A prince is returning to a kingdom, so the king and the grand duke host a ball for all eligible maidens. After he dances with a woman named Cinderella, he chooses her, but the only evidence available is a slipper that only fits Cinderella herself. But of course Lady Tremaine and her crooked daughters are willing to interfere.

Cinderella was the first thing I actually read when I was two years old. Because of this, the fairy tale itself probably the most vital that I’ve ever been aware of, which can also make Cinderella one of the most important Disney movies to myself. I’ve referenced Walt Disney’s Cinderella numerous times in my academic life. Even not including this film, I’ve used the fairy tale as topics for essays and other projects.

Coincidentally enough, this was the first Disney movie my own mother saw (along with The Jungle Book and likely Sleeping Beauty) presumably around 1965, and in a nice big and clean indoor theater, not some nasty shit smelling drive-in theater like what was common in the 1960s! Given how important this movie was to my mother it isn’t a shock that I was introduced to this shortly after I was born.

Jaq’s design was reused for Amos the mouse in Ben and Me. Same with Lucifer for the cat.

James Rolfe of Cinemassacre found Lucifer falling out of the Chateau one of the more disturbing Disney moments. This is probably due to him likely being more of a cat person. As a child, I felt like Lucifer’s defeat was satisfying; he spent the whole movie making Cinderella’s life a pain.

First time I saw this was presumably right before moving to southern Maryland in the apartment we were in during the spring of 1996 in Missouri.

The 2015 live action hack job is so butchered it’s not funny. Cinderella’s dress in this movie gets vandalized in a much more dramatic sequence than in the live action remake which was just 3 rips. The complete silence from Cinderella herself just makes the scene much more impactful. Only Gus himself appeared in that movie as well.

This might’ve pushed some controversy but it would’ve been cool to see Cinderella and the mice (or the mice themselves) going to war (in the style of World War 2) with Lady Tremaine and her daughters. Perhaps if I had the time I’d write some fanfiction of Jaq being a army general and Gus being some heavy artillery soldier. It just screams “ripe for fanfiction” if you ask me.

“Leaving the sewing to the women” – I think the Grinch would like a word with this mouse. I’ve done some sewing myself years ago when I was in 5th grade or something. Personally my childhood was much more feminine than my brother’s and even my own father’s.

Cinderella may seem like she’s one of the worst princesses out there, but she’s constantly slammed to the wall the entire movie. The Sword and the Stone had a similar set up with Arthur/Wart.

I look at Jaq and Gus and think more of Bert and Ernie nowadays.

1. The interactions with the king and the duke are all epic.
2. Classic tribute to those old Tom and Jerry shorts with Lucifer and the mice.
3. Lady Tremaine is one of the greatest Disney villains of all time. She might not burn down farmhouses or trying to send a kidnapped person into a crocodile filled lake but she is much more realistic in terms of villain behavior.
4. Jaq and Gus are one of the top 10 best animated duos in history to me – better than Brian and Stewie and even SpongeBob and Patrick. They don’t come close to Rick and Morty though, but they’d make for a good Dota 2 announcer pack.

1. Restoration jobs have made Cinderella’s dress look worse – unfortunately this a troublesome trend with later releases.
2. Couldn’t care much for the ball sequence. But it’s a core part of the movie so I can’t be too tough.