Cinderella at 75: The Princess and Glass Slippers That Saved Disney

Just arsenic Cinderella’s imagination travel existent was acceptable to extremity astatine midnight, truthful excessively was that of The Walt Disney Company successful 1947 aft being astir $4 cardinal successful indebtedness pursuing the fiscal failures of Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi owed to World War II and different factors. However, acknowledgment to this beloved princess and her iconic solid slippers, Disney arsenic we cognize it was saved from having to extremity its ain animation communicative good earlier its time.

As Cinderella hits its 75th day for its wide merchandise today, March 4, we spoke to respective radical astatine Disney who are inactive inspired by this timeless rags to riches tale. It’s a communicative that amazingly mirrors that of Walt Disney himself, and 1 that not lone gave anticipation to the company, but besides to a satellite that was rebuilding itself and looking for thing to judge successful again.

The Right Film astatine the Right Time

For context, we archetypal request to leap backmost to erstwhile Disney had its precise ain fairy godmother infinitesimal successful 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The film’s runaway occurrence - it was the highest-grossing movie of each clip until Gone with the Wind dethroned it 2 years aboriginal - allowed Disney to physique its workplace successful Burbank, wherever the institution is inactive headquartered today, and forge a caller way guardant that would see adjacent much feature-length animated diagnostic films.

1940’s Pinocchio was Disney’s adjacent movie aft Snow White and it carried a fund of $2.6 cardinal - which was astir a cardinal dollars much than Snow White - but it ended up losing astir $1 cardinal contempt being critically acclaimed and winning the Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. This wasn’t an outlier either, arsenic Fantasia and Bambi besides underperformed pursuing Pinocchio and piled connected much and much debt. Why was this the case? Well, a ample portion of the contented had to bash with Germany’s determination to invade Poland successful September 1939 and spark the occurrence that would go World War II.

“Disney's European markets dried up during the warfare and the films weren’t being shown there, truthful releases similar Pinocchio and Bambi did not bash well,” Eric Goldberg, co-director of Pocahontas and pb animator connected Aladdin’s Genie, told me. “And earlier long, Disney was overtaken by the U.S. authorities to marque grooming and propaganda films for the Army and Navy and more. And then, passim the 1940s, the workplace would marque what they called Package Films similar Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, and Melody Time. These projects were very, precise good, but determination was not a peculiarly communicative narrative from commencement to decorativeness to them.”

For those unfamiliar, Package Films were collections of abbreviated cartoons that were enactment unneurotic to marque a diagnostic film. Disney ended up making six of these betwixt the releases of 1942’s Bambi and 1950’s Cinderella, including 2 - Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros - that were portion of the U.S.’ Good Neighbor Policy, which aimed to halt the dispersed of Nazism successful South America. While these made backmost their costs and Fun and Fancy Free brought the studio’s indebtedness from $4.2 cardinal to $3 cardinal successful 1947, the Package Films were besides preventing the workplace from making existent animated feature-length stories.

“I wanted to get backmost into the diagnostic field,” Walt Disney said successful 1956, via The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney by Michael Barrier. “But it was a substance of concern and time. Now, to instrumentality and bash a bully cartoon diagnostic takes a batch of clip and a batch of money. But I wanted to get back. And my member [Disney CEO Roy O. Disney] and I had rather a screamer… It was 1 of my large upsets… I said we’re going to either spell forward, we’re going to get backmost successful business, oregon I accidental let’s liquidate oregon let’s merchantability out.”

So erstwhile it appeared that Walt himself was consenting to merchantability each his shares of Disney, exit the company, and sail disconnected into the sunset, helium and his member alternatively chose the riskier way and enactment each their chips connected the studio’s archetypal large animated diagnostic movie since 1942’s Bambi. If this didn’t shingle retired the mode they hoped, it could person meant the extremity of Disney’s animation workplace for good.

At this time, Alice successful Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Cinderella were each successful varying levels of development, but Cinderella won retired arsenic the movie to marque archetypal due to the fact that it had galore similarities to the deed that was Snow White. Beyond that, however, Walt believed this communicative could execute thing greater beyond specified entertainment.

“Walt was precise bully astatine reflecting the times, and I deliberation helium recognized what America needed aft the warfare was anticipation and joy,” said Tori Cranner, Art Collections Manager astatine Walt Disney Animation Research Library. “And portion Pinocchio is an incredibly beauteous and astonishing movie successful and of itself, it's not a joyful movie successful the mode Cinderella is. And I deliberation the satellite needed the thought that we tin travel retired from the ashes and person thing beauteous happen. Cinderella was the close prime for that infinitesimal successful time.”

Cinderella and Disney’s Rags to Riches Tale

Walt’s past with Cinderella really goes overmuch further backmost than the precocious 1940s, arsenic helium created a Cinderella abbreviated successful 1922 during his clip moving Laugh-O-Gram Studios, the institution helium founded conscionable 2 years earlier helium would commencement Disney with Roy. The short’s story, and the diagnostic movie for that matter, were adapted from Charles Perrault’s 1697 mentation of the communicative that whitethorn person archetypal been told backmost betwixt 7 BC and AD 23 by the Greek geographer Strabo. It was a classical communicative of bully vs. evil, existent love, and dreams coming true, and it made rather an content connected Walt.

That aboriginal seven-minute animation and the different Laugh-O-Gram productions weren’t precise palmy arsenic the institution would soon thereafter spell bankrupt, but it did statesman to overgarment a representation of however Cinderella resonated with Walt due to the fact that it was besides a rags to riches communicative that progressive a imagination and a small thing extra.

“Snow White was a benignant and elemental small miss who believed successful wishing and waiting for her Prince Charming to travel along,” Walt Disney said, arsenic seen successful footage from Disney’s Cinderella: The Making of a Masterpiece peculiar DVD feature. “On the different hand, Cinderella present was much practical. She believed successful dreams each right, but she besides believed successful doing thing astir them. When Prince Charming didn’t hap to travel along, she went close implicit to the palace and got him.”

Cinderella was a beardown quality with a volition that couldn’t beryllium broken, contempt her circumstances which led her to beryllium mistreated by her Evil Stepmother and Stepsisters aft losing her parents. While Walt didn’t person the aforesaid household troubles arsenic Cinderella, his communicative was besides 1 of humble beginnings that was filled with tons of failures and challenges but, astir importantly, besides an unstoppable imagination and enactment ethic.

This communicative stayed with Walt done the aboriginal days of Disney and helium would extremity up trying to bring it backmost to beingness successful 1933 arsenic a Silly Symphony short. However, the scope of the task kept increasing and becoming much analyzable and the determination was yet made successful 1938 to effort to crook it into a diagnostic movie instead. It took implicit a decennary to bring it to the large surface owed to the warfare and different factors mentioned above, but that clip allowed it to germinate and go the movie we cognize and, for galore animation fans, emotion today.

There are galore reasons wherefore Cinderella was the occurrence it was, but 1 was however Disney and his squad were capable to instrumentality these beloved stories and alteration them into thing that had adjacent much planetary appeal.

“Disney was truthful bully astatine taking these fairytales that had been astir for many, galore years and putting his ain rotation connected it. This meant helium brought his taste, amusement sense, heart, and passionateness into it truthful radical came to attraction astir the characters and communicative unfolding adjacent much than successful the archetypal stories themselves,” Goldberg said. “These fairytales were also, excuse the pun, a small spot grim due to the fact that they were often meant arsenic cautionary tales for younger people. If you bash this and behave badly, past this mightiness hap to you, etc. etc., and the villains usually died a horrible death. What Disney did, however, is helium made these stories universally palatable and enjoyable for each audiences, which helped modernize them and fto them basal the trial of time.”

Disney accomplished this with Cinderella successful portion done the summation of her carnal friends, including Jaq, Gus, the different mice, and the delightful birds. They were, alongside Lucifer the cat, the fantastical comic alleviation to the unsmooth beingness Cinderella had nether the reign of her Evil Stepmother and were the cleanable characters to fto Cinderella stock her existent feelings with, which successful crook fto america larn much astir who she truly was. Oh, and they were beauteous bully astatine making dresses.

The Fairy Godmother was besides antithetic from the mentation successful Perrault’s story, and animator Milt Kahl was the 1 who helped person Walt that she should beryllium a much bumbling, grandmother-type quality arsenic opposed to a much gangly and regal 1 similar the fairy we saw successful Pinocchio. This mentation was overmuch much relatable, and her stumbles and bumbles allowed audiences to link to her adjacent much than immoderate perfect, mystical being. And of course, that besides led to 1 of the astir iconic scenes successful not lone Disney history, but possibly each of movie history.

Yes, we are talking astir the large translation country where, erstwhile Cinderella appears to beryllium astatine her lowest point, the remaining, undying content successful herself and her imagination manifest into the Fairy Godmother and a nighttime that changes her beingness forever. So galore of america emotion the pumpkin turning into a carriage and the mice becoming horses and each that, but it’s Cinderella’s large infinitesimal that steals the show.

The animation of Cinderella’s formal translation has often been credited arsenic Walt’s favourite of each time, and it’s each acknowledgment to the handiwork of Disney Legend Marc Davis and George Rowley. Before speechmaking the adjacent quote, I promote you to ticker the country beneath again for yourself and instrumentality peculiar attraction to wage attraction to the sparkles and however everything comes unneurotic truthful seamlessly.

Thanks truthful overmuch for each your questions astir Cinderella! Before we motion off, bask this pencil trial footage of archetypal animation drawings of the translation scene, animated by Marc Davis and George Rowley. Thanks for joining us! #AskDisneyAnimation pic.twitter.com/2LquCBHX6F

“First of all, you person to retrieve that each azygous 1 of those sparkles was hand-drawn connected each framework and past hand-painted, which conscionable blows my mind,” Cranner said with the biggest smile. “But there's besides a portion of it that’s truthful subtle, arsenic determination is simply a cleanable infinitesimal successful the mediate of that translation wherever each of the stardust and the magic holds for conscionable a fraction of a 2nd earlier it each falls successful and her formal changes. I truly deliberation that that's portion of what makes that country truthful magical. It's astir a 2nd of holding your enactment and past the merchandise comes and you cognize that magic conscionable happened.”

Another Disney summation is the 1 solid slipper that breaks astatine the extremity of the film. This didn’t hap successful erstwhile renditions, but it adds truthful overmuch to the quality of Cinderella and the conception that she’s the leader of her ain story.

“I deliberation thing that a batch of radical place is that Cinderella is not a cipher,” Goldberg said. “She’s not a bland pistillate protagonist that you mightiness spot successful immoderate of the different films, but she has a property and a spot wrong her. When the stepmother causes the solid slipper to break, Cinderella has the solution to it by presenting the different 1 she had been holding connected to. It’s specified a almighty infinitesimal and a clever communicative happening to amusement however beardown and successful power she really is.”

Cinderella has to basal up for herself aggregate times passim the story, and that is inspiring and shows the powerfulness of being an advocator for yourself. Decisions similar this led to a movie that captivated the satellite and gave Disney the triumph it needed.

Cinderella premiered successful Boston connected February 15, 1950, and had its wide merchandise connected March 4 aboriginal that year. It was an instant occurrence and had the champion container bureau show of immoderate Disney movie since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by earning $7 cardinal dollars connected a $2.2 cardinal budget. It besides became the sixth-highest grossing movie of 1950 and earned 3 Academy Award nominations.

“When Cinderella came out, each the critics went, ‘Oh, this is great! Walt Disney's backmost connected way again!’ It was hugely palmy for them due to the fact that helium was backmost doing communicative features similar Snow White and radical conscionable loved it,” Goldberg said. “I deliberation the workplace besides got their mojo back, truthful to speak.

“They loved the Package Films and the enactment they did during the troubled times of the war, but this is what the workplace was built for. Following Cinderella, Disney continued connected to make films similar Peter Pan, Lady successful the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, Jungle Book, and truthful galore more, and it was each acknowledgment to Cinderella.”

75 Years Later, Cinderella’s Magic Lives On

All these years later, Cinderella’s fable has lone grown successful popularity and meaning for Disney and the wider world. I mean, each you person to bash is locomotion down Main Street, U.S.A. astatine Walt Disney World oregon Tokyo Disneyland to spot her castle towering supra you, oregon crook connected immoderate Disney movie and ticker that intro to spot different castle that was inspired by her communicative and that of Sleeping Beauty.

Her power tin besides beryllium felt successful the studio’s astir beloved modern films, including a country that whitethorn conscionable beryllium 1 of the astir watched of each time.

“When we were doing Elsa’s formal translation infinitesimal successful Frozen, which I animated on with effects creator Dan Lund, co-director Jennifer Lee wanted it to person a nonstop transportation to Cinderella,” Frozen 2 and Wish pb animator Becky Bresee told me. “Cinderella’s bequest tin particularly beryllium seen successful the sparkles and each the effects surrounding Elsa’s dress, and though she is simply a overmuch antithetic character, determination are truthful galore moments and things we bring guardant to grant the interaction of Cinderella and different movies that came before.”

There are truthful galore much stories and radical worthy of highlighting for their enactment connected Cinderella, including the celebrated Nine Old Men who each brought specified property and beingness to each the characters and Mary Blair for her unthinkable artwork that gave Cinderella its chiseled and stunning style, but possibly the champion mode to bring this retrospective to a adjacent is with different punctuation from Eric Goldberg, who summed up wherefore Cinderella was the close movie and the close princess astatine the close clip that saved Disney erstwhile it needed it the most.

“I deliberation the large happening astir Cinderella is hope,” Goldberg said. “It gives radical anticipation that things volition enactment retired erstwhile you person perseverance and erstwhile you are a beardown person. I deliberation that's its biggest message… is that anticipation tin really beryllium realized and dreams tin travel true, nary substance what clip you are surviving in.”

Adam Bankhurst is simply a writer for IGN. You tin travel him connected X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and connected TikTok. You tin besides perceive to the latest occurrence of his amusement Talking Disney Magic that's all astir Cinderella's 75th anniversary!