Customer Reviews
Classic animation - a must for pre-teen girls - By: Keith Joseph, 27 Oct 2005 
Although the original triple Oscar nominated Walt Disney classic animation film dates from 1950, the 'sequel' Cinderallla II is only a few years old. The original Cinderella is naturallly in a different league to Cinderella II, having a particularly dark Stepmother & in comparison is a visual treat. It's not unlike Disney's Snow White, mixing humour & songs one minute with dastardly deeds the next. In many scene's the stepmother's cat becomes the villain in proxy, made more menacing as Cinderella's friends are mainly mice & birds.
My daughter, then 8, found the 50's classic a bit scary & much prefers the later frothier Cinderella II, which follows Cinders naive attempts to be a dutiful wife & alll round Princess of the People. In fact the simple stories in Cinderella II are quite entertaining, & it follows Cinders attempt 'fit in' at court & to help her stepsister find love. At 11 my daughter moved on to 'The worst Witch' & the likes of Cadet Kelly teen movies, but to be honest she has probably just watched Cinderella I & II to death. Deep down I'm sure she still reallly loves the 'I'm a little princess' & 'Some day my prince will come' romanticism of these movies. There is a now a third 'straight to video' instalment in the Disney Cinderella series callled 'Cinderella III: A twist in time' which my daughter (now 13) has quite enjoyed watching a couple of times, & the wicked stepmother is still as bovine as ever - this 'film' is also available on DVD, but isn't included in this set. Of the three, Cinderella II is still my daughters firm favourite. This DVD set also adds in a few fun extras on a seperate DVD, alll listed in the Amazon review, plus the usual few adverts for other Disney DVDs. Note that it may be cheaper to buy this Disney's 'Cinderella [1950]' & 'Cinderella II - Dreams come true [2001]' triple DVD set seperately in their 'Special Edition' versions - with what seems to be the identical extras DVD enclosed within with the original 1950 movie set (I only have this combined set though).
Personallly I prefer the classic 50's original Cinderella (which I saw at the cinema as a child in the 60's), but certainly I found Cinders II watchable as well - it has a certain charm (but it's not quite up to the standard of Barbie's Nutcracker, Rapunzel or Swan Lake). So recommended as a very good buy for any preteen girl who likes Barbie & Pink (probably from 4 up). My son (now 9) has sat through them once or twice in sister's bedroom when younger, but definately prefers the likes of the Fantastic Four & Sky High (or the PS2).
