By Todd Garbarini
One of the great joys of going to the
movies as a child was seeing Walt Disney films in a movie theater. I saw many of the live-action variety, but there
were instances of Disney's classic cartoons being reissued on double bills with
other Disney fare. One such film was
1950’s Cinderella, a movie that my
mother had seen when she was about ten. I
recall, even as a child, having a deep appreciation for the art of animation
and, in the early 1990s, a woman who attended one of my classes in college was
buying up the Disney films on VHS. I
remember thinking how much better the films fared on laserdisc, but I never
said anything for fear of sounding like a snob. All of those previous analog technologies, which were passable at the
time, pale in comparison to the new Blu-ray of Cinderella. Disney has been
doing an extraordinary job with their animated features in terms of high definition,
sparing no expense at bringing their classic library one film at a time to home
video. If you don’t see Cinderella on Blu-ray, I can honestly
say that you really haven’t seen it, nor is it possible to fully appreciate the
artistry that went into the making of this classic film. Nuances that were never before seen in analog
format (even the high-end laserdisc editions) are now breathtakingly clear,
colorful and robust. All of this has
been made possible thanks to the folks who have given Cinderella a much-needed digital facelift and overhaul.
By now, the story of Cinderella is so familiar that it would
be difficult indeed to find anyone unfamiliar with it. The story of a young girl forced to work as a
maid for her evil stepmother and two wicked stepsisters and her turn at the
ball have become so much a part of our lexicon and culture that even those who
have not read the story or seen the film knows exactly what one is talking
about merely through reference. If you’re
one of those who have not seen the film yet, there is no better way to get acquainted
with the story than with the new Blu-ray.
The extras include:
Tangled
Ever After animated short
which is a lead-in to the film (also on the DVD)
Never-Before-Seen Alternate Opening Sequence
in storybook form
Personalized Digital Storybook:
Bibbidi-Bobbidi-You – “Disney Second Screen†technology which permits viewers to experience
a virtual storybook addendum to the film on an electronic device such as a
computer, an iPod Touch, or an iPad.
Behind the Magic: A New Disney princess
Fantasyland (about 8 minutes and also on the DVD)
The Real Fairy Godmother – a 12-minute tribute
to Walt Disney’s wife
The film is available in several
different flavors:
a 2-disc set which is comprised of one
Blu-ray and one DVD
a 3-disc set which is comprised of one
Blu-ray and two DVDs
a 6-disc set which includes Cinderella (1950), and the
made-for-video productions Cinderella II:
Dreams Come True (2002) and Cinderella
III: Twist in Time (2007) on Blu-ray, DVD, and a Digital Copy of Cinderella. All six discs reside in a Cinderella Picture Storybook that sits inside a jewelry box.
The sound is also much improved and a
far cry from the low-fidelity, hiss-y sound that was so prevalent on the VHS
version of the film.
Cinderella has never looked like this
before. This Blu-ray is a must-own.
Click here to order from Amazon