Rankin Bass' Cinderella

This is the third episode of Rankin Bass’ Festival of Family Classic that ran on TV in 1973. Every episode is a different story, and some are two parter if they ran more than the runtime of 22 minutes; the stories are bare bone with a limit. Now we’re approaching to Cinderella. *sigh* I barely like this story that may echo in my life in two ways.

The story is about as you basically know it. Cinderella lives with an evil step-mother with two ugly lazy step-sisters as their servant. (One of them is male. Maybe that’s where Shrek 2 got it from.) Cinderella remains at home while her step family goes to the royal ball, until her fairy godmother comfort her by making her in transportation, a pretty dress, and glass slippers to go to the ball to meet her Prince Charming (Derek from Swan Princess or Prince David from Gulliver’s Travels?).

This is one of the stories I couldn’t like, partly because of the famous Disney version I sadly grew up with. The most annoyance I’ve got from that film was the mice, and they were usefully annoying as much more or less as the gargoyles from the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and they got half of the focus. Thankfully Disney didn’t have the mice after Cinderella to sound high pitch as they gave them normal yet less irritating voice, as heard in Ben and Me, Rescuers, Robin Hood, etc. Despite the high pitch voice kind of makes sense given their size. The mice in the Rankin Bass version are tone down, as it focuses on the title character. Obviously people mostly prefer that version with the evil fearing step mother than a useless bitch, the Mary Blair background, most of the music, and less likely the recent remake would capture those  elements.  There have been many versions, before and after. It’s kind of similar to Betty Boop’s version of Cinderella, including with a living jack-o-lantern apparently, and that’s about it for the similarity. Cinderella in this version is just there. She’s pretty, and maybe sneaky with the mousetrap to not set it up, but best to sum her with a funny version of Derek than the less interesting prince they got.

“You’re just so beautiful and nothing else!”

-Derek from Swan Princess, dubbed by Doug Walker/ Nostalgia Critic in his review of Swan Princess.

I think the only character that does stand out is the knight, who is an enjoyable doofus to get the message from the kingdom with snarky comment such as comparing the “beautiful madams” in the scroll to the step sisters, or his routine by trying to stay on his horse.

When people think of the best Cinderella, usually Ever After came to mind, yet I haven’t watched that yet. Otherwise, I’ve haven’t heard the best yet. The Rankin Bass version isn’t awful, but not good either, as it doesn’t stand out than a style. We’ll see Cinderella and Prince later in Rudolph Shiny New Year. Many can agree at least it’s better than Cinderella 2.

OK, let’s see what’s the next episode for the series? I hope it’s not another version from a popular Disney film.

*I looked up the episode guide, and the next one is the 2-parter of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. I end the review with a Peter Lorre impression.*

Oh no, master!