Finally!! The long-awaited return to full-length features! # 12 Cinderella! (A THREAD )

With the studio 4 million dollars in debt, Cinderella was arguably Walt’s biggest gamble. If it failed, Disney Animation would be no more.

Bill Peet said Walt & Roy had been arguing for weeks. Roy said they couldn’t afford to gamble everything on one film. If they sell out now, they could live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Walt insisted they do one more, and he chose Cinderella.

The first film to have all 9 of the “Nine Old Men” in the credits. From what I can tell, Ichabod and Mr. Toad was actually the first one that all nine worked on, but by some mishap, Les Clarke and Eric Larson went uncredited.

Recognize that voice? This beautiful narration was done by Betty Lou Gerson, better known as the voice of Cruella De Vil!

Some beautiful Eric Larson animation on Cinderella in this sequence

I read a bittersweet story that Ilene Woods, who voiced Cinderella, suffered from Alzheimer’s when she got older. She couldn’t remember that she had played Cinderella, but the nurses said she was always comforted when she heard this song

One of my favorite Ward Kimball scenes. Andreas Deja said,”It’s as good as anything Chaplain has ever done.”

Ward said that in the beginning they had trouble coming up with the look of Lucifer. One day Walt came to Ward’s house and his cat Feetzy rubbed up against Walt’s leg. He said,”For gosh sakes Kimball, there’s your cat.”

I tried to find a picture of Feetzy. I’m not sure if this is him or not, but this seems like Ward’s cat?

I love this scene. The acting, the lighting/staging, the visual storytelling making Cinderella feel like she’s trapped in a cage. Beautifully done on all fronts!

Frank Thomas before he realized Walt was going to cast him for the Stepmother,”Boy I thought, that’s a tough assignment for some poor guy. I wonder who’s going to get it?” He later said,”The Stepmother was one of the toughest characters I did.”

Ilene said as she was recording this song, Walt listened w/his eyes closed, head in his hands. Then asked,”Ilene, can you sing harmony w/yourself?” and described his vision of bubbles appearing, each time w/another harmony. It was a brand new use of the technology at the time!

Months later when Walt saw the finished sequence, he turned to Ilene and said,”How about that? I used to pay three salaries for the Andrews Sisters when I could have paid for just one of you.”

I have to say, after watching everything in order, I am really struck by just how great the storytelling is in Cinderella,(thanks in large part to Bill Peet)Brad Bird said,”In terms of the most bulletproof adaptation, it’s Cinderella” and I think I agree

Walt once said that this Marc Davis scene was his favorite piece of animation. Marc said,”I must say I’ve always felt very good about it. I don’t think it’s the best piece of animation ever done. But it was something that hit the heart. And it struck Walt.”

Some more great filmmaking, this time animated by Woolie Reitherman. Ollie Johnston said of it,”I think that’s one of the best sequences of suspense that we’ve ever had in a picture.”

Woolie said when he first saw the storyboards for Cinderella, he walked right into Walt’s office & said,”You’ve got to make it!” He said that Walt was very teetered at the time, & he might sell out & drop the whole thing. So he talked to him a while about how great it could be.

Years later Walt told Woolie how grateful he was that he came to see him that day. I am too! W/o Cinderella, there would be no Disney Animation, & who knows if there would even be an industry that I so love & find myself lucky to be able to work in. So...thank you Cinderella!

Random last thought:there is one other film I believe also saved Disney Animation & that’s The Little Mermaid. I highly recommend the new documentary Howard on Disney+ that showcases the man I feel is most responsible for the Disney Renaissance: Howard Ashman