"Walt Disney's Cinderella" by Cynthia Rylant

[tsom]

http://www.amazon.com/Walt-Disneys-Cind ... 1423104218

Has anyone read or heard of this book. I just discovered it while browsing Amazon the other day, and it looks so interesting. I did more research on it, and lots of people are saying good things about it. The illustrations are beautiful, but what I'm curious about is the text. Some reviews I have read listed some text from the story, and it sounds so adult (as in mature), detailed, and sophisticated. I wonder how different it is from the movie. I heard that the story is pretty straightforward, with no mention of animals, songs, and names (except for Cinderella's of course). Some lines from the book that I've found are:

"Who can say by what mystery two people find each other in this great wide world?"

"How does a young man find his maiden? His heart leads him. He finds her in a room. He asks her to dance. And when he touches her, he knows."

"This is a story about darkness and light, about sorrow and joy, about something lost and something found. This is a story about Love."

"Cinderella's life and Cinderella's house was ruled by a cold, hard woman with a face of stone and a heart sick with envy. This woman hated anything beautiful: the small yellow birds in the trees, the soft rabbits in the gardens, even the roses that bloomed in the summer fields. And she hated Cinderella most of all."

"Many years before, Cinderella's mother had died. Cinderella's father married again, not knowing his new wife's unkind heart would in time bleed the life from his own. He died leaving Cinderella to survive alone. Leaving her with nothing but her beauty and wish for Love."

Description of Cinderella: "Cinderella was a young and lonely girl, with no father to protect her, no mother to nurture her, and no dear sister with whom she could share secrets."

"Every day Cinderella wished for Love."

"Tears have a wondrous magic about them. They often change everything. And for Cinderella, on this night, tears created a miracle."

"A young man knows what he must do when the girl he loves disappears. He must find her."

"He went to every home in the land, searching for the foot meant for the shoe and the heart meant for a prince."

[UmbrellaFish]

I found that while browsing Barnes and Noble. It does sound mature. I'm more interested than ever in it.


Any Disney fans who have read it and want to give their opinion?

[Prudence]

I had asked for it for my birthday, but didn't receive it. Here's hoping it's coming in the mail. If it does, I shall give you my review.

[steven132]

I remember reading a review of this book by Jim Hill, he says its a must have.
http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/ ... 7/385.aspx

[Kram Nebuer]

I feel like I've read this before a long time ago when I was very young. I remember going to the library and finding a very large Cinderella book that looked a lot different than the Disney movie, but it was still in fact a Disney book. I was too young to appreciate reading, so I don't remember the text, but I do remember the pictures. They were so beautiful and colorful and a very different style of the other picture books and children's books I had seen. I never found it again after that. It must've never been returned or lost or damaged. I'm hoping it wasn't lost of someone else loved it just as much and wanted to keep it.

Does anyone have or have recently looked through the book tsom is talking about? If so I would love to purchase it and look through it again.

The one thing that stands out in my mind about one of the illustrations was the last page with Prince Charming and Cinderella. In addition to the expected prince and princess and castle, there were also two very large pet dogs of the prince. They weren't fluffy or anything, just elegant and large. If this illustration is in the Cynthia Rylant/Mary Blair book, then I probably have seen this book before and it would be great to finally see it again and own it!

[Disneykid]

I have this book and can certainly say that despite being a very broad, vague outline of the story, the writing is very classy. While it would be a copyright infringement to post it all here (even though it's short enough for me to do so), I'll post the first few pages so you guys get an idea:

This is a story about darkness and light, about sorrow and joy, about something lost and something found. This is a story about Love."

Cinderella was a young and lonely girl, with no father to protect her, no mother to nuture her, and no dear sister with whom she could share secrets.

She lived a dark life in a dark house, with people who did not love her. Each morning when she rose up from bed, Cinderella felt this darkness all around her. Still, she always went to her window and made a wish for her life. Cinderella looked out toward the world that stretched far and away from her small dark room, and she wished for one thing only: Love.

Every day Cinderella wished for Love.

Cinderella's house and Cinderella's life were ruled by a cold, hard woman with a face of stone and a heart sick with envy. This woman hated anything beautiful: the small yellow birds in the trees, the soft rabbits in the gardens, even the roses that bloomed in the summer fields. And she hated Cinderella most of all.

Many years before, Cinderella's mother had died. Cinderella's father married again, not knowing his new wife's unkind heart would in time bleed the life from his own. He died, leaving Cinderella to survive alone. Leaving her with nothing but her beauty and a wish for Love.

The artwork presented is beautiful, much of it not included in the DVD galleries. I bought this book for two reasons: 1) I love Mary Blair's artwork. 2) Disney plans on making similar books for Alice in Wonderland (written by Jon Scieszka ) and Peter Pan (which has no attached author, yet). Alice is pencilled in for October of this year and Peter for October of next year. Whether or not they get made relies on how well Cinderella sells. While I would've wanted all three, anyway, knowing that there's a potential Alice book of Mary Blair art made me grab the Cinderella one sooner than I probably would have otherwise.

Kram: The Cinderella book you're thinking of probably had the artwork from these (they all feature the same art, just different text and covers):

http://i4.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/d2/b1/4c49_1.JPG
http://i5.ebayimg.com/01/i/07/38/da/33_1.JPG
http://i18.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/d2/89/e263_1.JPG
http://i2.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/c2/41/93e2_1.JPG

They do kind of look Mary Blair-like, but they're not by her. The illustrations in the new book this thread's about are a lot more abstract than these and have never been published in a children's book format like this before. Color me surprised that Disney Duster hasn't posted here, yet.

[Someday...]

sounds awesome,
I'll probably pick one up- I love that the text hasnt been simplified too much for children.

Disneykid I have that story in a very old disney book, which is around the same age as disneyland I think (I haven't it handy)
those illustrations are beautiful as well.

[tsom]

Hey Disneykid, thanks for the first few pages!! I also sent you an email.

I guess this retelling makes a person think about the characters in deeper terms. The description of the stepmother hating anything beautiful makes me question why she was like that. People aren't just born mean. Was she an ugly child growing up and ridiculed because of that? When she sees Cinderella, does she see the child that she wasn't and that's the reason she hates her? If Anastasia and Drizella came out looking attarctive, would she have hated them too?

Also, this retelling makes me feel even more sorry for Cinderella. After her father died, she had no one in the world. All she wanted was to be loved by someone.

And the description of how her tears brought the fairy godmother says to me that it's okay to cry.

[Prudence]

People aren't just born mean. Was she an ugly child growing up and ridiculed because of that? When she sees Cinderella, does she see the child that she wasn't and that's the reason she hates her? If Anastasia and Drizella came out looking attarctive, would she have hated them too?

My guesses are yes and yes, strongly, though I certainly didn't find her to be ugly as a woman. As to the latter question, I have no idea. It's a definite possibility.

Discuss, please. It's an intriguing subject matter.

[Someday...]

the exploring of the stepmothers character has been very interesting,
as we see in ever after, the stepmother has a loathing for cinderella, simply because her husband loves her more than he loves the stepmother
In the rodgers and hammersteins remake, it seems that she was dumped, and her heart has hardned over time.

[tsom]

I personally think that people aren't born evil. I think wickedness can be thrusted into people (not trying to quote from "Wicked" or anything).

To me, Lady Tremaine isn't ugly. She's not beautiful either. She's what I would call "handsome," for a woman. There are many possibilities as to why she is the way she is. She came from a good family (based on the movie), which means she was of noble blood. I guess maybe she may have had everything her heart desired but her parents may not have "loved" her or paid any attention to her. She probably grew up spoiled, cold, vain, and a bully.

Then, she married Lord Tremaine (I'm going to say that's her first husband), and we know nothing of him, but we can assume that she either married for love or married as a duty for her own family, as women did centuries ago. Together, they produced Drizella and Anastasia, her world. I'm pretty sure she loved the two of them and would do anything for them.

Unfortunately, the unthinkable happens. Her first husband dies. Now, I'm pretty sure she would be heartbroken. He leaves her with two daughters to raise by herself. She's also still pretty young, and so she has to marry quickly to secure her future, and her daughters' futures as well, and here comes in Cinderella's father.

Cinderella's father may have had his own objectives for getting married. He is a widower with a growing daughter, and although he takes good care of her, he still thinks she needs a mother, and Lady Tremaine was the perfect candidate. She was a widow, from a good family, who is also raising two daughters who were just Cinderella's age. Lady Tremaine may have either married for love and/or for security.

When Lady Tremaine married a second time, I'm sure she didn't care her husband had another daughter. But, when she meets her, she instantly becomes jealous. Cinderella is a beautiful, gentle child, and she makes Drizella and Anastasia look bad. Lady Tremaine probably raised her daughters like the way her parents raised her, so they were loud, vain, cold, and spoiled. Lady Tremaine probably also noticed the fact that Cinderella's father showered his daughter with love and attention, which Lady Tremaine missed out as a child, and which her own daughters kind of missed out on too.

Not long after the marriage, Cinderella's father died. This probably turned Lady Tremaine into a colder person. She had just gotten married, and the new husband dies. This was just another disappointment for her. Another father figure gone from her daughters' life. She was left alone with the Chateau and three daughters to take care of, one of them she didn't want.

In a way, Lady Tremaine did Cinderella a favor. Cinderella was just a child when her father died, so the Chateau probably went to his wife. Lady Tremaine was then the mistress of the household and could do what she pleased with it. She had two daughters of her won to support, she didn't need a third. Also, Cinderella was practically an orphan. Lady Tremaine will never let a pauper live like a lady in her house, so I'm guessing she gave Cinderella a choice: either stay in the chateau, earn her keep and work as a servant, or get out and live in the streets.

But, I must say, there are some things Lady Tremaine does that are questionable. For example, naming her cat Lucifer. I mean, I know Lucifer means light or something like that, but come on! There are other names to pick.

All in all, Lady Tremaine is a very intelligent person. I don't think she was born cruel, but her upper class upbringing, childhood, and life experiences made her the way she was. I really don't know why she would hate everything beautiful, but I'm pretty sure she would hate Cinderella the most. As for her daughters, I'm sure she loved them dearly. I also think her daughters are not that bad looking. I think that Cinderella had more inner beauty than they do.

[tsom]

the exploring of the stepmothers character has been very interesting,
as we see in ever after, the stepmother has a loathing for cinderella, simply because her husband loves her more than he loves the stepmother
In the rodgers and hammersteins remake, it seems that she was dumped, and her heart has hardned over time.

In Ever After, it is definitely clear why Baroness Rodmilla hated Danielle, but in the 1997 version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, it's really unclear why the stepmother loathed Cinderella.

In that movie, the fairy godmother tells Cinderella that the stepmother "can't handle how fabulous you are." Personally, I didn't think Cinderella was all that. Minerva (one of the stepsisters) looked better than her. I always felt the stepmother hated the fact that Cinderella had more life, imagination, and creativity than her own daughters.
Also, the stepmother always cut of Cinderella anytime she brought up her father. When the two had their confrontation, the stepmother says "your father was weak! He spoiled you rotten. He filled your head with silly thoughts and dreams that will never come true. Never!"
Wow, talk about being bitter. I wonder what she had against him.
Also, there was a scene where Cinderella is praying, and she says in reference to her stepmother "If you only knew how she's changed, you'd understand." This makes me think that the stepmother may have been nice at one point, but as time went on, she changed for the worst.

Oh, and for anyone who has seen it, after Cinderella and her step family sing "A Lovely Night," the stepmother cuts it of, and looks at Cinderella in a strange way. Did that symbolize that she knew it was Cinderella at the ball?

[Someday...]

Oh, and for anyone who has seen it, after Cinderella and her step family sing "A Lovely Night," the stepmother cuts it of, and looks at Cinderella in a strange way. Did that symbolize that she knew it was Cinderella at the ball?

yes it did

[pinkrenata]

I have this book and can certainly say that despite being a very broad, vague outline of the story, the writing is very classy. While it would be a copyright infringement to post it all here (even though it's short enough for me to do so), I'll post the first few pages so you guys get an idea:

This is a story about darkness and light, about sorrow and joy, about something lost and something found. This is a story about Love."

Sounds a bit like <i>Moulin Rouge</i> to me!

Anyway, I did see this book at Disney World last September, and being the vintage fiend I am, I snatched it up thinking it was a repro, and was (gasp) disappointed to see it was a new story placed against concept art. However, it does sound like the story is written differently than your average Cinderella re-telling, so I'll have to give it a second look sometime.

[Disney Duster]

Thanks for the nod, Disneykid!

The one thing that stands out in my mind about one of the illustrations was the last page with Prince Charming and Cinderella. In addition to the expected prince and princess and castle, there were also two very large pet dogs of the prince. They weren't fluffy or anything, just elegant and large. If this illustration is in the Cynthia Rylant/Mary Blair book, then I probably have seen this book before and it would be great to finally see it again and own it!

Yes, that is the book Disneykid showed you different forms of. It is written by Jane Werner and illustrated Retta Scott Worcester. It was published in 1950, the year Cinderella came out. It has drawings that look a lot like Mary Blair's style, which makes sense because it was made by a Disney artist around the time the film was being made, it could have been based off of Blair's artwork. I have a very recent reproduction of the book, and it can be found in stores. The last page has the illustration of Cinderella, the Prince, and the two big dogs. Golden Books has recently re-published lots of Disney books because they are classics.

For more information on the illustrations and the illustrator, check this page out.

Now, I own the Cynthia Rylant and Mary Blair book. The pictures are beautiful, though I'm not a fan of all of them. What can I say, I love detail, lines, smoothness, and fineness, and that's not what I would say can be found in Mary Blair's art, but I do appreciate, respect, and even love it it on some level. Well, maybe I just like it. But I have to admit it's beautiful.

The thing about the text is it is not detailed. Rather it is simple, yet meaningful. The text is stripped down to the heart, instead of lots of text that has no heart. I suppose it is more adult. It's the perfect book for adults and children because there aren't many words, but the words contain more than most children books get at, and adults will be more moved by it.

What I found off was this Cinderella seemed weaker and does even less than the Disney version, which many complain is too passive, and I would think so many people are aware of feminism they would try to make Cinderella more powerful. But no, she's painted as a shy, lonely girl, who comes out of her shell at the end to ensure her happy ending. And it's okay. That's all we need.

Okay, tsom (Hi!), some things you said confused me.

I guess maybe she may have had everything her heart desired but her parents may not have "loved" her or paid any attention to her.

I'm pretty sure she loved the two of them and would do anything for them.

Lady Tremaine probably also noticed the fact that Cinderella's father showered his daughter with love and attention, which Lady Tremaine missed out as a child, and which her own daughters kind of missed out on too.

Wait, I thought that she loved them? What confuses me is you saying she wasn't loved enough, but then she loves her daughters, but yet she doesn't give them love? Were you trying to say she doesn't know the proper way to show them or give them love? Because she certainly gave them a lot of attention in the film.

Anyway, I'm sorry but I personally feel that Lady Tremaine is supposed to be evil. She may have grown that way, and she could grow out if it if the right things happened to her, but the movie says, "It was the untimely death of this gentleman that the stepmother's true nature was revealed. Cold cruel, and bitterly jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty..."
The fact it's her true nature, and she names her cat Lucifer, definately says she's evil. But I will comply that she could have gotten that way, not been born that way, though Disney gets a little religious and the villains might be metaphors for the devil, everytime.

I think that the stepmother hating everything beautiful is a little contradicted when her daughters want jewels and pretty clothes and shiny money to buy pretty things, but perhaps that's just her daughters, or perhaps there's some deeper meaning for beauty that only birds, flowers, and Cinderella have. Probably.

And anyway, hating anything beautiful is an exaggeration. I think often in children books or fairy tales they use exaggerations, like is anyone really all evil? No.

In that movie, the fairy godmother tells Cinderella that the stepmother "can't handle how fabulous you are." Personally, I didn't think Cinderella was all that. Minerva (one of the stepsisters) looked better than her. I always felt the stepmother hated the fact that Cinderella had more life, imagination, and creativity than her own daughters.

Well, when th fairy godmother says "fabulous", maybe it does apply to the life, imagination, and creativity. Fabulous is used in a lot of different ways for a lot of different things modernly, I think it generally means something positive with flair or falmboyency.

[tsom]

Hey Disney Duster! I'm working on that email btw.

Anyway, what I meant by

Lady Tremaine probably also noticed the fact that Cinderella's father showered his daughter with love and attention, which Lady Tremaine missed out as a child, and which her own daughters kind of missed out on too.

was that her daughters missed out on having a father figure. Drizella and Anastasia's father died, and so they didn't have any male influences like Cinderella had.

Also, while we are on the topic, I have a question about a line from the movie. It goes: ""It was upon the untimely death of this goodman however, that the stepmother's true nature was revealed. Cold cruel, and bitterly jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty, she was grimly determined to forward the interest of her own two awkward daughters."
What does the grimly determined to forward...mean?

I really wish they showed more of Cinderella's childhood, but was she a servant immediately after her father died? The movie says "Thus, as time went by...", so does that mean weeks, months, or years?

[Disneykid]

Well, I always figured the line meant that Lady Tremaine used all of her late husband's fortunes in an attempt to make her daughters to presentable to society. Remember that the next line says, "Thus, as time went by, the chateau fell into disrepair, and the family fortune was squandered upon the vain and selfish stepsisters." I don't Cinderella immediately became a servant the day after her father died. I think Tremaine tolerated her presence and ignored her for a short period before growing tired of being reminded how trashy her own daughters were while Cinderella was around for easy comparison. Eventually she became abusive (yes, the narration actually uses the word "abuse") and let the stepdaughters do whatever they wanted with the house. Cinderella probably put up with the humiliation but wouldn't stand to see her father's house ransacked, so she took it upon herself to clean up after everyone and keep the chateau halfway decent. When Tremaine noticed this, she started to take advantage of the situation. The narration says "finally forced to become a servant in her own house," which suggests a gradual progression. This is how I always saw it. I have trouble imagining how/when Cinderella moved to the attic tower, but everything else is easy for me to grasp.

[Disney Duster]

Cinderella probably put up with the humiliation but wouldn't stand to see her father's house ransacked, so she took it upon herself to clean up after everyone and keep the chateau halfway decent. When Tremaine noticed this, she started to take advantage of the situation.

I too thought it was a gradual process, but that is a very good way of putting it! I've been trying to think of ideas of how to make a lengthier Disney's Cinderella, like for a 2 hour movie, and that's a very good idea because it's like her stepfamily is ruining the place but Cinderella's trying to take care of it because it's all she has left of her father. It's also a good reason for why she stayed so long, is what I really like. Good job!

Edit: I was going to ask if I could ever use your idea if I became a film aker, but I remembered I thought of similar things myself. Still, not quite that way, good ideas.

[Kram Nebuer]

Yes, that is the book Disneykid showed you different forms of. It is written by Jane Werner and illustrated Retta Scott Worcester. It was published in 1950, the year Cinderella came out. It has drawings that look a lot like Mary Blair's style, which makes sense because it was made by a Disney artist around the time the film was being made, it could have been based off of Blair's artwork. I have a very recent reproduction of the book, and it can be found in stores. The last page has the illustration of Cinderella, the Prince, and the two big dogs. Golden Books has recently re-published lots of Disney books because they are classics.

For more information on the illustrations and the illustrator, check this page out.

Yeah! The first link he posted was the exact copy that I read as a child (btw, Thank you DisneyKid for finding the links!:)). Next time I go to the book store, I'm going to look for it! Also, thanks for the info and the link. It was great to see those beautiful illustrations again. They didn't post the last picture in that blog, so I was wondering if you could tell me what color the dogs were? lol, I apologize for such a lame request. For some reason I'm remembering them as blue, but then again I don't think that's right...

[Disney Duster]

They are light brown. I hope you find the book, because I don't know what stores carry it or if most of the copies are gone or what. But I found it in quite a few stores and got mine at a Giant grocery store in their kid's books section.