When the King announces a royal ball for the Prince to find a bride, Cinderella attempts to attend by fixing up her mother's dress. Her stepfamily sabotages her, and she is left behind. However, her Fairy Godmother appears and uses magic to transform a pumpkin into a carriage and provide her with a gown and glass slippers, warning her that the magic ends at midnight. Cinderella attends the ball and falls in love with the Prince, but she flees at the stroke of midnight, leaving behind one glass slipper. The Prince vows to marry only the woman whose foot fits the slipper. A search is conducted across the kingdom. Despite Lady Tremaine's attempts to hide her, Cinderella is discovered to have the other slipper. She is married to the Prince and they leave for their honeymoon.
- First release year
- 1950
- Runtime (minutes)
- 74
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Wilfred Jackson; Hamilton Luske; Clyde Geronimi
- Writers
- William Peet · story; Ted Sears · story; Homer Brightman · story; Kenneth Anderson · story; Erdman Penner · story; Winston Hibler · story; Harry Reeves · story; Joe Rinaldi · story; Oliver Wallace · music; Paul Smith · music
- Cast and characters
- Ilene Woods · Cinderella; Eleanor Audley · Lady Tremaine; Verna Felton · Fairy Godmother; Rhoda Williams · Drizella and Anastasia Tremaine; James MacDonald · Jaq and Gus; Luis van Rooten · The King; William Phipps · Prince Charming; June Foray · Lucifer
- Genres
- animated; musical; fantasy
- Themes
- kindness; perseverance; magic
- Tone and mood
- whimsical; fairytale
- Setting
- 19th-century France, in a small but prosperous kingdom.
- Premise and plot tags
- fairy tale; royal ball; magic
- Source material / true-story basis
- Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale
- Franchise connections
- Cinderella
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim and was a box office success, becoming a significant hit that helped reverse the studio's fortunes.
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Scoring of a Musical Picture · nomination; Academy Award · Best Sound Recording · nomination; Academy Award · Best Original Song for "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" · nomination; Golden Bear · Best Music Film · win
- Production trivia
- The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2018.; The studio was over $4 million in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy before the film's success.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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