♫ Dream on, Cinderella. Dream the day away. Dreaming of a handsome prince, to take your heart away... ♫
Cinderella is a 1994 animated film by Jetlag Productions and GoodTimes Entertainment about the story of Cinderella.
A young girl's happy life changes dramatically after her mother dies. A year after her mother's passing, the girl's father returns home from a business trip with a new wife and her two daughters. When her father has to leave for another trip, the girl's stepmother and stepsisters force her to do all the housework and take her possessions for their own. Made to sleep in front of the kitchen fireplace, the girl's step family mockingly call her "Cinderella" because she's covered and soot and ashes. However, Cinderella gains an unexpected ally in her Fairy Godmother, who promises to watch over her while she endures her stepmother's abuse. Meanwhile, a grand ball is announced where the Prince of the kingdom will choose a bride, and Cinderella eagerly wishes to go and enjoy herself.
Tropes applying to this version of Cinderella are:
- Abhorrent Admirer: The Prince is introduced trying to stay interested in a princess looking to marry him as she brags ceaselessly about her family's wealth. He gets fed up and walks out. Later at the ball, he's so repulsed by the stepsisters' obnoxious and pushy behavior he walks out again...and just so happens to see Cinderella arriving at the palace.
- Adaptational Karma: The stepfamily suffer misfortune due to the Fairy Godmother.
- Affectionate Nickname: The Fairy Godmother only refers to Cinderella as "Cindy," most likely because she knows the name is really an insult.
- Ambiguously Brown: Cinderella herself. It's more obvious on the DVD cover than in the film, which is a bit inconsistent with the color of her skin.
- Anachronism Stew: The film appears to take place in the 19th century and the clothing mostly reflects this, although the queen's outfit looks better suited to the late 16th or early 17th century with the wide sleeves and ruff, while the huge wigs/hairstyles the stepsisters don for the ball are more 18th century.
- Animated Musical: As typical for Jetlag Productions. There are three songs: "Dream On Cinderella", "The Chance of a Lifetime" and "When Love Has Gone Away".
- Ascended Extra: The Fairy Godmother only appeared to help Cinderella attend the ball in the original story. Here, she's always by Cinderella's side and exacts some Laser-Guided Karma on her step family by using her magic to play pranks on and humiliate them.
- Barefoot Poverty: During her time as her stepfamily's slave, Cinderella's only shoes are those the Fairy Godmother turns into glass slippers and she goes barefoot between the ball and the moment the Prince brings the slipper he found. The stepfamily doesn't seem to notice or care she suddenly went barefoot.
- Beehive Hairdo: All the members of the stepfamily have one, with the stepmother's being especially obvious. More so in their ballgowns.
- Big Eater: The fat stepsister is almost always seen eating something.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Cinderella is the Brunette, and her stepsisters are the Blonde and Redhead.
- Blowing a Raspberry: The fat stepsister does this at one point.
- Call-Back: When the Fairy Godmother is trying to comfort a weeping Cinderella, she states that even fairies cry once in a while. In the end, the Fairy Godmother cries Tears of Joy when the Prince and Cinderella are reunited.
- Comedic Underwear Exposure: After getting hit on the head, the fat stepsister falls down and exposes her bloomers.
- Disappeared Dad:
- The stepsisters' father is presumably deceased given their mother marries Cinderella's father.
- Downplayed with Cinderella's father; he doesn't die here but he's away on a long business trip for most of the story and so has no idea that his daughter is being mistreated.
- Distant Duet: "When Love Has Gone Away" has the prince and Cinderella sing about how they fell in love with each other, when the prince has Cinderella's shoe.
- Dramatic Slip: Cinderella loses her glass slipper when she trips running through the palace hedge maze; she doesn't go back for it out of fear of being caught.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Cinderella's kindness even in the midst of her stepfamily's cruelty rewards her with a fairy godmother, and ultimately, marriage to the Prince.
- Easily Forgiven: Cinderella decides not to hold a grudge against her step family when her father returns, and even sets up her stepsisters with men of their own, if only because she wants to get on with her life and focus on her happiness.
- Exact Words: The stepmother reneges on her promise to let Cinderella attend the ball when she sees there's still a lentil in the fireplace, stating she told Cinderella she could go if she collected all of them.
- Fairy Godmother: One with an interest in playing jokes as a form of revenge.
- Fairytale Wedding Dress: Cinderella naturally gets to wear one at the end; it's a classic white dress with a full skirt and long veil.
- Fat and Skinny: The stepsisters, one who is short, squat, and dresses in green, and the other tall and slender who dresses in red.
- Flowers of Femininity: Cinderella always wears a flower in her hair, and is introduced while picking roses.
- Gonk: The fat stepsister is not only fat and ugly, but has a stupid sounding, deep voice.
- Heel–Face Turn: The stepsisters end up becoming much nicer to Cinderella in the end, after she helps them marry.
- I Shall Taunt You: The fat stepsister blows a raspberry at Cinderella when she can't go to the ball.
- Karmic Trickster: The Fairy Godmother enjoys using her magic to play pranks on Cinderella's stepmother and stepsister, to make them look foolish and to avenge their abuse of Cinderella. Thankfully, Cinderella never gets blamed for it.
- Mama Bear: The Fairy Godmother repeatedly steps in to punish Cinderella's step family for their abuse, using her magic to perform practical jokes on them in a way that Cinderella couldn't possibly be blamed for.
- Marry for Love: The Prince is adamant that he won't marry someone he doesn't love and rejects numerous potential brides for this reason. As a result, his parents decide to throw the ball in the hopes he'll fall in love with one of the attendees. No prizes for guessing what happens when Cinderella turns up.
- Melancholy Musical Number: "When Love has Gone Away," is a beautiful, sad and tender song where in dreams, Cinderella and the prince sing to each other about their longing to be reunited, and how miserable they would be without each other.
- Mindlink Mates: Implied between Cinderella and the Prince. When the Prince hears Cinderella singing their love song, he declares he's heard her voice in his dreams.
- Nice Girl: Cinderella is depicted as a kind and gentle young woman. When her father offers to bring back gifts for everyone on his trip, unlike her stepfamily Cinderella says she only wants him to return safely. She also forgives her stepfamily's cruel treatment, arranging for her stepsisters to marry lords.
- No Name Given: Practically no one in this film has an actual name, and it's clarified that "Cinderella" is not the girl's given name.
- Obviously Evil: The stepmother looks like the unholy offspring of the Bride of Frankenstein and the Wicked Witch of the West.
- Orphan's Plot Trinket: One of the keepsakes Cinderella keeps hidden in the kitchen wall is a snowglobe with the figure of an old woman. It turns out it allows her to summon her Fairy Godmother.
- Parental Substitute: The Fairy Godmother acts more like an actual mother to Cinderella in the absence of her mother and father.
- Pet the Dog: Subverted. When Cinderella begs to attend the ball, her stepsisters point out to their mother she did help them get ready. The stepmother then says Cinderella can go if she removes the lentils spread in the fireplace. If this was a true moment, her step family would've just let Cinderella go instead of posing an arbitrary challenge. And when Cinderella does complete the task in time, the stepmother eagerly points out there's still a lentil in the fireplace and reminds Cinderella she said all the lentils, not all but one.
- Pimped-Out Dress: Cinderella naturally gets one courtesy of the Fairy Godmother to attend the ball in; it's a blue and yellow floor-length ballgown with poofy sleeves and matching evening gloves. She blows everyone away with her beauty and elegance, with even her own stepfamily not recognizing her.
- Regal Ruff: The queen is seen wearing one in her every appearance.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Cinderella's stepfamily are so used to seeing her dressed in rags and covered with dirt from doing chores, they don't even recognize her when she's glammed up for the ball. It's worth noting that the Prince does still recognize her even in her servant garb, which is used as an indicator he truly loves her for herself.
- Slap Stick: The stepfamily suffers this. Notably, the stepmother gets a spoon stuck to her (surprisingly stretchy) nose and the stepdaughters get hit on the head during croquet.
- Sore Loser: Subverted and played straight. When the stepmother sees Cinderella (actually the Fairy Godmother) collected all the lentils, the stepmother handles it surprisingly well... but then immediately jumps on the chance to point out one is still in the fireplace. She has a Villainous Breakdown when Cinderella proves beyond a shadow of a doubt she is the very girl the Prince was searching for, screaming about "Those ragged clothes, that dirty face!"
- Spanner in the Works: First, the Fairy Godmother convinces Cinderella to sing to get the Prince's attention from the attic. Later, when the stepmother raises doubt that Cinderella is the one who danced with the Prince, the Fairy Godmother gets angry and uses her magic to reveal the other glass slipper to prove beyond a doubt it was Cinderella.
- Spared by the Adaptation: A lot of Cinderella adaptations kill off Cinderella's dad too, while in this version he survives the whole movie, albeit largely absent until the end.
- Stock Sound Effect: The cartoon sound effects that play when the stepfamily is suffering slapstick.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Just because Cinderella fits the missing slipper, it doesn't mean she's not just someone with the same foot size as the girl the Prince is looking for. The other slipper is produced as additional evidence. The "ragged clothes" and the "dirty face" don't stop the Prince from starting to figure out even before she tries either shoe.
- Trying Not to Cry: Cinderella promises her Fairy Godmother she won't cry anymore after she promises to help her. Cinderella tries her best not to cry even when her stepfamily is cruel to her, but she's unable to stop herself after she thinks her last chance to attend the ball has been cruelly ripped away.
- Villain Has a Point: When Cinderella fits the missing slipper, the stepmother tries to dismiss it as a coincidence and her point is acknowledged until the other slipper is produced.
- Villain Song: "The Chance Of A Lifetime" is basically one for the stepmother and stepsisters, inter cut with their mocking laughter and condescension of Cinderella as they get ready for the ball. If you needed more proof, here's one of the lines:The pretty young ladies are ready to dance, but no one will give Cinderella a chance.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Cinderella's mother is in one scene right at the start; she's given a little characterization as a loving wife and mother, then in the next scene we're informed she fell ill and died. Given this is an adaptation of Cinderella, her mother is Doomed by Canon for the story to work.
- Wicked Stepmother: Practically a requirement for any Cinderella adaptation. Cinderella's stepmother is a cruel, shallow and domineering woman who treats Cinderella like a slave, refuses to let her go to the ball and tries to prevent her from marrying the prince. It's also implied she mostly married Cinderella's father for his money, especially as the first thing she does when he offers to bring back gifts from his trip is to demand he buy her new dresses.
