The secret to
the direct-to-video sequel, at least for Disney, lies in
the fact that their target audience always likes what it
just saw the best. So when my daughter claimed Cinderella
III to be better than the original Cinderella,
my first urge was to lock her up in her room in the tower
until such time as she realized that classic Disney animation
and storytelling would never be topped.
But for a modern
audience, there's a funny thing about the original. Though
she's humble and grateful, two admirable qualities when
showing the movie to your daughter, Cinderella also has
a tendency to sit idly by and let her circumstances run
her. That's a problem that Cinderella III: A Twist In
Time fixes. In the meantime, it's also one of the best
written and truly respectful sequels that Disney's television
animation arm has produced.
Aside from being
a mind-bender (because time travel stories can't help it),
this movie doesn't undercut anything established storywise
or thematically. Though it has sparked some internal McCaw
family debate over whether or not it occurs before the lesser
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, it even throws some
acknowledgment toward that DVD.
On the eve of
their first anniversary, the Prince (C.D. Barnes - Disney's
go-to Charming) and Cinderella (Jennifer Hale) return to
the clearing in the woods where she first met her Fairy
Godmother. Nodding to that gratitude thing, they include
the dotty old woman in their celebrations. Unfortunately,
Cinderella's stepsister Anastasia follows them and discovers
their secret.
As in Cinderella
II, Anastasia gets portrayed as not evil but misguided.
She just wants true love like Cinderella has, not letting
social ambition devour her soul as it has her mother, the
bat-like Lady Tremayne. It's a more gradual and believable
character arc here, and guest reviewer Allie really liked
it, recognizing that it fit with what had happened in the
other sequel.
What Allie thought
was out of line was Lady Tremayne's final punishment toward
Cinderella, but Dad being an English teacher noticed a strange
parallel to Hamlet, so kudos for unexpected literacy
in this movie.
The rarest thing
that Cinderella III accomplishes is to have a singable
song. Taking the most memorable element of Disney's version
of Cinderella, the mice Gus and Jaq stop the show to explain
the plot in "At the Ball," a number so catchy even the Prince
has to comment on it. I vouch that kids will love it.
Every Disney
DVD has come with some sort of set top game, and the Princess-oriented
ones in particular we've played over and over. Allie described
this one as the "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo game," in which you
have to find the wand and use it to reveal facets of Cinderella's
future.
For the first
time, we tried the interactive DVD-ROM portion of it, and
discovered all the tools we need for Allie's next birthday
party. Not only can you plan out a party and print out a
variety of Cinderella-themed items, the DVD also allows
you to create a (limited) animated scene that has enough
variations to it to keep younger computer users interested
for a while.
So from a seven-year-old's
perspective, this is the best DVD ever - until the next
one. But the surprise is that Cinderella III: A Twist
In Time stands up better to repeat viewings than you'd
expect. New head of Disney animation John Lasseter has proclaimed
"no unnecessary sequels!" and yet, while not exactly necessary,
Cinderella III has some charm.
Cinderella III - A Twist in Time
