Okay, I've seen the movie, so here's my little (whoa, okay. Finished it now, I did nót mean for it to become so huge. Ah well) review. Spoilers ahead, of course.
Story:
I'll just recap everything in chronological order. The beginning really annoyed me. Cinderella's narration made me cringe so much, I didn;t pay attention to what she said. Luckily, the movie started (with a cringeworthy song, but more on that when I discuss the songs;)). The one thing that annoyed me most about the first sequence was the 'perfect anniversary party' the Godmother and mice organized for Cindy and her Prince. If it's so perfect, why were they (and the two bluebirds) the only ones there? Where were Bruno, the horse, all the other mice? It seemed like a pretty pathetic party.
They jumped to Anastasia wanting to find real love, which for me was a bit too soon. She's an ugly stepsister, I don't wánt to know what she wants. As soon as she finds the 'stick' (I love how Lady Tremaine says that ^^), the story kicks off. The Fairy Godmother gets taken care of right at the beginning, so she won't be able to just bibbidi-bobbidi-boo a happy ending. I lóved the Twist In Time-spell. That was such a great sequence. The Grand Duke comes, the slipper fits, Anastasia goes nuts.
Cinderella break her habit of sitting silently in the background by saying it was her slipper. I know many hearts will get broken by the image of the other slipper breaking. It's the sign that Cinderella's dreams won't come true, even though she was só close to getting everything she ever wanted. I know I've been watching the rest of the movie with a broken heart (which is a bíg compliment to this sequel). Unfortunately, she breaks the mood by starting to sing. Fortunately, it's the best song in the movie. She thinks the Prince will remember her when he sees her, so she sets off to the castle.
Once there, it's clear she can't get through the guards that easily... or can she? She uses the servants entrance and finds herself inside the castle. There she's spotted by none other than Prudence. She thinks of a rather flimsy excuse, but manages to pull it off with the help of Jaq and Gus.
Now we get to see more of the Prince, although he's basically saying what we already knew. He wants to find a girl he loves. Still, the scene works pretty well, thanks to the image of his mother. It's nice to finally see her. And thankfully, the King is himself again, not the weird imposter we got to see in Cinderella II. The Prince sees Anastasia and realizes she's not the one from the ball. He says he's sorry for the mixup and walks off. Lady Tremaine has other plans. The spells really work amazingly well in this movie.
The Prince now thinks Anastasia is the one he danced with, so when Cinderella finally finds him, she's too late. They look into each others eyes and he starts to remember... but the spell is too strong (although this scene does give you a hint that the spell is breakable). Cinderella is heartbroken again, but Jaq and Gus tell her what happened to the Prince. Cinderella now knows about the magic, and it's time to get the wand back!
Next up is a comical scene. Not much more to say about that, it's just there as comic relief. Just like the scene with Anastasia and the Prince dancing. Although the latter has a touching of hand, which becomes very important throughout the rest of the movie.
I loved the gift the King gives Anastasia. I didn't love Anastasia, but I loved the gift ^^ Again, this scene hints at the change Anastasia is undergoing throughout the movie.
Now, Anastasia has a little (very, very short) song about what she wants. It's basically a reprise of Perfectly Perfect.
Cinderella enters her stepmother's room, disguised as a maid. Lady Tremaine has seen her as a maid almost every day of her life, so she's immediate disposed. Jaq and Gus now have the wand, and a chase begins.
Now comes the chase-scene we all know from the eight-minute preview. It's a very exciting one, which will keep you at the end of your seat. Cinderella is just about to set things right, when... she gets cought and banished from the kingdom. She tries to tell the Prince he's under a spell and their hands touch. The Prince is now seriously doubting his marriage with Anastasia. Is she really the one from the ball? Jaq and Gus explain to him (using a song, of course) she's not. The Prince seems a bit gullable (I'm under a spell? That explains everything!), but hey, how else were they going to convince him?
He decides to go after Cinderella, who's been put on a boat to Somewhere. We see the boat leaving, while the Prince is still racing on his horse. Will he be there in time? Of course not. But he does fly (fall) through the air and lands on the boat, which is just as good and predictable. He holds Cindy's hand and they both know they've found true love.
But wait, there's more! Lady Tremaine finds out about all this, but she's not ready to give up (and why would she be? She didn't change history to just give up when things go wrong). She disappears, just like Anastasia and Drizella. Everything seems just dandy and Cinderella changes into her wedding dress. That's when Lady Tremaine reappears (which was done quite nicely, with her holding Lucifer). She says the Prince wants to marry Cinderella, and he will marry Cinderella. Enter Anastacia, disguised as Cinderella (hereafter referred to as Anastella). I like how they kept Anastasia's mouth. It's not a big difference, but enough to always let you know who's who.
Cinderella gets put inside a pumpkin (I wonder why, Lady Tremaine never knew about the pumpkincoach), along with Jaq and Gus. Lucifer gets to be the driver.
This scene works pretty good, but I was a bit disappoinet by it. I had seen
this screenshot, which looks absolutely horrifying. I was disappointed when the coach grew bigger and it was actually quite spacious. I think this would have worked better if the inside was confining and dirty, but that's just me. I did enjoy the scene, and Cindy's 'bad kitty', horrible pun though it may be, made me laugh.
Meanwhile, in the castle. The Prince and Anastella are about to get married, while Lady Tremaine and Drizella watch behind some curtains. Will Cinderella be in time to stop the wedding? Of course she is. But, for some reason, she just stands there looking at it. Then, Anastella says she won't take the Prince as her husband. Lady Tremaine bursts out of the shadow and there's magic galore. She tries to turn Anastella into a toad, but Cinderella jumps in front of her. So, Lady Tremaine changes the spel to turn two people into toads. No problem, two toads it'll be. The Prince reflects the spell with his sword, so guess which two people turning into toads?
Anastella apologizes and tells Cinderella and the Prince to be happy together. She picks up the wand and... turns herself back to normal. Cinderella thanks her (why? She still ripped your dress, was horrible to you for years, stole your happily ever after...), takes the wand and turns the Fairy Godmother back to normal (er... when did she find out about Granny being stoned?). She's can be happy ever after... again.
The end.
Characters:
Cinderella is much more active in this movie. She knows what she wants, and she goes to get it. Go Cindy ^^
The Prince still doesn't have a name. Yay!He's also much more active and gets quite a lot of screentime. No complaints here, he's a likeable Prince.
Anastasia, of course, changed a lót. Sorry dear, you'll always be a b*tch in my heart.
The rest seems pretty true to their former selves. It's just a real shame we doidn't get to see Bruno anymore. It seems weird to me that Cinderella would just leave him at the Tremaine residence, I think he should have been in Perfectly Perfect.
Songs:
Perfectly Perfect is a very cringeworthy song. Just read the title, that's just horrible. And I wasn't ready to hear Anastasia singing about true love. I still hated her!
More Than A Dream was the song I already knew pretty much by heart. Still the best song from the movie, even if the beginning is a bit awkward.
Anastasia's Theme is a reprise of Perfectly Perfect. Anastasia sings about true love again, so I'll not comment.
At The Ball. No Cinderella-movie without a mice-song. This felt like an Animaniacs-song to me. I like the Animaniacs, but it was too flimsy to be a part of this movie.
Overall, I would have to agree with others here that the songs were the weakest point of the movie. Which is sad, because songs can do só much to help make a movie great.
Animation:
The animation was better than we've ever seen from DTS, it worked very well. You never forget is a DTS-production, but you do feel for the characters and they do show emotion. I didn't like how Cinderella's nose kept disappearing, but overall I liked it.
Final thoughts:
I enjoyed this movie a lot. This might just be the best Disney DTV to date. This makes you wonder what could have been, had they put as much effortinto other sequels as in this one.
The only thing I'm worried about is seeing Cinderella again. I hope I can be as happy when they get their Happy Ever After, now that I've seen this.
I recommend it.
Asante sana, squash banana, wewe nugu, mimi hapana.