Disney's Cinderella (1950)
Summary
Disney's version of Cinderella, made in 1950, is what most people think of when they hear "Cinderella." It took place "in a far away, long ago kingdom." Cinderella lived happily with her mother and father. Then her mother died and Cinderella's world was turned upside down. He father remarried a mean woman who had two, equally mean daughters, Drizella and Anastasia. After Cinderella's father died, her step-mother became even more wicked. She turned Cinderella into her and her two daughters' personal servant.
In the castle, the king decided that he wanted grandchildren and that his son, the Prince, should marry soon. Thus, the king invited every eligible maiden in the land to a Ball, where the Prince will choose his bride. Cinderella asked to go to the Ball and her step-mother said yes, if she got all of her chores done and helped her two stepsisters get ready for the Ball. Cinderella got all of her work done, but didn't have time to make a suitable dress for the Ball. Her animal friends then helped turn one of her mother's dresses into a beautiful, Ball-ready dress. When Cinderella's two step-sisters first saw her in her new dress, they violently tore apart it apart, leaving nothing but scraps.
Cinderella ran outside and cried under a tree. Her Fairy Godmother appeared and turned a pumpkin into a carriage, magically whipped up a beautiful dress and glass slippers for Cinderella to wear. The fairy god-mother told Cinderella that the magic will wear off at midnight. Once Cinderella arrived at the Ball, the Prince saw her and spent the entire Ball dancing with only her. It was soon midnight so Cinderella abruptly left the Prince, leaving only one of her glass slippers behind. Midnight stroke and Cinderella was turned back into her normal, ragged-clothed self.
The Prince declared that he will find the woman that the slipper belonged to. The Duke searched the entire village until he got to Cinderella's house. As the wicked stepmother locked Cinderella in her room, the two ugly stepsisters tried on the glass slipper. Neither of their unusually large feet fit the unusually small glass slipper. The mice then tried to get the key to Cinderella's door from the evil step-mother.They succeeded and Cinderella tried on the slipper and it fit. The Prince and Cinderella got married and lived happily-ever-after.
In the castle, the king decided that he wanted grandchildren and that his son, the Prince, should marry soon. Thus, the king invited every eligible maiden in the land to a Ball, where the Prince will choose his bride. Cinderella asked to go to the Ball and her step-mother said yes, if she got all of her chores done and helped her two stepsisters get ready for the Ball. Cinderella got all of her work done, but didn't have time to make a suitable dress for the Ball. Her animal friends then helped turn one of her mother's dresses into a beautiful, Ball-ready dress. When Cinderella's two step-sisters first saw her in her new dress, they violently tore apart it apart, leaving nothing but scraps.
Cinderella ran outside and cried under a tree. Her Fairy Godmother appeared and turned a pumpkin into a carriage, magically whipped up a beautiful dress and glass slippers for Cinderella to wear. The fairy god-mother told Cinderella that the magic will wear off at midnight. Once Cinderella arrived at the Ball, the Prince saw her and spent the entire Ball dancing with only her. It was soon midnight so Cinderella abruptly left the Prince, leaving only one of her glass slippers behind. Midnight stroke and Cinderella was turned back into her normal, ragged-clothed self.
The Prince declared that he will find the woman that the slipper belonged to. The Duke searched the entire village until he got to Cinderella's house. As the wicked stepmother locked Cinderella in her room, the two ugly stepsisters tried on the glass slipper. Neither of their unusually large feet fit the unusually small glass slipper. The mice then tried to get the key to Cinderella's door from the evil step-mother.They succeeded and Cinderella tried on the slipper and it fit. The Prince and Cinderella got married and lived happily-ever-after.
Analysis
Disney produced one of the most famous princess movies, Cinderella, in 1950. What many people do not know is that Disney based their version of Cinderella off of the Grimm Brother's version. Yes, this is hard to believe as there were no singing and talking animals, no fairy godmother, and Cinderella's father is still alive in the Grimm Brother's version. Disney also took out the Grimm Brother’s gory aspects of the step-mother forcing her daughters to physically mutilate themselves in order to fit into the glass slipper. Thus, Disney took the basic structure of the plot line and "Disnefied" it. As a result, Cinderella was left with an even larger air-head. "She cooks, she sews, she is kind to small cute things and respectful of everyone else and fond of singing. She shows no evidence of ever having an original thought in her head" (Your).
On February 15th, 1950, theaters across America featured Disney's Cinderella (Disney). Opening in a theater instead of playing on television, Disney targeted the middle to upper class and white Americans. By not only opening in a theater, Disney also animated an all-white cast, drawing people of similar ethnicity to buy tickets and increase sales.
Disney intentionally took out the physical mutilation scene of the Grimm Brother’s fairy tale as they wanted to attract more parents that would allow their children to view the film. It also drew people's attention that prescribed to the notion of a submissive, helpless woman who needed to be rescued by a handsome, wealthy prince. Set during this time, the movie was squeaky clean, not invoking any counter-thoughts to the ideas of society at the time.
Cinderella was produced and written by an all-male team. At the time, this was typical as many women remained at home to be housewives and to raise their children. Only 16% of women actually worked outside the home in the 1950's (Digital). Not only were women expected to not work outside of the home, but they were expected to marry early. The average age for women to marry in the 1950's was age 20, compared to today's age 26 (MADE).
Because Cinderella was made in the 1950's, it has several undertones that were prevalent of that time of its creation. As a fairy-tale, it taught girls to not only wait for their prince to come to save them from evil, but also that marriage is happiness for all women. Throughout this film, Cinderella never thought of running away from her evil step-family. Instead, she remained as a submissive servant to her step-mother and step-sisters' every whim. She answered every order with a polite gesture and a smile, never getting angry in front of her step-family or demanding a change.
Cinderella was not the only character used in this film to teach young girls what their "duties" are in the household and what their purpose of life is. The female mice who worked on Cinderella's dress for the ball verbally stated that only women sew. Thus, confirming the ideal that women are the ones who should only perform household chores. There was also no mention of a queen in the entire film. The Prince's father, the King, was the only ruling figure, making it clear that there is no need for a queen in order to rule the kingdom. Not only did the king not have a queen, but he only wanted his son, the Prince, to find a bride so that he will be a grandfather. The king was not looking for his son to fall in love, but so that his family line would continue. Furthermore, telling young girls that their only purpose in life is to reproduce.
So, why is there still a need for a happy ending? After all, this fairy tale started out as a not very happy story. Cinderella was mentally and emotionally abused from a young age. The answer lies in history. Fairy tales and myths were created when people needed something to get them through their days. Back then, the average life style was not very happy and cheerful, but full of work with no end in sight. Thus, they started to tell stories of people over-coming their dreadful lives. These fairy tales became stories to get children's minds off of their terrible future and to have hope that one day they might have a happy ending. Not only were fairy-tales used to get people's minds off their lives, but to teach children life lessons.
But why was there still a need for a happily-ever-after in the 1950's? During this time in history, family life was looked at in high esteem. But, people will always want an “underdog” story. Cinderella was the underdog in this fairy tale. While in this version, she was given more than the Grimm Brother’s version and did not have to “earn” her food, she still worked hard. She still had animal friends who helped her, but her step-family was wicked. And in the end, she was the one who married the Prince.
This happy ending can also be looked at in the light of what it teaches young girls. It teaches them that in order for them to achieve a happy ending, they must marry. Cinderella was portrayed as being miserable and not fully complete because she was not yet married. Then when she married the Prince, she was so happy and could finally escape her evil step-family. Thus, teaching girls that the only way to finding true happiness, is by marrying a man. This message also holds true from the Grimm's Brother's version of Cinderella.
On February 15th, 1950, theaters across America featured Disney's Cinderella (Disney). Opening in a theater instead of playing on television, Disney targeted the middle to upper class and white Americans. By not only opening in a theater, Disney also animated an all-white cast, drawing people of similar ethnicity to buy tickets and increase sales.
Disney intentionally took out the physical mutilation scene of the Grimm Brother’s fairy tale as they wanted to attract more parents that would allow their children to view the film. It also drew people's attention that prescribed to the notion of a submissive, helpless woman who needed to be rescued by a handsome, wealthy prince. Set during this time, the movie was squeaky clean, not invoking any counter-thoughts to the ideas of society at the time.
Cinderella was produced and written by an all-male team. At the time, this was typical as many women remained at home to be housewives and to raise their children. Only 16% of women actually worked outside the home in the 1950's (Digital). Not only were women expected to not work outside of the home, but they were expected to marry early. The average age for women to marry in the 1950's was age 20, compared to today's age 26 (MADE).
Because Cinderella was made in the 1950's, it has several undertones that were prevalent of that time of its creation. As a fairy-tale, it taught girls to not only wait for their prince to come to save them from evil, but also that marriage is happiness for all women. Throughout this film, Cinderella never thought of running away from her evil step-family. Instead, she remained as a submissive servant to her step-mother and step-sisters' every whim. She answered every order with a polite gesture and a smile, never getting angry in front of her step-family or demanding a change.
Cinderella was not the only character used in this film to teach young girls what their "duties" are in the household and what their purpose of life is. The female mice who worked on Cinderella's dress for the ball verbally stated that only women sew. Thus, confirming the ideal that women are the ones who should only perform household chores. There was also no mention of a queen in the entire film. The Prince's father, the King, was the only ruling figure, making it clear that there is no need for a queen in order to rule the kingdom. Not only did the king not have a queen, but he only wanted his son, the Prince, to find a bride so that he will be a grandfather. The king was not looking for his son to fall in love, but so that his family line would continue. Furthermore, telling young girls that their only purpose in life is to reproduce.
So, why is there still a need for a happy ending? After all, this fairy tale started out as a not very happy story. Cinderella was mentally and emotionally abused from a young age. The answer lies in history. Fairy tales and myths were created when people needed something to get them through their days. Back then, the average life style was not very happy and cheerful, but full of work with no end in sight. Thus, they started to tell stories of people over-coming their dreadful lives. These fairy tales became stories to get children's minds off of their terrible future and to have hope that one day they might have a happy ending. Not only were fairy-tales used to get people's minds off their lives, but to teach children life lessons.
But why was there still a need for a happily-ever-after in the 1950's? During this time in history, family life was looked at in high esteem. But, people will always want an “underdog” story. Cinderella was the underdog in this fairy tale. While in this version, she was given more than the Grimm Brother’s version and did not have to “earn” her food, she still worked hard. She still had animal friends who helped her, but her step-family was wicked. And in the end, she was the one who married the Prince.
This happy ending can also be looked at in the light of what it teaches young girls. It teaches them that in order for them to achieve a happy ending, they must marry. Cinderella was portrayed as being miserable and not fully complete because she was not yet married. Then when she married the Prince, she was so happy and could finally escape her evil step-family. Thus, teaching girls that the only way to finding true happiness, is by marrying a man. This message also holds true from the Grimm's Brother's version of Cinderella.