Cinderella is one of Disney's pioneering efforts to revitalize fairy tales into bankable properties by converting them into technicolor motion pictures!
We are invited to this story via a classic, soothing and calming storybook narration. Within minutes, we know what the main character is lacking in her life, thus established are the dramatic premise and need. Through a new character in the household - Gus, we watch and learn about Cinderella. She's kind and fair to all, even if they can't return anything back in favor. From the horrible ways she's treated by her stepmother & sisters, you really feel bad and pitiful of the protagonist. You experience her disadvantaged position as well as she does. This is surprising, because only a small amount of time is loaned to tell all these, yet the impact is strong! The annoyance caused by the archetypal sisters are beyond the limit a little though.
Script wise, the writing is good. There are clear call to adventure and Plot Point I to go to the ball. Even in a simple storyline as such, the tensions, conflicts and confrontations in Act II are mostly great. Gown being torn off, ticking clock for the spell to be broken and Gus stuck in teacup to be served are examples. Songs are used, as in most Disney's musical animations, to push the story forward. The same can be said about the surrounding tools, with the book stack holder coming to our notice. The mice's gibberish is understood through actions. Rhyming monologues for the Fairy Godmother are fun to listen to!
Fluid animation and cute creativity go hand-in-hand like best friends in this feature! The birds and mice are to watch out for as they are important supporting characters, especially the latter. A dress for the new mouse, Jaq stringing beads into Gus' tail, pumpkin coach, Cinderella's ball dress fix and the initial attire-changing sequence are imaginative! Impression-printing facial features to instantly tell us who's good or bad are well done. Cinderella's iconic dress & glass slippers are wonderful!
With all these being said, the film gets lethargic from time to time, despite the overall runtime being fairly short. The first contributing factor to this would be the overstretched duration spent for the slapstick comedy that takes place between Lucifer the cat and the mice. At first, it's engaging. But, it tires and wears off quickly due to its repetition. The amount of screen space & time allocated for this portion could have been used to flesh out the human personas instead, which brings us to the second contributing factor. Most of the characters are dull and one-dimensional! You don't want to hang out with these characters, as they've got nothing to offer. Even the prince you learn nothing about! Hell, we don't even get a close look at him! The couple falling in love is crazily abrupt! There aren't any depths about them meeting or falling in love. It just, happened. Out of the blue! Lastly, Act III is drawn out too much and feels deliberately and hyperbolically delayed from reaching the resolution intended.