One of the great things about having kids is that I get to watch Disney’s animated movies… a lot. My daughter has now passed the 2-year mark and she doesn’t just have a favorite Disney movie, she loves them all. It started with “The Lion King” a few months ago. Almost every day she would get home from her daycare; look at me with those big beautiful eyes and say, “Lion King Daddy… Lion King.” Not having any will of my own to resist, I would obediently put the DVD into the player and settle down to watch it with her. (In case any of you parental types are out there tsk-ing me for letting her watch a lot of TV, I would like to add it wasn’t all that much and I temper it with a lot of playing around and reading books…) As she was getting older and her vocabulary increased, I never knew what movie she would ask for on any given day. “Pocahontas… Daddy,” one day… then “Mulan… Daddy,” the next. But no matter what, it would inevitably be a Disney movie.

Then my wife and I started introducing her to the older classics, which thankfully she seems to be enjoying just as much. We are both also thankful for the advent of Disney on DVD otherwise most of the movies would be long worn out by now. (As is the case with our VHS copy of “The Little Mermaid”, which is getting horribly worn – can’t wait for the new DVD release next October!)

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to introduce her to “Cinderella” thanks to the newest addition to the Disney DVD family. This was a particular favorite of my wife’s so she especially enjoyed sharing with our daughter. As I expected, she loved the movie and has been singing the songs with my wife.

I would get into the story of “Cinderella”, but if you don’t already know all about the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, the Fairy Godmother, or the Glass Slippers then you were probably raised in some third world country (or Texas…). Suffice to say, it is considered one of the classics of the Disney animated film canon, and is very welcome in its first foray into the DVD market.

As is the case with all of the classic Disney animated films that have been released recently, it is a 2-disc affair that offers an incredibly pristine audio and video version of the film. The folks at Disney go to great pains to make sure every single frame is fully restored to its original beauty. In some cases the newly cleaned up version even surpasses the quality and clarity of the original print. You just don’t get any better than this.

But that is never quite enough for said folks at Disney. You might guess that by the addition of a 2nd disc, there might be a few extra features on hand for Disney-philes. To say there are a few is a gross understatement. Some are terrific, while others are unfortunately a little less than stellar. The 1st disc offers up an interesting featurette hosted by Football Legend Joe Namath, which takes a look back at ‘Cinderella’ stories in the world of sports. It’s kind of an odd feature, but is kind of interesting. There is also a music video performed by the Disney Channel’s ‘Circle of Stars’ of the song “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” This updated version of the song is just dreadful and I couldn’t make my way through the whole thing and more than I could watch the “Making of…” featurette for the video. Why anyone would want to butcher such a beautiful song is beyond me.

That said, I’ll now point you in the direction of the good. The 2nd disc houses all of the better featurettes, which include some deleted scenes. These are presented with the songs, but sine the animation was never completed, we get to see sketches and drawings over the music. We are also treated to an early premiere of some of the songs that were presented on a TV show hosted by Perry Como, as well as several unused songs and excerpts from some older radio programs. You’ll also find some games that the littler girls will enjoy.

For the Disney fanatics (such as myself), there is a lengthy documentary on the making of the film, as well as several separate featurettes. That focus on areas not covered in the documentary. There’s a storyboard to film comparison of the opening sequence of the film, a look at the work of art director Mary Blair, a clip from the original Mickey Mouse Club featuring Helen Stanley (who was the movement model for Cinderella), and a look at the original animation team. If you haven’t run to of time by the time you watch these, you can work your way through old trailers and artwork into the wee hours of the morning.

Basically, what I’m telling you is that the DVD version of “Cinderella” lives up the great standards that Disney has been offering for the past several years in terms of DVD releases. This is another one to add to the collection. And Disney… keep ‘em comin’!

Extras: From Rags to Riches: The Making of Cinderella, The Cinderella That Almost Was: documentary including newly discovered deleted scenes, 1922 Cinderella Laugh-o-gram, Reconstructed deleted songs: The Cinderella Work Song, Dancing on a Cloud, From Walt's Table: A Tribute to Disney's Nine Old Men, The Art of Mary Blair, Storyboard to film comparison: The Opening Sequence, Still frame and slideshow galleries, Excerpt from The Mickey Mouse Club with Helene Stanley (1/24/56)
Original release and reissue trailers, Cinderella and Perry Como, Cinderella title song (audio only), Seven unused songs (audio only), Three radio programs, House of Royalty: Sally learns how to be a princess, The Royal Life: DVD-ROM design studio, Princess Pajama Jam, Sneak peek of the all-new movie Cinderella III, ESPN Classic's Cinderella Stories, All-new music videos: Disney's Circle of Stars "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," "Every Girl Can Be a Princess" featuring Disney's animated princesses
Specifications:
Studio: Disney
Release Date: 10/4/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: G
Website

We'll give Cinderella an A.