Cinderella Discussion

[Disney's Divinity]

I thought it mostly looked the same. There's really just the separation (whatever you call it) at the center and the bow on her chest is a little larger. The silver dress also has that separation, so maybe that's why they left it off the pink dress, to differentiate them more? I don't know extensive fashion history or anything, just they look similar to me... I always thought the pink dress was pretty though, although I took it more as a case of Cinderella is special and can even make an average, rushed dress look beautiful. I assume the viewer was supposed to think it's very nice though, going by the family's reaction at her upstaging them when they spent so much time/money preparing and Cinderella had no time or money at all.

I had been watching All About Eve and wondered if an actress there might be the same woman, just younger, from another movie I love (I Think I Do). Turned out not, but the woman I thought she might be was Marni Nixon, and scrolling through her Wikipedia--I never knew that actress was a singer! Or that she was the voice behind all those films, although I knew those films had dubbed voices of course. And she was even in Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland! I wanted to ask if you knew if the line in "Cinderella" about "queenly grace" was Marni Nixon or Ilene Woods? I guess I always thought it was Woods growing up because it sounds so much like her, now I'm wondering if it was Nixon doing a great impression of her? Or was Nixon simply a part of the choir there?

[Disney Duster]

It does look very similar, but yes there is a “separation” which is an overskirt on it, and, also, the trim and bows on her dress extend all around the bottom of her dress in the concept art, while in the final film they are only in the front! I completely agree the audience is supposed to see Cinderella’s pink dress as lovely and upstaging her stepfamily’s clothes, as Walt said in the “In Walt’s Words” bonus feature it was supposed to be a beautiful gown. I don’t know if they wanted to make it more different than the silver one by removing the overskirt, but maybe it looked too beautiful with the overskirt? Or was too detailed to draw?

I have no idea who sings the “queenly grace” line, except I definitely do not think it’s Woods. I love that song though.

[Disney Duster]

In The Best of Disney's Animated Features: Volume Two that I bought and am reading, you discover Ilene Woods identified with Cinderella a lot because her mother, while not cruel, pushed her into show business when she really wanted to be an English teacher, and she got so into the character that when recording the part where her stepsisters tear apart her ballgown, she really cried. And when she's got her head in her arms crying on the bench in the garden, they did that specifically because that garden was where she was last seen happy, and she's crying in the same position she cried on her father's death bed! The book is fascinating for any Disney animation fan!

So, after the Big Golden Book and Disney Classic Cinderella books were discussed on this forum, and I remember them fondly, I have decided to re-rank my favorite Disney Cinderella book retellings.

#1. Disney Cinderella (Big Golden Book)/Cinderella: The Story of Cinderella (2012/2016)


The art style used in these two books is tied for 1st and is perfection, and her dress looks blue or silver depending on the printing of the art, but it looks gorgeous in all that glowing magic either way. I don't think they ever made an illustration of the pumpkin in this art style meant to be used in any scene in any of the books that use this artwork, though, and that is all that really holds it back other than a few mistakes and a little derpy drawing in a scene or two.

#2. Cinderella Classic Storybook (90s)


The writing is the most perfectly detailed version other than the '80s Big Golden book which has such bad illustrations I didn't even rank it. I love the way they did her transformation illustration with her holding her gown from the fountain look and getting to see the glass slippers written about while the magic is still swirling around her. No pumpkin though.

#3. Cinderella: The Brave Princess


This book was only made in French but I had to have it because the illustrations are beautiful and extremely on-model. Still missing the pumpkin and a few scenes.

#4.Walt Disney's Cinderella (A Big Golden Book) (80s)

I don't have any pictures from the inside of this one, but they are new models close to the originals, with a very silvery blue gown for Cinderella that is wonderful to have. When my godmother got me this books, I hugged her and said, "Thank you, fairy godmother!" This books gets points for having original poses and not having drawings so bad they are ugly, and for having the best writing out of any of the books. They even call her Ella before she becomes Cinderella, which I wish Walt had thought to do, but alas, he didn't!

#5. Disney Classic Series: Walt Disney Cinderella (80s)



This would be my favorite book out of all them for having the pumpkin actually in the middle of turning into the coach! But alas, it has way too many pictures of stuff that isn't as important as other stuff, and the drawings are usually either traced badly from the film or pretty ugly. I must say they may really have had some original poses of Cinderella on-model, but there is still a lot of ugly. And would you look at how they butchered the dress transformation? They just copied the "It'll do magic, believe it or not" part from the fairy godmother next to Cinderella in the film and drew Cinderella's white dress form over her pink rags form!

#6 Walt Disney's Cinderella: 75th Anniversary Edition:




Anything done off-model, like the pumpkin coach leaves and top, or Cinderella's huge ball skirt, are done on purpose to be a unique take on the film, and the painterliness is lush and beautiful, with pretty landscapes and extra details. It's just that this book retells the story only like you have already seen the film, and that's great, especially for someone like me who has seen it so much, but then it's missing details that I would like in a book that tells "the entire" story.

[dsneybuf]

Did you ever read the book with text by Cynthia Rylant, and illustrations by Mary Blair? The thought of using actual concept art for the illustrations intrigued me, but I haven't actually read the book myself.

[Disney Duster]

Yes, I have read the Cynthia Rylant Mary Blair book, and like the critics said, it is a wonderful book. It’s great! I recommend it!

[Disney Duster]

I read in my The Best of Disney's Animated Features: Volume 2 some even more interesting stuff about the making of Cinderella! I had no idea that Walt Disney was attracted to the version of Cinderella by Alice Duer Miller, published in 1943, with illustrations set in the 19th century by Alajalov. This was where Walt got the idea to put Cinderella in the 19th century! And, some of the illustrations clearly inspired a lot in the finished film!

First was the idea for the stepsisters playing music, as this image shows next to a Disney concept art:


Then, the Fairy Godmother's hooded cloak getup is clearly inspired by Alajalov:


And even the roses in belljars on tables and the rows of guards!:


I never knew! Isn't that so cool?