For as long as I can remember, I have been a huge advocate of the anti-princess movement. Now, don't get me wrong: I have always loved Disney movies, and I enjoy the princess movies. But as a 10-year old (and even now), I always emphasized that the princess Disney movies (particularly the older ones) are the worst of Disney's animated films. Sleeping Beauty in particular I remember thinking was astoundingly boring and, prior to my re-watch, I would have lumped Cinderella in that same category.
I have not done a full 180 on Cinderella, but I have gone pretty close to that (maybe 160?). I was shocked with how much I loved it. Previously, I had always sided with the majority of criticism one hears: Cinderella's Prince is so drastically underdeveloped that labeling their feelings as love is a gross mischaracterization of what takes place.
My main takeaway from the film is that sure, Cinderella's prince is absurdly underdeveloped. But frankly, so is everyone else. And Prince Charming's complete lack of character development actually makes way for a predominantly female cast. Though of course simplified and stereotyped, a much wider range of female personalities was highlighted in the movie than male. In fact, the main male "character" that appeared was Prince Charming's father. And the majority of his screen time was dominated by yelling and breaking items, a huge indicator of anger issues to the viewer. The other male character that receives a bit of air time was The Grand Duke who comes across as weak willed and foolish. This contrasts with at least two female characters who are portrayed as innately "good": Cinderella and her fairy godmother.
The fact that these are the two "good" characters is probably the cause for debate. At the beginning of the movie, the narrator offers that people are jealous of Cinderella simply because she is beautiful. Although the narrator says this, the movie shows much more: Cinderella appears to be friendly to even the lowest of creatures (mice) and always willing to find the best in people (serving her stepmother and siblings despite how torturous they are to her).
A much more interesting character to me is the other "good" character: the fairy godmother. Her depiction is extraordinarily grandmother-y. She is constantly forgetting things and is old in appearance. However, unlike the stepmother, she has rounder, softer features. There seems to be a light that travels with her unlike Lady Tremaine's angular, darker features. This probably perpetuates the idea of the very narrow scope that characters lie in (a good female can only really be beautiful or a loving grandmother), but there is still good present in these females as opposed to the male characters, who are all pretty much depicted as having no redeeming characteristics.
As well, to the main criticism of timing regarding Cinderella and Prince Charming's love, I did find it particularly interesting when the Prince's father explained at one point in the movie that love is "just a boy and a girl meeting each other under the right conditions." This means that within the movie's walls, Cinderella and Prince Charming do have real love. The movie itself is presented as a fairytale, so Disney itself acknowledges the fanatical idea of this definition of love.
I really enjoyed my re-watch, and that is mostly due to the characters of Jack and Gus. I laughed every time they were on screen, and the animation of when they are getting in a fight with the cat and sneaking around him is frankly fantastic. Great characters in a very solid early Disney film.
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