A Fairy Tale-y Day

It was a rather boring afternoon. I was looking through my movie collection when my eyes landed on the cartoon section. And there they were: The Cinderella Trilogy. Yes, folks, Cinderella is a trilogy.

I grew up to Walt Disney. My favorites are the fairy tale adaptations. Although Beauty and the Beast is my most favorite of the lot, Cinderella closely trails behind. Imagine then my delight when Disney decided to follow up Cinderella's story with its release of Cinderella II: Dreams Come True and Cinderella III: A Twist In Time. Everybody knows Cinderella's story; who doesn't? Probably the greatest fairy tale ever told, Cinderella has inspired more movies than any other fairy tale. She and the Prince living happily ever after is a good enough end for me. But in the tradition of sequels, I decided to get myself a copy of the second and third installments. It's nice to keep up with your favorite Disney characters.

Cinderella II: Dreams Come True is a collection of stories from the mice's perspective. There isn't much singing going on in this cartoon, unlike the original, but the animation is more luxuriant. The songs have a pop feel to them, but I didn't like them that much because Cinderella is, well, a classic. Leave the pop songs to, say, Aladdin. There isn't much magic going on in this installment either; except for the second story when Jaq, you know, the mouse, wished himself to be human. Other than that, none of those wand waving and 'bibbidy-bobbidy-boos'. Quite a disappointment, really. But still, Dreams Come True was cartoon fun.

Cinderella III: A Twist In Time is an exciting look at what could have happened if the slipper hadn't fit. The Fairy Godmother accidentally knocks her wand away and it lands right in front of Anastasia. Fascinated, Anastasia brings home the wand to her mother, who, instead of just magicking back her family's affluence, seeks revenge. She summons the forces of nature and turns back time to the day of the slipper-fitting. With constant waving of the wand, the stepmother manages to have the slipper fit Anastasia and the Prince to fall in love with the latter. The fun begins with Cinderella trying to convince the Prince that it was she he danced with at the ball, she he fell in love with.

There's sinister magic in this third installment; none of the innocence of the original. But I thought it was what made the cartoon exciting. At least there was magic. It was nice to hear Cinderella and the mice singing again. But what I really loved about this cartoon was the more active participation of the Prince. He was given more lines, more screen time, a meatier role: This was definitely his cartoon.

Next cartoon project: The Aladdin Trilogy.