Movie #112 - Cinderella

Cinderella
Walt Disney Pictures
1950 - Rated G - 1 hr 14 min
Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson
Starring: Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, James MacDonald

Another classic Disney movie that I got to share with my daughter.  I think she liked the mice in this one and, of course, all those happy little songs.  Watching this, I had that familiarity with the images combine with a new adult perspective.  This version is pretty bleak at times, especially the scene where Cinderella's evil sisters rip her dress to shreds and leave her alone, battered and abused, to cry in the garden.  How sad!  As a kid, I just thought, "Wow that's mean."  But now I'm thinking, "Yikes! This is a Disney movie?"  Anyway, there it is and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be able to release a movie with a scene like that now... they'd have to add a song or something to lighten the mood.

Also, the Prince is only in this movie for one scene.  One scene. But she totally loves him, right? Maybe things were different back then, when you lived in a magic kingdom and hung out with animals.  But I've met some "handsome princes" in my life who were complete assholes, so I'm worried about Cinderella now that I've watched this again.  Yeah, they look cute together... but will it last?

Is this how I know I'm an adult now?

Movie #21 - Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Alice in Wonderland

Walt Disney Pictures

1951 - Rated G - 1 hr 15 min

Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson

Starring: Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Verna Felton

This was a trip back to my childhood for sure. I recently acquired this one with my Disney Movie Club membership because it just came out of the "Vault" again. Next year is the 50th anniversary of this movie, too! Wow!

Anyway, as a kid, this version of Alice in Wonderland was a favorite VHS. It was probably where I first heard a British accent, consequently (and most likely where I learned to sing with one too.) It's short, sweet, full of nonsense, and leaves out all the scary bits of Lewis Carroll's classic (drug-induced) romp through Wonderland. No Jabberwocky here, thank you very much. In fact, I didn't even know about any Jabberwocky until I saw the TV miniseries at age 15 or so... that changed this story for me, just a wee bit.

Knowing so much more about the Carroll version, this one seems so tame it's ridiculous. Still, it has all the magic of a classic Disney-spun fairy tale, including catchy songs. Ellie really enjoyed "Golden Afternoon" and all the singing flowers. So in the end, this movie still does exactly what it was meant to do - entertain viewers of any age.